Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)RegulationsPhysical Agents Regulations, 20249. Cold stress |
| (1) | The employer or self-employed person must ensure that cold stress is eliminated at the source, where reasonably practicable. |
| (2) | Where the provision of subregulation (1) is not reasonably practicable and exposure is at or below the OEL stipulated in Table 1, the employer or self-employed person must, as a minimum— |
| (a) | implement alternative working methods to reduce exposure to cold stress; |
| (b) | install plant and machinery designed to reduce the risk of cold stress, where applicable; |
| (c) | implement maintenance programmes for plant and machinery, the workplace and workplace systems; |
| (d) | review the design and layout of workplaces, workstations and rest facilities; |
| (e) | review the— |
| (i) | physical agent exposure risk assessment; |
| (ii) | physical agent exposure monitoring programme; |
| (iii) | medical screening; |
| (iv) | medical surveillance; and |
| (v) | control measures; |
| (f) | limit the duration and magnitude of exposure of employees such as to not exceed the periods as stipulated in Table 8; and |
| (g) | provide an employee with dry, whole-body personal protective clothing and equipment with adequate insulation. |
| (3) | The physical agent exposure monitoring programme must— |
| (a) | take into account both the dry-bulb temperature and air velocity when determining the time-weighted average environmental equivalent chill temperature; |
| (b) | be taken over a period of at least 4-hours; |
| (c) | be conducted during the coldest period of an employee’s shift; and |
| (d) | be conducted during the coldest quarter of the year as determined by the physical agent exposure risk assessment. |