Citation

Rissanen S, Rintamaki H. Mil. Med. 2007; 172(2): 128-132.

Affiliation

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Oulu, FI-90220 Oulu, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17357763

Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify the thermal strain of soldiers wearing nuclear, biological, and chemical protective clothing during short-term field training in cold conditions. Eleven male subjects performed marching exercises at moderate and heavy activity levels for 60 minutes. Rectal temperature (Tre), skin temperatures, and heart rate were monitored. Ambient temperature (Ta) varied from -33 to 0 degrees C. Tre was affected by changes in metabolism, rather than in Ta. Tre increased above 38 degrees during heavy exercise even at -33 degrees C. The mean skin temperature decreased to tolerance level (25 degrees C) at Ta below -25 degrees C with moderate exercise. Finger temperature decreased below 15 degrees C (performance degradation) at Ta of -15 degrees C or cooler. The present results from the field confirm the previous results based on laboratory studies and show that risk of both heat and cold strain is evident, with cooling of extremities being most critical, while wearing nuclear, biological, and chemical protective clothing during cold-weather training.

Language: en