Polish innovative cooling clothing and underwear to protect mine rescuers

The solution also allows to monitor the physiological condition of the rescuers during difficult underground operations.

Sets of protective clothing and underwear have been developed with the participation of mine rescuers themselves. They are designed to not only improve the comfort of the rescuers, but also allow to safely extend their work time during the operations in mines, even by tens of minutes - told PAP Anna Dąbrowska from the Department of Personal Protective Equipment at the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute.

Characteristic aspects of rescue operations in mines are the threat of fire, explosion, and work in high temperatures. Additional load causes a large energy expenditure of rescuers. Due to difficult environmental conditions, rescuers are sometimes victims of accidents, even fatal ones. The main causes of death among mine rescuers are large body surface and respiratory tract burns.

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"Overheating is another big problem for mine rescuers. In addition, currently used clothing does not provide adequate comfort, because these products are not fully ergonomic and their design is not fully adapted to the needs of rescuers" - Dąbrowska told PAP.

Innovative sets of clothes developed by Polish specialists are designed to ensure safety and heat dissipation. They consist of protective outerwear and two alternative versions of underwear: one with cooling elements and one with ventilation system.

"In both clothing and underwear we have used innovative materials, which limit the thermal discomfort of rescuers. The key is also the compatibility of the whole set with rescue equipment needed during the operation, as well as respiratory protection equipment" - she added.

Protective outwear consists of hooded sweatshirt and pants. As required by mine rescue, closed vents have been used in order to reduce heat discomfort, and cartridges filled with macrocapsules containing phase-change materials on the back support the cooling of the body. Reflective tapes improve the visibility of the rescuers.

Clothing is made from fabric with added Kevlar, so that it can protect from heat, fire and static electricity. Suits for F16 pilots are made with similar materials. Pockets are placed to provide easy access, and so that access is not hindered by the respiratory protection equipment - noted Dąbrowska.

Underwear with ventilation system uses a pipe system that distributes compressed air from cylinders that rescuers carry during operations in mines. The cylinder also provides breathable air for approx. 2 hours.

"The compressed air in cylinders is expanded to a suitable medium pressure with a special pressure regulator and then through a flow splitter directed to cooling underwear. During the expansion the air cools down, and in addition it is dry air, and therefore, when washing over rescuer\'s sweaty back it causes rapid evaporation of sweat, heat removal and cooling" - said Krzysztof Makowski from the Department of Personal Protective Equipment.

The heart of this solution is the system that blocks the air flow to rescuer\'s underwear when the amount of air starts to become insufficient for breathing. The air supply to the cooling system is cut off to provide the greatest amount of air to breathe, which will enable the rescuer to withdraw from the danger zone - said the expert. This system was developed in collaboration with Rescue Equipment and Miner\'s Lamps Factory Faser in Tarnowskie Góry.

The second version of underwear with cooling elements uses macrocapsules with phase-change materials, or ice-water type compounds. "These compounds receive heat from the rescuer\'s body as a result of melting. This construction of cooling elements also means that they are breathable and do not hinder the evaporation of sweat from the body, yet they are flexible, ergonomic" - Dąbrowska explained.

The underwear has an integrated device for measuring the heart rate (heart rate monitor), the data from which are transmitted by radio to the personal communicator mounted on the rescuer\'s helmet.

Microclimate conditions during rescue operations in mines are so extremely difficult, that it is impossible to achieve a decrease in rescuer\'s body temperature, but clothing can minimize its increase. "As a result, this translates into an extension of safe work time of mine rescuers even by tens of minutes, depending on the conditions during the rescue operation" - added the expert.

The developed set has been submitted to the Patent Office in the form of two patent applications and three applications for utility models. Work is underway to implement those solutions into production. "We hope that soon mine rescuers will receiver the clothing" - announced Dąbrowska. About 10 thousand persons employed in the rescue services are waiting for it.

The consortium that developed the innovative protection wear for mine rescuers, in addition to the leader - the Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, included: Central Mine Rescue Station Bytom and ZOSP RP Manufacture of Fire Uniforms in Brzeziny. The work on the invention took three years and was funded by the National Centre for Research and Development in the framework of the Strategic Research Project "Improving safety in the mines".

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