Heat Stress

FACTS ABOUT HEAT

• Heat leaves your body in several ways:

–transfer from skin to air

–evaporation by perspiration

–exhaling hot air

–touching a cool object

• Your body must work even harder to get rid of excess heat when conditions are both hot and humid

• Water is crucial to helping the body adjust to high temperatures

• Temperatures as low as 80 degrees can cause a hazard

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WHAT DO I NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN IT’S HOT?

• The weather

• The work

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The Weather

• We are interested in the Heat Index, which is influenced by both humidity and temperature

–Perspiration can't evaporate as readily under muggy conditions

• We are also interested in air movement

–Evaporation takes place more quickly if the air is moving

• Direct sunlight – how cloudy/sunny will it be?

The Work

• What PPE do we require?

• How hard are we working?

–Light: performing light hand or arm work, occasional walking

–Moderate: moderate lifting and pushing or pulling, walking at a moderate pace

–Hard: digging, carrying, pushing/pulling heavy loads, walking at a fast pace

–Very hard: very intense activity at fast to maximum pace

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What Can You Do?

• Engineering Controls

–Find shade

–Ventilate

–Use fans

–Mechanize work

• Administrative controls

–Pace your work

–Hydrate yourself

–Plan your day to perform the stressful work in the cooler hours (i.e., night work or early start)

–Monitor your work and those who are working with you