Limit work activities during the hottest hours, introduce rotations and breaks in cool areas, ensure fresh water is available, promote acclimatization, and wear suitable, light and breathable clothing.
These are some of the provisions contained in the "Guidelines for the protection of workers from heat and solar radiation", approved by the conference of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces in the session of 19 June and now implemented by the regional council of Sardinia with a resolution that urges their widest dissemination , through the General Directorate of Health, through the Prevention and Safety Services in the Workplace (Spresal) of the Prevention Departments of the Sardinian Local Health Authorities.
"The Guidelines, which arise from the work of the interregional technical coordination for health and safety in the workplace, represent an important step forward, because for the first time an evolution of working conditions linked to climate change is officially acknowledged ", comments the regional health councillor, Armando Bartolazzi, who also underlines how the document contains specific indications for the most critical sectors, such as agriculture, construction, logistics, with related self-assessment sheets that can support the employer in the risk assessment activity in question.
The document in fact expands the general contents of the Consolidated Law on Health and Safety at Work, which regulates the employer's obligations in relation to the assessment of risks related to physical environmental factors, identifying the minimum requirements for the protection of workers against risks deriving from exposure to heat and solar radiation and indicating the technical tools to assist the assessment, to be used in different work environments, both indoors (indoor) and outdoors (outdoor).
The guidelines list a series of recommendations : no exposure during the hottest hours of the day, especially for outdoor work, frequent shifts, provision of adequate time for acclimatization, use of personal protective equipment. Moments must be planned to inform and train workers on the health effects of heat stress and exposure to solar radiation, on specific risk protection measures and on the implementation of emergency procedures. Finally, based on the risk assessment, the competent doctor carries out the health assessment and evaluates suitability for the job.
(Online Union)
