Browsing: Heat | Page 9

A leading occupational heat stress consultant has warned that workers in hot conditions are often told to drink tepid fluids to rehydrate, when they should be provided with more palatable chilled options encouraging consumption.

A worker has been awarded compensation for melanoma, after a tribunal accepted that the intermittent severe sunburns he experienced in his employment were "fairly significant" in the development of the disease.

• Lack of acclimatisation increases heat risks;
  
• Pre-Christmas period accounts for 25% of workplace deaths;
  
• New safety rules gazetted and made in WA and Qld; and
  
• "Ritualize" available in Tas from Monday.

Silica dust causes more than 230 cases of lung cancer in Australia each year that can be prevented easily through dust controls and respirators, the Cancer Council has warned. Meanwhile, an Australian Standard for sun protective clothing has been revised to include minimum body-coverage requirements.

A type of benign eye growth caused by UV exposure, as well as wind and dust, points to a significantly increased risk of skin cancer, while an abnormal blinking condition that affects a worker's ability to work safely can be managed with the right treatment, two Australian research projects have found.

The CFMEU engaged in adverse action, and attempted to negate John Holland's workplace right to enforce its "Two Longs" safety policy, by encouraging members to wear shorts to work, a court has found.

A 2015 High Court decision in favour of a worker with mesothelioma has contributed to defeating a bid from the family of a melanoma victim for higher weekly compensation payments.

• Employer fined over heat stroke death; and
  
• Premiums plunge under fully-funded Comcare scheme.

A major employer has responded to a series of hot-work incidents and reduced injuries by establishing a "high performance" team of frontline employees, safety managers, engineers and union experts.

Workers exposed to hot and humid conditions should be tested for dehydration and permitted to take regular rest breaks, a regulator has advised after a machine operator lost consciousness and died.