Heat and moisture transmission of chemical and biological clothing and its physiological impact

Within environments that pose either a chemical or a biological threat to workers, the ability to regulate body temperature is adversely affected by the need to wear personal protective ensembles. These chemical and biological (CB) protective ensembles impede the loss of metabolically-generated heat, the wicking of sweat and the removal of water vapour resulting from the evaporation of sweat. The design objective of most newly-developed materials is to facilitate heat loss, whilst retaining the appropriate chemical and biological protection. In this project, the focus was upon the physiological impact of exercising in a hot-dry environment, whilst wearing CB protective ensembles made from various combinations of these materials