Heat Risk to Workers

Heat, whether 'seasonal' or part of the 'normal work environment', can be a hazard - working in heat can lead to workers suffering serious illness and can also lead to increased accidents. Here's information on the effects of heat and gives reps an Action Plan on how to tackle the issue at the the workplace.

Rest - Work breaks

The following is a suggested place to start when negotiating a rest-work regime for inclusion in a Heat Policy.

Duration of paid rest breaks within each hour when the temperature reaches and/or exceeds temperatures shown	Temperature (ºc)
15 minutes	30 degrees
30 minutes	32 degrees
45 minutes	34 degrees
60 minutes	36 degrees

Ensure the policy is reviewed each year by the OSH Committee.

Summary for the Health and Safety Representative:

• Talk to your members about heat and its health and safety effects.
• Carry out an audit of the workplace to identify heat stress areas.
• Ensure the employer monitors the health and safety of workers.
• Ensure that all incidents are reported.
• Negotiate a heat policy appropriate to your workplace through your health and safety committee if you have one - don't wait until summer to raise the issue with management.
• Review your policy each year.

Legal Standards

There are no regulations specifying standards for maximum temperatures in the workplace.

However, employers have a duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1994) to provide and maintain for employees, as far as practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risks to health. This includes providing a safe system of work, information, training, supervision, and where appropriate personal protective equipment. The employer also has the duty to monitor conditions at the workplace - this includes heat.

Importantly, the employer has a duty to identify hazards and implement controls to eliminate or, if this is not reasonably practicable, reduce the risks associated with the hazards. The employer MUST consult with elected ohs reps where these exist, and affected workers on the measures to be implemented to eliminate/reduce the risks.

The UK's OHS regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), has a section on their website which specifically addresses matters of Temperature, including what the HSE recommends in terms of minimum and maximum temperatures.

What are the health effects of exposure to heat?

When the body is exposed to more heat than it can cope with, this leads to heat stress. The body tires to cope mainly by evaporation - sweating. As the temperature in the work environment increases, so too does the body's temperature. This triggers sweating and a flow of blood to the skin where it can be cooled by evaporation. Excessive sweating leads to loss of water from the body, dehydration and loss of salt, resulting in potentially serious health effects.

Possible consequences of excessive heat:

• Increase in the likelihood of accidents due to reduced concentration; slippery, sweaty palms; increase of discomfort of some personal protective gear, resulting in reduced protection and unsafe conditions, etc
• Skin Rashes: "prickly heat"
• Heat Illness:
• Heat Cramps: Muscle spasms as a result of heavy sweating without restoring the body's salt/water balance.
• Heat Exhaustion: Dehydration following heavy sweating causes clammy, moist skin, weakness and fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headache and giddiness. Reduced blood flow to the brain may lead to fainting.
• Heat Stroke: Hot, dry skin and rapidly rising body temperature can lead to collapse, loss of consciousness, convulsions, even death
• Aggravation of other medical conditions and illnesses: e.g. high blood pressure or heart disease due to increased load on the heart
• Aggravation of the effects of other hazards: through interaction with other workplace hazards such as noise or exposure to toxic substances heat can compound their effects
• Reproductive Disorders: may affect sperm count or the health of the foetus.

Some of the problems and their symptoms experienced in the temperature range between a comfortable zone (20C - 27°C)

Who is at risk?
Workers in a variety of occupations may be exposed to heat stress. For example, working in any, or a combination of, the following conditions:

• outdoor workers - such as construction and building workers, gardeners, etc - particularly during summer months;
• occupations where there are plant or processes which generate radiant heat. These include: bakeries, kitchens, laundries, foundries, boiler rooms, steelworks and in other manufacturing processes. Workers in these industries become "acclimatized" (that is used to) to these conditions to a certain extent;
• occupations such as those in building and construction;
• hot, stuffy, and poorly ventilated buildings; and
• working in vehicles.

Source : ProfShukor.blogspot.com