05/14/2008

Spring is in full swing, and summer is fast approaching. With better weather comes more outdoor work and more employees toiling out in the elements. Often, employers take for granted that workers are aware of hazards associated with outdoor work and how to protect themselves from injury. However, just like with workplace risks inside the building, employers should train outdoor workers (including seasonal workers and those who do incidental outdoor work) in the dangers they face, including hazard identification and safe work procedures.

Physical Hazards

Outdoor workers are exposed to physical hazards such as the sun; extreme heat; weather conditions; hazards associated with slips, trips, and falls; and the use of various tools and equipment. To help prevent illness and injury from physical hazards, employers should:

• Advise employees to wear sunscreen with a high sunscreen rating that protects from both UVA and UVB rays, and to don clothing that provides protection from the sun, including hats with neck coverage and lightweight long-sleeve shirts.


• Train employees on how to recognize and prevent heat injuries. Don't miss the heat illness training session outline coming up in the June issue of COCA. You can also access these tips on heat illness prevention.



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Beat the heat with the lessons learned during our 90-min audio conference, Heat Stress at Work: How to Keep Your Employees Safe, Healthy, and Productive, on June 16.

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• Discuss prevention of slips, trips, and falls, including maintaining clean work areas, ensuring proper footing, and wearing appropriate footwear when working outdoors.


• Train employees on the proper use of tools and equipment, including items like mowers, weed trimmers, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).


• Where workers may be exposed to wildlife, train them on how to protect themselves in the event of an encounter (for example, running from a mountain lion is generally not a good thing to do).

Also, employers should ensure that workers have first-aid training and materials, as appropriate, as well as a means of seeking assistance in the event of an injury or illness.

Biological Hazards

Outdoor workers may be exposed to a number of biological hazards, primarily in the form of vector-borne diseases, venomous animals and insects, and poisonous plants.

• Most of the vector-borne diseases (e.g., Lyme disease and West Nile virus) your outdoor workers may be exposed to are carried by ticks and mosquitoes. Workers should be advised of the types of diseases carried by these insects, the signs and symptoms, and when to seek treatment. Also instruct workers to wear insect repellant to prevent exposure.


• Venomous animals and insects include snakes, various types of bees and wasps, spiders, and scorpions. Workers should be advised about what environments venomous animals and insects can be found in and what to do in the event they are bitten or stung. Also, if an outdoor worker is known to be allergic to bees, his or her employer should ensure that the worker takes steps to prevent exposure and has appropriate first-aid materials available to help prevent anaphylactic shock if the worker is stung.


• Poisonous plants, such as poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, can cause everything from no reaction to severe reactions requiring medical attention. Outdoor workers who may come in contact with these poisonous plants should be trained on how to recognize them and what do to if they are exposed (for example, thoroughly washing affected skin areas with warm soapy water to remove the plant oils and laundering affected clothes separately).

In addition to these physical and biological hazards, outdoor workers, depending on the tasks they perform, may encounter various other dangers, including exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, confined spaces, and fire hazards, just to name a few. Even though outdoor hazards may seem commonplace and ordinary, employers still must train outdoor workers about these workplace dangers and how to prevent injuries and illnesses related to them.

Too Hot to Handle—When the Temperatures Outside Soar

Each year, tens of thousands of people suffer heat-related illnesses—and several thousand die. As an employer, you have a responsibility to train your workers about how to recognize and prevent heat-related illnesses. On June 16, COCA will present Heat Stress at Work: How to Keep Your Employees Safe, Healthy, and Productive, a 90-minute audio conference covering the steps you need to take to beat the heat. The speaker for this event is John Howard, M.D., Esq., the national director for the Centers for Disease Control's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Don't let your workers become the next statistics. Register for this conference and learn how you can protect your employees from heat-related injuries and illnesses.