Many workers are exposed to heat stress that can be exacerbated by the type of clothing they wear. The resulted heat strain can lead to short or long-term heat-related disorders. This study aimed to measure clothing properties of sugarcane field workers and evaluate the heat strain by an international standard, predicted heat strain model (PHS). The clothing thermal insulation and evaporative resistance values of sugarcane cutter and chemical sprayer outfits were acquired for the whole body, body regions and specific body parts via thermal manikin measurements. The detailed clothing insulation values of body parts can be utilized in advanced thermo-physiological models, while in this study, the values for the whole body together with weather data were used in PHS. Estimated duration limited exposure times (DLE) for an hour-by-hour prediction over a workday and for a range of high humidity scenarios were calculated. Such evaluation tools can be used for risk assessment and management to support organizational measures and prepare equipment and materials in the case of hot weather events in order to avoid dehydration and other heat-related disorders.

Energy Institute Brno University of Technology 601 90 Brno Czech Republic

Institute for Safety P O Box 7112 2701 AC Zoetermeer The Netherlands

La Isla Network Washington P O Box 816 District of Columbia MI 49301 USA

School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham B15 2TT UK

Thermal Environment Laboratory Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology Department of Design Sciences Lund University Box 118 SE 22100 Lund Sweden

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