Browsing: Heat | Page 3

• Everyday object causes numerous workplace fires; and
  
• Unused seatbelt linked to one of three recent work deaths.

Employers have been reminded of two WHS prosecutions over a heat-stroke death, and of the need to conduct frequent weather-related risk assessments, with temperatures soaring in parts of Australia this week.

In a unique and timely study, with Australia heading into the summer months, medical researchers have found that wearing cumbersome PPE can lead to a dangerous heat-related decline in work performance that victims can't perceive, and called for employers to mitigate the risk through buddy systems.

Researchers from a major safety institute say they have disproven the theory that reflective striping on hi-vis clothing increases the risk of first-degree burns in workers exposed to heat or sunlight. They say the design and fit of the PPE could be the cause of documented burns.

An appeals commission has affirmed a ruling that 33 years of occupational sun exposure was the main contributing factor to a local council worker's skin cancer, rejecting the council's claim that 70 per cent of the contributing exposure came from his childhood years and recreational activities.

The World Health Organisation has today moved firefighting into its highest cancer risk occupations list and Australia's United Firefighters Union has called for new measures to protect firefighter health.

• Close contact exemptions extended to multiple industries;
  
• PTSD presumption introduced in WA; and
  
• Sun safety advice issued by SWA.

A study of work-related acute kidney injuries spanning 10 years shows heat stress is not exclusive to the realm of outdoor work, and comprehensive heat stress interventions, particularly around acclimatisation, are crucial.

National guidance on controlling work-related heat risks has been amended to include what has been described as the first-aid "gold standard" for workers with heat stroke.

A major employer has been fined for failing to ensure three workers, who were required to walk dozens of kilometres in high temperatures, were trained to identify and control the risks associated with exposure to extreme conditions. One of the workers died.