Emergency action for burns - new guidance by HSE
Emergency action for burns new guidance by HSE
Keywords Burns, Chemical, Health &safety, Industry
With an average of 6,000 burn injuries being reported each year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)has published a revised version of an information sheet on emergency action for burns.
Compiled by HSE's Chemical and Hazardous Installations Division (CHID), the free leaflet is primarily aimed at workers in the chemical industry, though it should also be of interest to workers in other industries and to first aiders.
More than 10 per cent of the reported 6,000 burn injuries at work involve chemical workers and that does not include injuries to contractors on chemical plants. During 1994/1995, one chemical worker died as a result of burns and between April 1993 and March 1996 there were 187 major injuries. In all, the chemical industry reported 990 cases of workers receiving burns in this period, which involved sickness leave of more than three days.
The leaflet takes a step by step approach for every type of burn and reminds workers that certain chemical burns, for example from hydrofluoric acid, may require specialised treatments and so safety data sheets should always accompany the injured person when seeking medical treatment.
Copies of "Emergency action for burns" ISBN 0 7176 1444 1 are available free of charge from HSE Books PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6FS. Tel: +44 (0) 1787 881165; Fax: +44 (0)1787 313995. Priced publications are also available from good booksellers.
