Summary
Extreme cold is potentially hazardous to your health.
You can learn to work and live in cold environments,
provided you have adequate clothing and access to warm
shelter. You must wear sufficient winter clothing,
including face protection, gloves and foot wear. Loose
multi-layered clothing provides the best protection,
because air trapped between layers of clothing provides
additional thermal insulation. Hypothermia and frostbite
are two major health hazards of cold exposure.
Hypothermia is the lowering of body temperature due to
excessive loss of body heat. Hypothermia can be fatal
unless the victim is moved to a warm shelter and
receives timely medical attention. Hypothermia victims
are unable to recognize their own signs and symptoms
of hypothermia. Their survival depends on co-workers
ability to do so. As a precaution, you should not work
alone in cold extremes. Use the "buddy system" to detect
signs of cold injury in co-workers.
Frostbite is the freezing of extremities such as fingers,
nose tip, toes, ears and cheeks, which become numb and
hard. Because of poor blood supply, these extremities
may become frostbitten even if the rest of the body
remains warm or even overheated. Frostbitten parts
should be placed against warm body surfaces and
rewarmed.
Table of Contents
Section I Safety鈥擝asic Rules of Safety
1. The Law Says . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Elements of On-The-Job Safety . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Safety Tips for New Employees . . . . . . . . . 3
4. Safety Tips for Supervisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Section II Maintaining a High Standard of Safety鈥?
1. Safety Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. Accident Investigation and Reporting . . . . . 9
3. First Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Section III Cold Weather Safety
1. Cold Weather Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2. How Cold Is It Out There?鈥?
Exposure Limits For Working in the Cold . . . 16
3. Dress Warmly鈥擝e Prepared . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4. Maintenance of Cold Weather Clothing . . . 20
5. Working Safely On Snow and Ice . . . . . . . 21
6. Ice Safety on Frozen Bodies of Water . . . . 26
7. Vital Signs of Cold Injury鈥?
How Can You Help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
8. Injuries That Happen Over Time . . . . . . . . 31
9. Working in Remote Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Section IV Safety Info for Outdoor Work
1. Basic Electrical Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2. Electric Power lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3. Safe Use of Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4. Safe Use of Chain Saws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5. Compact Loaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6. Snow Throwers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
7. Shovelling and Digging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8. Manual Materials Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
9. Truck Start Up鈥?"The Circle Check" . . . . . . 60
10. Infectious Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Section V Safety Guidelines for the Work Environment
1. Chemical Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2. Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3. Fire Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4. Substances from Trees and Plants . . . . . . . 66
5. Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Section VI Personal Protective Equipment
1. PPE Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2. Safety Glasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3. Safety Footwear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4. Hard Hats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5. Hearing Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
6. Safety Gloves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7. Respirators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
SectionVII Occupational Health and Safety Legislation
1. Canadian OH&S Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . 92
2. Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS) . . . . . . . . . . 96
3. US OH&S Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Section VIII Sources For Further Information
1. Canadian Governmental Departments
with Responsibility for
Occupational Health and Safety . . . . . . . . 108
2. US Federal Safety and Health
Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
1. Cold Weather Safety
Working in cold weather could be dangerous to the
untrained and to people without adequate winter clothing.
For a well informed and prepared worker, winter work can
be enjoyable and fulfilling. To cope with winter, stay
active, dress warmly and follow safety rules.
Why Worry About Cold?
? A cold environment takes away body heat.
? Too much heat loss can cause lowering of the inner
body temperature to dangerously low levels causing
hypothermia.
? Exposed body parts may freeze in extreme cold,
causing frostbite.
? Loss of body heat (hypothermia) and frostbite
(freezing of body tissue) can present serious danger to
health and can be life threatening.
? Cold air is dry air and can cause dry skin and loss of
body fluid.
? If you have arthritis or rheumatism, cold weather can
create more pain problems for you.
? Prolonged exposure to moderate cold and dampness
can result in an injury called "trench foot", which can
occur at temperatures above freezing point when feet
are cold and damp while wearing constricting footwear
? Working in cold environments increases the risk of
back injuries and other musculoskeletal injuries.
Perform 鈥渨arm up鈥? stretching exercises before
handling heavy equipment and material.
Why Worry About Working in Cold?
? Winter clothing, head protection, gloves and boots
while working in the the cold, can restrict movement.
? Cold affects dexterity, affecting skill and ease of using
the hands.
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3. Dress Warmly鈥擝e Prepared
WEAR cotton or polypropylene long underwear for
all-over warmth.
WEAR multiple layers of light, loose-fitting clothes.
Air between the layers provides warmth. Outer wear
should be waterproof.
WEAR cold weather clothing or arctic clothing that is
appropriate for the outdoor temperature range and the
type of activity.
WEAR mittens instead of gloves whenever possible,
as mittens are warmer.
WEAR a warm hat with ear protection to prevent heat loss
from the head. A wool knit cap provides the best
protection. As much as 40% of body heat can be lost
from an uncovered head.
USE an appropriate hard hat liner to reduce heat loss
when wearing a hard hat.
WEAR woolen socks to protect your ankles and feet.
Carry an extra pair where moisture or sweat is
likely, and change when necessary.
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Trench Foot (Immersion Foot)
Trench foot is injury of the feet resulting from
continuously having wet feet in cold water at near
freezing temperatures. The symptoms of various stages
of trench foot are:
Minimal: Reddening of the skin, slight numbness
Mild: Swelling, numbness (reversible), pain
Moderate: Swelling, redness, bleeding into the
skin, nerve damage
Severe: Swelling, bleeding into the skin, gangrene
Prevention
AVOID wet feet for prolonged periods.
KEEP a spare pair of dry socks available.
REMOVE boots and wet socks after work. Dry the feet
and massage well to promote blood circulation.
SEEK medical attention as soon as possible.
8. Injuries That Happen Over Time
White Finger (Raynaud鈥檚 phenomena,
dead finger)
White finger is the blanching of the fingers, caused by
use of hand-held vibrating tools. The early signs of
disease are noticeable only when fingers are exposed to
cold. The symptoms are tingling, numbness, whitening
of the fingers, and a reduced sense of heat, cold and
pain.
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GO straight up and down slopes with the heavy end of the
loader uphill.
DO NOT USE a loader without approved Roll-Over
Protection (ROP) and Falling Object Protection (FOP)
cab.
DO NOT EXCEED rated operating capacity.
DO NOT CARRY passengers.
DO NOT TRAVEL or turn with lift arms up.
DO NOT LEAVE loader with engine running or with lift
arms up.
DO NOT GO across a slope.
DO NOT APPROACH overhead wires.
Going UP and DOWN a Slope With Bucket FULL
KEEP HEAVY END UP
Going UP and DOWN a Slope With Bucket EMPTY
KEEP HEAVY END UP
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