Duraclean Journal of Marketing, Management and Technical Topics

Surviving the Winter with Prevention and Proper Action

The following article is a condensation from the "Safety News Alert" newsletter from BLR that deals with considerations in regard to working in cold weather. With record or near record low temperatures across the U.S. it's important to prevent exposure. You also need to know the signs of exposure and how to handle situations if they occur.

Adverse Health Effects
Working in a cold weather environment can result in adverse health effects on human performance and health. These may include:

• Thermal discomfort


• Increased strain


• Decreased performance


• Cold-related diseases


• Injuries

Cold can also affect several other factors in the workplace regarding the modification or aggravation of the risk of common hazards and increasing the risk of cold-associated injuries. Two of the more extreme dangers of prolonged work in cold environments are frostbite and hypothermia.

Frostbite is a severe reaction that the skin has to cold and can lead to permanently damaging fingers, toes, the nose and ear lobes. The symptoms of frostbite are:

• Loss of feeling (numbness)


• Whitish skin


• Occasional blisters

If medical help is not readily available the recommended treatment is to slowly re-warm the affected areas. That should be done by rubbing them with your hands or use a heat source, not to soak then in hot water.

Hypothermia occurs when the body becomes cold and the body's core temperature is below 95 degrees F. Symptoms include:

• Uncontrollable shivering


• Drowsiness


• Disorientation


• Slurred speech


• Exhaustion

Workers suffering from this exposure should be kept as warm as possible until medical help arrives. If body temperature is allowed to continue to drop, unconsciousness or even heart failure may occur. The recommended procedure is to start to warm up the torso first and the follow with the arms and legs. Get the person into dry clothing if possible. Hypothermia victims should not be given any alcohol, hot beverages or food.

More information on frostbite and hypothermia follow.

Guarding Against Exposure
Whether your employees are working indoors or outdoors your employees need to be aware of the hazards that are associated with exposure to heat and cold in addition to how to guard against those problems and recognize the symptoms of distress. There is the fact that there are some individual tolerances that vary with temperature extremes. But without adequate precautions there comes a point when anyone can become ill and that could lead to serious or even fatal results from a failure to recognize these hazards.

As an employer your responsibility is to see that normal working conditions don't put your employees' health at risk. There are times when working conditions are less than ideal such as doing repair work in bad weather, working in confined spaces and high heat areas such as crawlspaces and attics, and so on. When you can't change or control conditions then the next best option is to inform the workers how to protect themselves from uncomfortable or dangerous temperatures.

When considering safety and health training the key points to bring out are hazard recognition, hazard protection and procedures to follow in the case of exposure.



Generating Checklists

Safety experts BLR (http://www.blr.com/) recommend that you consider checklists that cover how to:

Prevent problems:

• Limit the exposure to cold, especially when the weather is windy or humid.


• Show extra caution if the employee is elderly, overweight, has allergies or poor circulation.


• Be especially aware if the employee smokes, drinks or takes medication.


• Be aware that problems can still arise in above-freezing temperature conditions.


• Be aware that problems can arise when touching a subfreezing object.


• Before going into the cold avoid bathing, smoking or drinking alcohol.

Wear layers of loose, dry clothing:

• Wear cotton or wool underlayers.


• Wear a waterproof top layer.


• Make sure to cover head, hands, feet and face.


• Dry or change out wet clothing immediately.


• Keep moving in the cold.


• Take regular breaks in heated areas.


• Move to a warm area when feeling very cold or numb.


• Drink a warm nonalcoholic, decaffeinated beverage.

Know symptoms of frostbite:

• Feeling uncomfortably cold.


• Feeling numb.


• Feeling tingly, aching or brief pain.


• Skin color changing from white to grayish yellow to reddish violet to black.


• Skin blisters.


• Unconsciousness.

Acting quickly when frostbite strikes:

• Get medical attention.


• Don't rub body part or apply heat lamp or hot water bottles.


• Don't go near a hot stove.


• Don't break blisters.


• Warm frozen body part(s) quickly with sheets or blankets or warm (not hot) water.


• Exercise warmed body part(s) but don't walk on feet if they are the affected body parts.


• Elevate frozen body part(s) and cover with sterile cloths before moving.

Know symptoms of hypothermia:

• Feeling cold.


• Pain in extremities.


• Shivering.


• Numbness and/or stiffness.


• Poor coordination.


• Drowsiness.


• Slow or irregular breathing or heart rate.


• Slurred speech.


• Cool skin.


• Puffy face.


• Disorientation.


• Apathy.

Act quickly when hypothermia strikes:

• Call for medical help.


• Give victim artificial respiration if needed.


• Move victim into a warm area.


• Get victim out of frozen, wet or tight clothing.


• Bundle victim in warm clothes or blankets.


• Have victim drink something warm (no caffeine or alcohol).

Labels: Cold Weather, Personnel, Safety Compliance, Safety Management