Research Reports from the Department of Operations
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2-1-1974
Abstract
During the past twenty-five years, the etiology and treatment of burn injuries have been widely studied in the United States. A number of these studies have suggested that the type of clothing worn by an individual plays a vital part in determining the extent and severity of a significant percentage of burn injuries. These studies have not adequately defined the criteria necessary to promulgate standards for protection against burn injuries. We believe that an accurate and reliable estimate of relative risk will provide an essential criterion for specifying the level of hazard associated with clothing system pyrolysis. Since clothing is an important link in the transmission of thermal energy to the human host, it must be a major factor in the analysis of the risk of sustaining burn injuries. In addition to the clothing system, a comprehensive approach to the study of risk involves consideration of environmental and personal factors. In the first part of this paper we present a general probabilistic model which combines environmental, personal and clothing system factors and thereby quantifies risk through a measurement of the chance of exposure, ignition and resulting injury. In the second part the general model is used to develop a method for epidemiologic investigation of relationships between clothing systems and the risk of burn injury. A scientific comparison of clothing systems involved in burn injury episodes with utilization patterns of clothing in the general population enables us to identify not only hazardous products but also populations at various levels of risk. Methodologies for collecting utilization data are also presented. In our judgment the methods developed here for clothing can be extended to other consumer items which are purchased frequently and marketed in numerous brands at a large number of retail outlets.
Keywords
Operations research, Burns and scalds--Prevention, Personal protective equipment, Burns and scalds--Research, Clothing and dress--Flammability, Consumer goods--Safety measures, Risk assessment--Methodology
Publication Title
Technical Memorandums from the Department of Operations, School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Issue
Technical memorandum no. 340
Rights
This work is in the public domain and may be freely downloaded for personal or academic use
Recommended Citation
Darukhanavala, Phiroz P.; Barancik, Jerome; and Reisman, Arnold, "A General Model for Measuring and Analyzing the Risk of Sustaining Clothing Burn Injuries" (1974). Research Reports from the Department of Operations. 221.
https://commons.case.edu/wsom-ops-reports/221