Konrad, Justin and Gagnon, Dominique and Serresse, Olivier and Oddson, Bruce and Leduc, Caleb and Dorman, Sandra (2019) Effect of a simulated mine rescue on physiological variables and heat strain of mine rescue workers. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 61 (3). pp. 251-261.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Objective: To describe physiological responses of mine rescuers during a simulated mine emergency. Methods: Body-worn monitors (n ¼ 74) and core temperature (Tc) capsules (n ¼ 54) assessed heart rate (HR), respiration rate (RR), energy expenditure (EE), oxygen consumption (VO˙ 2), Tc and skin temperature (Tskin), by team position and task. A multivariate analysis was performed with team positions, tasks, and measures as factors. Results: HRHRmean and HRpeak were 78.6% and 94.5%, respectively, of predicted maximum heart rate. Arduous labor tasks elicited higher HR, RR, and VO˙ 2 mean than casualty care. Captains exhibited lower HRmean, HRpeak, RR, RRpeak, VO˙ 2 mean, Tc, and Tskin compared with other positions. Tc mean exceeded 38.6 8C (n ¼ 14 recorded Tc >39 8C). Conclusions: Captains’ physical loading and heat stress were lowest. Nonetheless, all tasks and positions induced high physical load and heat strain.