Heat Stress Awareness, Environment Heat and Heat Hazard Prevention and WBGT Monitoring

Humans require energy to perform work and produce heat to maintain an internal body temperature of around 37 ℃. The higher their activity levels the more heat that is produced. If too much heat is produced then the body will sweat which will cause discomfort. If 'too little' heat is produced blood will be withdrawn from the hands and feet, skin temperature will fall and the person will feel cold and uncomfortable. Environmental conditions and clothing required for comfort will therefore directly depend upon metabolic heat production. Many jobs require working in hot environments, both outdoors and indoors. Working in the heat and doing physical work can affect the body's cooling system. If the body is unable to cool itself, a worker can experience heat stress. If heat stress is not recognized and treated in the early stages, more serious and even fatal conditions may quickly develop. Workers who are required to work in hot conditions must be adequately prepared to deal with heat stress. Outdoor work activity often increases during the hot summer months, particularly in construction, roofing, forestry, forest fire fighting, and road construction. Indoor work activities in hot environments exposed workers to heat year rounds. These include working in pulp and paper manufacturing, industrial laundries, bakeries; steel manufacturing and fabricating, boiler rooms and working near in cement kilns. Workers exposed to hot environments must be trained to prevent heat stress and to recognize early symptoms of heat stress in themselves and co-workers. Heat stress can result in range of problems from skin rashes to light-headedness to convulsion and unconsciousness. Early symptoms of heat stress ─ such as excessive fatigue, lethargy, irritability, lack of co-ordination, and altered judgment ─ can result in serious accidents. Unless treated promptly, these symptoms can rapidly develop into serious conditions, including convulsions and unconsciousness.