THERMAL RESPONSES AT 3 LOW AMBIENT-TEMPERATURES - VALIDATION OF THE DURATION LIMITED EXPOSURE INDEX

The objective of the study was to validate the DLE (duration limited e xposure) index, which provides a method to determine acceptable time l imits when. in a cold environment, clothing insulation is not sufficie nt to protect the wearer from body cooling. The thermal responses of t en male subjects dressed in winter clothing to -6, -14 and -22 degrees C during very light exercise were studied. The individual variation o f peripheral temperature responses was large. The majority of the subj ects stated that they would accept the exposure once a day, bur not co ntinuously. DLE was on the 'safe side' according to the body net heat debt and rectal temperature, but at the same time it allowed for low s kin temperatures, especially of the extremities at low ambient tempera tures. At predicted rime limits, the mean skin temperature criteria of DLE suggested in the ISO document ISO/TR 11079 were not met at -14 an d -22 degrees C. Introduction of limit criteria for extremity cooling in prediction models would render a more complete assessment of cold s tress.