Safety in the Sun – A thought for the weekend

It’s the weekend, enjoy the good weather and keep from harm, when outdoors the effects of the weather in this environment can potentially have a very serious impact on an your welfare if the risks are not considered or managed properly, particularly if you, or your employees have to work outside. This impact may be immediate or it can occur over a long time period of time.

For example, exposure to the sun can cause skin damage including sunburn, blistering and skin ageing and in the long term can lead to an increased risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the UK with over 50,000 new cases every year.

Each year many people suffer, unnecessarily, from sunburn and over 2300 people die from skin cancer caused by sun exposure.

What can you do to protect your Staff?

•    Reschedule work to cooler times of the day

•    Provide more frequent rest breaks and introduce shading to rest areas

•    Provide free access to cool drinking water

•    Look to provide shade in certain work

•    Ensure your staff always wear a safety helmet on site (if required), which also provides sun protection for your head.

•    Educate workers about recognising the early symptoms of heat stress

•    Include sun protection advice in routine health and safety training.

What can your employees do to protect themselves?

•    Sun cream is particularly useful as a supplement to the protection offered by clothing, especially for those parts of the body that are less easily protected (such as the face and the hands). A sun cream of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 is recommended.

•    Check your skin regularly for any unusual moles or spots. See a doctor promptly if you find anything that is changing in shape, size or colour, itching or bleeding.

•    Workers should be encouraged to take their breaks in the shade and should be discouraged from sun bathing at any time. Breaks should always be taken in safe areas, but in summer this can be especially important as it will allow workers to remove certain pieces of protective equipment and so aid heat loss.