Symposium 1: Heat, UV radiation and solar exposure, extreme weather

Climate change increases the heat exposure of all workers and outdoor workers’ exposure to solar UV radiation in different ways. In particular, longer periods of severe heat and/or an increasing amount of sunny periods lead to higher exposures. Higher temperatures may not only affect mental and physical performance and, thus, enhance stress. Moreover, dehydration and accidents are likely to appear more often. Heat also leads to extreme weather situations, requiring special measures for OSH. An overexposure to solar UV radiation results into acute skin and eye damages and injuries, whereas skin cancers and cataracts are the consequences of a long-time exposure. During this workshop, we will discuss the current state of the art in OSH-research as well as in protective measures applied in today’s praxis and prospectively in the future. Research gaps are identified, suitable measures are derived and potentials for future international cooperation are discussed in order to facilitate healthy and safe work under the altered conditions of climate change.

Moderators:

• Dr Stefan Bauer
  Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Germany
• Dr Elke Schneider
  European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), Spain

Speakers:

• Dr Brenda Jacklitsch
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health - NIOSH, United States of America
• Dr Katarzyna Baczynska
  UK Health Security Agency, United Kingdom