When temperatures drop significantly below normal, staying warm and safe can be a challenge. Prolonged exposure to freezing or cold temperatures may cause serious illness and injuries, including hypothermia, frostbite, chilblains and trench foot.
Here are some recommendations from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (www.cdc.gov/niosh) – an organization that works to develop new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transfer that knowledge into practice – to help protect you and your people when working in cold environments or temperatures.
For Employers
- Schedule maintenance and repair jobs in cold areas for warmer months.
- Schedule cold jobs for the warmer part of the day.
- Reduce the physical demands of workers.
- Use relief workers or assign extra workers for long, demanding jobs.
- Provide warm liquids to workers.
- Provide warm areas for use during break periods.
- Monitor workers who are at risk of cold stress.
- Provide cold stress training that includes information about:
- Worker risk
- Prevention
- Symptoms
- The importance of monitoring yourself and coworkers for symptoms
- Treatment
- Personal protective equipment
For Workers
- Wear appropriate clothing.
- Wear several layers of loose clothing. Layering provides better insulation.
- Tight clothing reduces blood circulation. Warm blood needs to be circulated to the extremities.
- When choosing clothing, be aware that some clothing may restrict movement resulting in a hazardous situation.
- Make sure to protect the ears, face, hands and feet in extremely cold weather.
- Boots should be waterproof and insulated.
- Wear a hat; it will keep your whole body warmer. (Hats reduce the amount of body heat that escapes from your head.)
- Move into warm locations during work breaks; limit the amount of time outside on extremely cold days.
- Carry cold weather gear, such as extra socks, gloves, hats, jacket, blankets, a change of clothes and a thermos of hot liquid.
- Include a thermometer and chemical hot packs in your first aid kit.
- Avoid touching cold metal surfaces with bare skin.
- Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers.