Extreme temperatures – forward planning

Plan ahead

In order to protect staff and students, we need to review risk assessments to ensure that the effects of extreme temperatures have been identified and that appropriate controls are in place.

Risk assessments should consider the impact caused by extreme heat such as:

• Increased risk of chemicals and gases which may become volatile in high-temperature conditions.
• Overheating of electronic devices which could lead to equipment failure.
• Increased risk to health including, but not limited to, heat stress/exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn (when working outdoors).

Outdoors events

​​​​​​There are simple actions we can take to protect participants in outdoor events/activities.

Some examples of good practice would be:

• Reschedule work where possible to cooler times of the day or provide more frequent job rotation.
• Allow additional breaks to allow people to get cold drinks or cool down.
• Introduce shading in work and rest areas.
• Encourage people to remove personal protective equipment (PPE) when resting to help encourage heat loss.
• Provide information to ensure people can recognise the early symptoms of heat stress and ensure they stop work if feeling unwell.

Fire

Risk assessments should consider the storage of chemicals and/or gases during hot conditions. Flammable chemicals and gases, including waste chemicals, must be stored where there is suitable ventilation and temperature control in order to avoid the risk of fire and explosion. 

During extreme temperatures, both highly flammable and flammable material needs to be stored where:

• The temperature cannot rise above the correct storage temperature.
• There is adequate ventilation to ensure an explosive atmosphere will not be created.

If chemicals are stored outside, they must:

• Not be flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable.
• Be stored away from any sources of ignition, including sunlight.
• Not be stored in a gas-tight storage vessel (risk of explosion).

Where this is not possible, departments can consider temporarily relocating chemical storage subject to a suitable risk assessment and supporting measures being put in place. This may include moving them inside the building.

This temporary storage must be reviewed immediately after the hot weather has passed, to ensure there is long-term plan going forwards in case it is not possible to return the waste to the outside space.

Where can I get further advice?

> Working outdoors
> Temperature in the workplace (HSE)
> Safety Alert – Safe storage and use of chemicals in the extreme heat

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