Health & Safety Matters

Turn Up the Heat on Summer Safety
The warm weather, despite its many wonderful benefits, does not come without its own set of downsides. For Laborers out in the field, the spring and summer months place workers at increased risk for maladies such as Lyme disease, heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and skin cancer. Statistics show it. Statistics show that in the warm weather months, the rate of illness and injury on the job increases. Many illnesses and injuries are severe, even fatal. So you need to be careful and take the necessary precautions to prevent the warm weather sicknesses that affect so many Laborers. Also, learn to recognize the symptoms before things get too bad. Working smart means taking care of yourself especially in the spring and summer.

LYME DISEASE

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that you can get following a tick bite if the tick has been feeding on infected mice or other mammals before biting you. People in New Jersey face a greater risk of contracting Lyme disease than in many other states. In fact, New Jersey was fourth in the country for the total number of reported Lyme disease cases during the decade of the 90s.

The best thing you can do to avoid getting Lyme disease is to avoid being bitten by a tick carrying the disease and to quickly remove ticks after a bite. Some things you can do to avoid being bitten or infected after a bite include:

Avoid tick habitats. Whenever possible, you should avoid entering areas that are likely to be infested with ticks, particularly in spring and summer.

Practice personal protection. Individuals who are exposed to tick-infested areas should wear light-colored clothing so that ticks can be spotted more easily and removed before becoming attached. Wearing long-sleeved shirts and tucking pants into socks or boot tops may help keep ticks from reaching the skin. Application of insect repellents containing DEET (n,n-diethyl-m toluamide) to clothes and exposed skin, and permethrin (which kills ticks on contact) to clothes, should also help reduce the risk of tick attachment.

Do a tick check and removal. Since transmission of the Lyme disease

bacteria from an infected tick is unlikely to occur until 36 hours of tick attachment, daily checks for ticks and their prompt removal will help prevent infection. Embedded ticks should be removed using fine-tipped tweezers. DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products. Grasp the tick firmly and as closely to the skin as possible. With a steady motion, pull the tick's body away from the skin. The tick's mouthparts may remain in the skin, but do not be alarmed. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are contained in the tick's midgut. Cleanse the area with an antiseptic.

HEAT STRESS

Heat is a serious hazard in construction. Your body builds up heat when you work, and sweats to get rid of extra heat. But sometimes say, if you are working on a highway job, pouring hot asphalt, or lifting heavy loads your body may not cool off fast enough. Too much heat can make you tired, hurt your job performance, and increase your chance of injury. Some other effects of excessive heat build-up in your body include:

Dehydration. When your body loses water, you can t cool off fast enough. You feel thirsty and weak. Cramps. You can get muscle cramps from the heat even after you leave work. Heat exhaustion. You feel tired, nauseous, head-achy, and giddy (dizzy and silly). Your skin is damp and looks muddy or flushed. You may faint. Heat stroke. You may have hot dry skin and a high temperature, or you may feel confused. You may have convulsions or become unconscious. Heat stroke can kill you unless you get emergency medical help.

There are many things you can do to avoid heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Drink a lot of cool water all day even before you feel thirsty. Every 15 minutes you may need a cup of water. Take regular rest breaks. Rest in a cool, shady spot if possible. Wear light-colored and breathable clothing made of materials like cotton. Do the heaviest work in the coolest time of the day such as in the early mornings. Learn the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat illness. Use a buddy system so you can spot early signs of heat illness in your buddy. Slowly build up tolerance to the heat and the work activity. This may take two weeks or more after beginning a new job. If you work in protective clothing, you need more rest breaks to allow for dissipation of heat. If you think someone has heat stroke, call emergency services (or 911) and begin immediate efforts to cool the person by moving them to a shady area, removing heavy clothing, fanning them, spraying them with a water mist, and/or applying ice. Your own ability to self-regulate your heat exposures before developing heat exhaustion or heat stroke is your best defense against heat illnesses.

SKIN CANCER FROM SUN EXPOSURE

Did you know that the number of new cases of skin cancer, and the number of deaths caused by the most serious type of skin cancer are rapidly rising in the United States? Sunlight is the main source of ultraviolet (UV) radiation known to damage the skin and to cause skin cancer. The amount of UV exposure depends on the strength of the light, the length of exposure, and whether the skin is protected. There are no safe UV rays or safe suntans. Sun exposure at any age can cause skin cancer. Your skin and eyes are most susceptible to sun damage. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, and accounts for more than 75 percent of the deaths due to skin cancer. In addition to skin cancer, sun exposure can cause premature aging of the skin, wrinkles, cataracts, and other eye problems.

If you work outdoors, there are five important steps you can take to protect against UV radiation and skin cancer:

Cover up. Wear clothing to protect as much of your skin as possible. Wear clothing that does not transmit visible light. To determine if the clothing will protect you, try this test: Place your hand between the fabric and a light source. If you can see your hand through the fabric, the garment offers little protection against sun exposure. Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher. Experts recommend products with a Sun Protection Factor, or SPF, of at least 15. The number of the SPF represents the level of sunburn protection provided by the sunscreen. An SPF 15 blocks out 93 percent of the burning UV rays; an SPF 30 blocks out 97 percent of the burning UV rays. Products labeled broad spectrum block both UVB and UVA radiation. Both UVA and UVB contribute to skin cancer. Wear a hat. A wide brim hat is ideal because it protects the neck, ears, eyes, forehead, nose, and scalp. A baseball cap provides some protection for the front and top of the head, but not for the back of the neck or the ears where skin cancers commonly develop. Wear sunglasses that block UV rays. UV-absorbent sunglasses can help protect your eyes from sun damage. Ideal sunglasses do not have to be expensive, but they should lock 99 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB radiation. Check the label to make sure they do. Darker glasses are not necessarily the best. UV protection comes from an invisible chemical applied to the lenses, not from the color or darkness of the lenses. Limit direct sun exposure. UV rays are most intense when the sun is high in the sky, between 10 AM and 4 PM. If you are unsure about the sun s intensity, take the shadow test: If your shadow is shorter than you, the sun s rays are the strongest. Seek shade whenever possible.

Laborers familiar with the hazards of tick, heat, and sun exposures can take precautions to make sure that they have a safe and illness-free summer.

For driving tips in highway work zones, visit the health and safety section of our Web site at www.njlaborers.org.

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