Answer:
The verbal in the sentence is a gerund.
Explanation:
Gerunds are words that are formed with verbs but act as nouns. Just as participles, the -ing suffix is attached to them. However, their function is different because participles act as modifiers or complete progressive verbs, while gerunds act as nouns. They act as subjects, subject complements, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions, and predicate nouns. In the sentence above, the gerund " wearing protective clothing" acts as the subject of the sentence.
