The Role of the Worksite
Coloradons are recognizing the importance of sun safety, including decision makers at the worksite. Outdoor workers spend many hours a day being exposed to ultraviolet radiation and need to know how to protect themselves. Worksites can influence their employees in a positive nature by promoting skin cancer prevention during time spent on the job.
When creating a worksite policy, strive to achieve a balance of responsiblity between the employer and employee. If your worksite encourages sun protection, then employees should be made aware that they are responsible for providing the necessary supplies. If your worksite requires sun protection, then the necessary supplies should be provided for the employees.
Here are some ideas for making your worksite more sun safe:
Policy and Communication:
- Write a worksite sun safety policy or procedure.
- Publish skin cancer prevention information in your newsletter and on your website.
- Conduct a sun safety training at staff meeting or new employee orientation. Find out how.
- Ask supervisors to be sun safe role models
Worksite Shade Strategies:
- Provide shade whenever practical.
- Encourage workers to seek shade whenever possible.
- Allow the use of portable shade devices when they do not restrict safety in other ways.
Worksite Cover-Up Clothing Strategies:
- Encourage employees to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
- Evaluate uniforms. If need be, redesign them to cover more skin, have tightly-woven fabrics, and dark UV-absorbing colors. To prevent overheating, look for light, wicking fabrics.
Worksite Hat Strategies:
- Encourage employees to wear wide-brimmed hats, hats with long flaps in the back or wide-brimmed hard hats on the job.
- Provide wide-brimmed hats or hard hats as part of your work uniform.
Worksite Sunscreen Strategies:
- Encourage employees to use UVA/UVB SPF 30 or higher sunscreen and lip balm.
- Encourage reapplication every two hours and at lunchtime.
- Provide sunscreen and lip balm.
Worksite Early Detection Strategies:
- Encourage employees to perform monthly skin self-examinations.
- Encourage employees to have their doctors conduct full-body skin examinations every year.
- Host skin cancer screenings during health fairs.
