Safety at Work in Cold Environments and Prevention of Cold Stress

Abstract

It is very obvious that working in the cold environment is more dangerous than the same type of work in a warmer climate. Physical, manual and cognitive performance and body cooling are closely related to each other. Not only physiological functions and reaction times of individuals are slower when they are in cold, but also heavy clothing interferes with movements, perception and sensations 1,2) . Often also problems of psychological adjustment occur because of the cold and darkness that is common to winter operations in cold regions. It has been shown that persons exposed to such conditions tend to show general unfavourable trends such as increased depression, dissatisfaction, insomnia and lack of motivation 3) . Since mechanical systems are not functioning well in cold, it is more risky to work with them. Very often also darkness, wind and slippery ground increase the hazards of cold working environments. Because of that, special safety precautions, prevention means and risk management are needed to avoid accidents and disasters in cold work places. In addition the productivity could be increased by improving cold working environment 3) .In Finland there are more than 500,000 people who have experienced cold to affect harmfully in their work environment 4,5) . About 300,000 people, working in cold conditions indoors, have perceived cold as especially or rather inconvenient. In spite of the large number of people suffering from cold exposure, the effect of cold has not received enough attention and there are no specific recommendations or orders regulating the cold exposure and the health hazards of cold 6) . Emphasis on the pre- Abstract: The questions related to safety at work in cold environments and prevention of cold stress in working life are described in this article. Working in the cold environment is more dangerous than the same type of work in a warmer climate. All researchers have concluded that the frequency of accidents/versus temperature curves follow the U-shape with the minimum near 20˚C. The effects of low temperature can be divided into direct, typically frostbites, and indirect, of which the indirect effects, typically slipping accidents, are more common. In improving risk management in cold conditions the risk evaluation based on existing standards is the starting point. Prevention of risks in cold environments can be done by planning of work, technical measures like heating or reduction of cooling by protective clothing, training and other measures. Local heaters, shelters against bad weather, reduction of draught are good examples of means of improving working conditions and reducing accident risks. The local IR-heaters can increase skin temperature of fingers about 7˚C in normal cold work. The improvement of 3˚C can be reached by using insulating material in the handle of tools. By using these technical improvements we can reduce the health risks but also improve work performance and even energy savings at work places.

Effect of Cold Conditions on Manual Performance while Wearing Petroleum Industry Protective Clothing

“…Removing the gloves accelerates cooling of the hands. Exposure to cold is known to reduce manual performance and increase the risk of human errors 1) that may have fatal consequences for the environment and human health. Manual performance is related to finger (T fi ) and hand (T ha ) skin temperatures 2) .…”

Study of the required thermal insulation (IREQ) of clothing using infrared imaging

“…People face many other problems, such as depression, dissatisfaction, insomnia, decrease in decision-making ability and response rate, and lack of motivation because of the cold and darkness during winter. It is important to provide special safety precautions, prevention means and risk management to minimize health hazards in cold weather [8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…Infectious diseases, such as influenza, are more common during the winter because of higher levels of air pollution. Physiological function and performance of individuals are slower in the cold due to cooling of the body (heat loss) [11,13,[16][17][18][19].…”

“…Therefore, protective measures are taken through clothing that controls and regulates heat loss. Clothing and garments used in cold climates should be highly insulated to maintain the body's thermal balance [11,20,21].…”

Cold Stress at Work: Preventive Research

“…Anttonen et al 8) have many years of experience with this kind of research and development work in Northern Finland. Their paper provides a pragmatic overview of preventive measures for alleviation of cold stress.…”