Working in Hot Environments: Health and Safety Guide

Safety tips and information for people who work in hot environments, including construction workers, road repair crews and emergency response workers.

Thumbnail of the publication's cover — Cover page for Working in Hot Environments: Health and Safety Guide

Snapshot of the publication's Table of Contents — Table of contents page for Working in Hot Environments: Health and Safety Guide

Section I Legal Responsibilities to Prevent Heat Stress

Responsibilities as set out in Health and Safety legislation
Ways of meeting responsibilities: being prepared

Section II The Body's Response to Hot Environments

The body's heat balance
Heat exchange between the body and the environment
Effect of clothing
Other contributing factors

Section III Safety and Health Concerns

Safety Concerns
Health Concerns
- Heat Strain
- Heat-related illnesses

Section IV Measures of Heat Exposure

Measures of Occupational Heat Exposure: The WBGT index
Environmental Measures of Heat Exposure

Section V Heat Exposure Standards and Guidelines

Occupational exposure limits
Thermal comfort guidelines for offices

Section VI Control Measures

Engineering Controls
Administrative Controls
Personal Protection
Sample Safe Work Practices

Section VII Occupational Health and Safety Legislation

Canadian Legislation
US Legislation

Section VIII Sources of Additional Information

Canadian Government Departments with Responsibility Occupational Health and Safety
US Federal Safety and Health Agencies

Section IX Bibliography and Internet Links

Section X Appendices

A summary of health hazards and preventive measures
The Humidex
Safety tips for different levels of the UV index
Glossary
Abbreviations
Sample heat stress policy and checklist
Case histories: fatalities from occupational heat exposure

Single book:: $20.00 $20.00 ^*

Format:: PDF

Language:: English | French

Description

Designed and written as a practical workplace training and reference tool. This 95-page pocket guide is filled with clear-language text including safety tips, charts, diagrams, checklists and illustrations.

Objectives

The guide will help health and safety committee members and representatives as well as supervisors, managers, engineers and other health and safety professionals to:

Conduct hazard assessment of heat exposure in the workplace.
Identify risk factors for work in hot environments.
Develop prevention programs and practices to reduce injury and illness.
Plan problem-solving actions through employee and management involvement.
Develop hazard controls based on the most current knowledge in the field of occupational health and safety.
Comply with legal requirements.

Scope

The guide provides:

Practical guidance for the identification, assessment and control of the health and safety hazards related to working in hot environments; and
Applicable legislation, standards and guidelines addressing heat stress.

Target Audience

The guide is intended to serve as a handy reference for health and safety committee members, health and safety representatives, employees, supervisors and managers. For training sessions, the guide can serve as a practical handout for future reference.

Each publication produced by CCOHS undergoes several stages of review. As part of this review, representatives from government, employers, and labour are requested to comment on draft copies of CCOHS documents for technical accuracy and readability.

Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy and completeness of the information, it is understood that CCOHS makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and assumes no liability for any damages or loss suffered as a result of any inaccuracy or incompleteness therein.

VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS

The CCOHS Difference

CCOHS publications are unique in that they are developed by subject specialists in the field, and reviewed by representatives from labour, employers and government to ensure the content and approach are unbiased and credible.