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 Home Resources Library Get Active
Keep your cool! Tackling heat stress at work (Leaflet 291)Date: 23 July 2009
The law says your employer must maintain a reasonable temperature in your workplace.* It doesn’t specify a maximum reasonable temperature, but employers are expected to take reasonable steps to deal with situations where the temperature is uncomfortably high. The effects of heat depend on a variety of factors such as air temperature, heat sources, humidity, physical exertion, etc. Together these contribute toward a workers 'thermal comfort'. Information on Thermal Comfort can be found on the HSEs website www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/index.htm Experts say the comfort zone is normally in the region of 16°C to 24°C. As the temperature rises above this zone, heat exhaustion starts. People start to suffer loss of concentration, there are increases in accidents and loss of productivity. Symptoms include irritability, dizzyness, headaches, nausea and fainting. Sweating also can cause problems. You can lose as much as two pints of water an hour through sweating. If fluids and salt are not replaced nausea, vomiting and muscle cramps can occur. Prolonged sweating can cause skin rashes and blocked pores (or 'prickly heat'). If your body temperature gets too high, heat stroke can occur. Research has shown that people who are not used to high temperatures can only work for an hour or so at temperatures of 40°C before collapsing, even when the work involves no physical effort. (* Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, Reg. 7). If you want better health and safety conditions where you work, make sure you're in Usdaw. Keep your cool! Tackling heat stress at work (Leaflet 291) was correct at date of publication July 2009. Download File: If you do not have the software to download this attachment you can download it here. Resources Library Get Active
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