Heat stress associated with the use of vapor-barrier garments

Our plain-English summary of Heat stress associated with the use of vapor-barrier garments, by W.S. Beckett, J.E. Davis, N. Vroman, et al (Journal of Occupational Medicine., 1986).

The study

• Authors: W.S. Beckett, J.E. Davis, N. Vroman, R. Nadig, S. Fortney
• Journal: Journal of Occupational Medicine.
• Published: 1986;28(6):411-4
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 12 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Use of personal protective devices in the workplace, while intended to diminish risk of injury, may in some cases increase personal risk from environmental hazards. A case of a juvenile diabetic with complaints of near syncope while working in a plastics laminating process is analyzed. Although his symptoms might be attributed to a variety of causes, they were traced to the effects of heat stress related to wearing vapor-barrier disposable coveralls in a warm environment (85 degrees F). A field study of asbestos workers involved in abatement of asbestos steam pipe insulation illustrates how clothing impermeable to sweat may result in elevation of core body temperature. When workers use vapor-barrier coveralls, work practices or wet bulb globe temperature limits may need to be revised to prevent heat-related injury.

In plain English

This article was about heat stress from protective clothing, not about asbestos disease. The authors explained that plastic-lined vapor-barrier coveralls, used in jobs such as asbestos abatement to keep fibers off work clothes, stop sweat from evaporating and can raise body temperature during heavy work in warm conditions. The article described the case of a 25-year-old diabetic man in a polymer laminating process who had light-headedness and disorientation at work. The doctors first considered several possible causes: chemical exposure, low blood sugar from insulin, a kidney-related condition, heat stress, and diabetic nerve damage. The article's printed summary said the symptoms were traced to heat stress from wearing vapor-barrier coveralls at 85°F. That summary also mentioned a field study of asbestos workers removing asbestos steam pipe insulation, said to illustrate how clothing that sweat cannot pass through may raise core body temperature. The supplied text stopped partway through the first case, so the field study's details and measurements were not available. The authors concluded that work practices or wet bulb globe temperature limits may need revising when such coveralls are used.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Case report(s) plus a field study of asbestos abatement workers (field study described only in the article's printed abstract; its details are not in the supplied text)
• Who was studied: One 25-year-old diabetic man working in a polymer (plastics) laminating process, seen at the Johns Hopkins Occupational Medicine Clinic; also asbestos workers removing asbestos steam pipe insulation (number not given in the supplied text)
• Exposure: Wearing vapor-barrier disposable coveralls in a warm environment (85°F); the patient also handled an organic diamine derivative in a plastics process
• Main results:
  • In the case patient, the initial history and examination raised several possible causes of the symptoms: chemical exposure, low blood sugar from an insulin reaction, fluid loss from a kidney condition (type IV renal tubular acidosis), heat stress, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, or a combination
  • The case patient's symptoms were traced to heat stress from wearing vapor-barrier coveralls in a warm environment
  • The field study of asbestos abatement workers was said to illustrate how clothing that sweat cannot pass through may raise core body temperature (no measurements are in the supplied text)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that when workers use vapor-barrier coveralls, work practices or wet bulb globe temperature limits may need to be revised to prevent heat-related injury

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Abatement, Pipe Covering.

Related studies

• Fibre release from asbestos garments — G.W. Gibbs (1975)
• Effect of heat stress amelioration through open-ridge ventilated thatched roof housing on production and reproduction performance of crossbred Jersey cows — D.K. Mandal, A. Mandal, et al. (2021)
• Physiological and subjective responses to working in disposable protective coveralls and respirators commonly used by the asbestos abatement industry — M.K. White, T.K. Hodous, et al. (1989)
• Protection of dockyard workers against asbestosis — P.G. Harries (1970)
• Penetration of overall hoods by water-borne crocidolite fibres — R. Goode, T. Waldron (1977)
• Water-cooled suit for protection against hot environments — J.W. Hill (1970)

Browse more research in Journal of Occupational Medicine., or return to medical research.