Time to Take a Closer Look at Workplace Burns?

A study of workplace burns conducted a few years back by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries found that of the 350 workers hospitalized because of work-related burns:

• 90 percent were male
• Younger workers were in the highest risk category
• Most of the workers had thermal burn injuries
• 10 percent had electrical or chemical burns
• 22 workers died (although not all died as a direct result of severe burns)
• The average cost per workers’ comp claim in these cases was $50,000 with an average of 135 lost workdays

The Washington State study cited another study which found that two years after severe work-related burn injuries only 37 percent of the workers were able to return to the same job without accommodation.

Of course, not all workplace burns are severe. First and even second-degree burns rarely require hospitalization unless the burns cover a large area or affect the face, hands, or genitals. Nevertheless, even minor burns may prevent workers from working as efficiently or safely as usual, and there’s always the risk of infection.

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Hazards

Workplace burn hazards include:

• Hot liquids (water, grease, etc.) or steam
• Open flames (often involving a fire)
• Hot surfaces
• Contact with electricity
• Contact with corrosive chemicals

While most burns involve skin, chemical splashes can also burn eye tissue.

Causes

Workplace burns often occur because:

• Work rules aren’t enforced consistently
• Workers are inadequately supervised
• Workers are in a rush and take shortcuts
• Workers become complacent and take risks
• Workers are impaired by fatigue, illness, or substance abuse

Identification of hazards is another issue. While everybody knows that if you put your hand in a flame or stick it in a pot of hot grease, you’re going to get burned, not all employees might recognize all the potential risks. For example, some might not be aware of the potential for or severity of chemical or electrical burns. So ignorance of risks might be an additional factor in some cases.

Most at Risk

Workers most at risk for work-related burns include:

• Chemical handlers
• Welders
• Kitchen workers
• Mechanics
• Machine operators
• Electricians
• Foundry workers
• Roofers and pavers (hot tar)

Again, depending on your workplace and your operations, you may need to add employees to this list.

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Prevention

When training employees in burn prevention, be sure to cover these basic safety precautions:

• Identify burn hazards related to the task or work area.
• Keep alert while working.
• Avoid reaching over or across hot surfaces or substances.
• Wear assigned PPE to prevent exposure to chemicals and hot substances and surfaces.
• Follow work rules and work carefully.
• Read the MSDS for chemicals to determine burn hazards and precautions.
• Be careful around electrical equipment.
• Remember that steam can burn as well as hot liquids.

Tomorrow, we’ll conclude our review of workplace burns with look at first aid for different types of burns.

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