Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

One occupation featuring continuous high levels of heat stress is ultra-deep mining, with the rock face at*temperatures approaching 60°C and chamber temperatures commonly at 40°C with high humidity. Thus, even*moderate physical work can cause miners to quickly exceed existing occupational heat exposure guidelines and*increase risk of heat illness. An extra risk is the prolonged transport to surface medical facilities. Beyond health*and safety concerns, productivity is reduced due to an inefficient work-rest regime. Further, the achievable ore*depths are limited by cautious heat stress management.*Currently, the primary strategy for reducing thermal stress in ultra-deep mining is by cooling and ventilating*mine chambers, with the penalty of very high energy requirements and costs. A potential alternative for*occupational cooling are individual personal cooling systems, where cooling is customized to the individual.*Beyond improving worker health, this approach has the economic benefit of large energy savings through*reducing the need for wholesale cooling of large mining chambers.*Jannatec Technologies, based in Sudbury ON, is developing a portable Active Cooling Vest to decrease the risk*of heat stress for miners working at ultra-deep depths, with cooling intensity individualized based on a*combination of environmental conditions, activity levels, and physiological feedback. The present proposal*supports this target through developing a Heat Strain Estimator Algorithm (HSEA) to regulate the cooling of*this Active Cooling Vest. This will be accomplished by: 1) developing a model to predict core temperature*from heart rate and skin temperature; 2) developing the HSEA to predict overall heat production during*different mining tasks; 3) Incorporate and test the HSEA's ability to serve as a health warning system and to*control a personal cooling system to reduce heat strain in the lab and during actual mining. The overall goal is*to greatly reduce heat strain and increase productivity in ultra-deep mining.