Firefighting is one of the most physically demanding and hazardous occupations in any country. When the firefighting activity continues for extended periods of time, firefighters are at risk for a decline in their physical and mental work ability. To ensure their safety, it is important for firefighters to be knowledgeable regarding their own physical condition. We have introduced an index of cardiorespiratory load that reflects respiratory metabolism state, the reflection index of respiration (RIR). This index is derived based on data, obtained under designed load activities, performed in a shuttle run test and bicycle ergometer test. Therefore, the applicability and effectiveness of this index to activities involving severe physical activities at a firefighting site, have not yet been evaluated. The RIR was applied in a simulated firefighting activity test, conducted according to a standardized protocol. This standardized firefighting test protocol consisted of 13 activities and required continuous physical activity for 26 min. The following results were obtained. First, RIR showed a good response to load intensity even when the activity loads varied irregularly in time. Second, the variation of the RIR demonstrated a good correlation, both, with the respiratory metabolic state and the blood lactate levels. Third, the RIR presented high sensitivity in response to firefighters’ changes in body movements and respiration, during the simulated firefighting activity test. The proposed index, providing objective information that supplements a firefighter’s subjective assessment of his or her own physical state, could be applied in the prevention of overexertion and is expected to improve the occupational safety of firefighters.

抄録全体を表示

This literature review deals with lead materials in fire and related environmental issues based on inorganic chemistry. In 2019, the Notre Dame Cathedral fire raised not only the issue of damage to historical building, but also the issue of the impact of lead materials on the environment as well as human health. Three months after the fire, French media reported that lead contamination had been detected in the area around the cathedral, with lead levels 500-800 times higher than the safety requirements. More than 200 tons of lead used in the roofs and spire melted in the fire. Besides this French fire case, chemical aspects of lead (element and compounds), usage of lead as building materials (Japanese castle, paint for a highway bridge, and protection against radioactive rays) on past architectural fires, energy materials (gasoline, lead-acid battery, and Perovskites solar cells in future) and their potential fire risk, and impact to human are also reviewed in this paper.

抄録全体を表示