Heat Shield: Prediction of deep body temperature in workers during load carriage in hot environments

Exposure to environmental extremes decreases physical performance, cognitive skills and psychomotor ability. Due to global warming, the frequency and magnitude of heat waves are increasing, which will have a significant influence on the health and well-being of workers in several industrial sectors, specifically manufacturing, transportation, construction, agriculture and tourism. As part of the European Commission Horizon 2020 project Heat Shield, a consortium of scientists is evaluating methods of mitigating heat strain in workers in these sectors. One initiative is to predict the thermal responses of workers during such anticipated heat waves, in a similar manner as conducted previously for Winter exposures (Morabito et al. 200). The present study compared the observed thermal (core and skin temperature) responses of workers conducting load carriage over a 15 km course at Debelirtic (Adriatic coast, at the border of Slovenia and Italy) during the summer months, with those predicted by biometeorological models. These models account for meteorological data, characteristics of the clothing worn by the workers, and their anthropometry.