2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
Thermal sensation was significantly improved through wearing of the Hat+Vest and
Hat+Vest+ScarfB, when compared to the control (Fig. 2). In the cases of combining more
than two kinds of PCE, the subjective vote of “very hot” disappeared and votes expressing
less hot increased. Mean subjective score for control (SAcooled 0%) and Hat+Vest+ScarfB
(SAcooled 4.2%) were 2.7 and 1.7, respectively (Fig. 2). That is, the adding 4.2% of cooling
area caused an average decrease by one point in the 9-point scale, during a moderate work in
heat.
DISCUSSION
By wearing PCE with a cooling area of 3~5% BSA, Tre was maintained under 38 o C, mean Tsk
and HR became more stable, and thermal sensation was improved. We confirmed that the vest
with a cooling area of only 3.3% BSA was effective in alleviating heat strain in a simulated
harvest work. Furthermore, the heat strain of farm workers can be considerably eliminated by
the combination of the cooling vest, a scarf, and a brimmed hat, with the total cooling area of
4~5% BSA.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study was supported by Technology Development Program for Agriculture and Forestry,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea.
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