Yesterday (19th April 09) saw the warmest day of the year so far, in the UK, kids out playing, shorts and t-shirts looked out, golf clubs cleaned and BBQs lit, on a serious note are we doing enough to protect our skin?

Everybody loves sitting in the sun whether its in your garden or in your local park, did you know that your body produces a pigment called melanin which helps protect your skin. So what happens when your body does not produce enough of this pigment?

Sunburn is damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays, if you are have fair or red hair, chances are that you have low melanin in your body, this can cause serious skin problems. Using the wrong sun cream or long exposure to the sun can also cause serious damage. UVA and UVB are both found in the suns rays which can lead to skin cancer. 2000 people die in the UK each year from malignant melanoma, this number is dramatically increasing each year.

Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their employees, sun protection has to added to your risk assessment for health and safety if you have workers exposed to the sun, there are a few steps that you can do to protect them: ensure that they have a shaded area to have their breaks, try to limit the amount of work scheduled in high temperatures and train your employees about the dangers of UV radiation, PPE and sun block have to be provided, sun creams should be applied every 20 minutes if this is ignored companies could face hefty compensation claims from employees.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under Workplace Safety.