Two workers hospitalised during season’s first heatwave

03 November 2023
Incident information release

Background

Two Top End workers have been hospitalised with heat related illnesses mid last month during the Northern Territory’s first heatwave for the 2023 build-up.

Incident One: On Thursday 12 October 2023, a 17-year-old apprentice worked on a roof of a property in the Darwin rural area for the full day. The following day at work, the apprentice was described as erratic and made a number of errors. The apprentice saw a doctor after feeling unwell over the weekend and was directed to immediately attend the hospital where they were diagnosed with heat stroke.

Incident Two: On Saturday 14 October 2023, a 45-year-old season worker from the Pacific Islands collapsed while picking mangoes in the Darwin rural area. The worker was hospitalised and treated for dehydration.

A heatwave warning had been issued on Tuesday 10 October 2023 by the Bureau of Meteorology, with extreme heatwave conditions forecasted for the following days in the area both workers were working in.

The following image is a map of the top half of the Northern Territory with yellow, orange and red shading of areas under a heatwave alert.

Disclaimer

The above information is based on preliminary findings from NT WorkSafe’s initial enquiries. Enquiries are ongoing to determine the cause of the incident and the appropriate regulatory response.

Safety Information

The human body needs to maintain a body temperature of approximately 37 degrees Celsius. Working in heat can be hazardous and can cause harm to workers if the workers’ body temperature rises above 37 degrees Celsius for too long a period and is unable to cool.

Heat related illnesses range in seriousness from dehydration, to heat exhaustion, to heatstroke. Heatstroke is the most serious heat related illness that can lead to permanent disability or death without emergency treatment.

Regulation 40(f) of the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011 specifically requires PCBUs to ensure workers working in extreme heat can do so without risk to health and safety.

NT WorkSafe urges all workplaces with workers working outdoors during the build-up (Top End) or summer (Central Australia) to ensure the following measures are in place:

  1. Undertake Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC) using Safe Work Australia’s Guide for managing the risks of working in heat. Your HIRAC should also take into consideration:
    • Heatwave warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology and/or extreme heat health alerts published on the NT Health Facebook page.
    • Additional radiant or reflective heat the workers are exposed to due to the work environment (i.e. workers on a metal roof or working near an operating engine or other heat source).
    • The level of physical exertion the work requires (light, medium or heavy work).
    • The level of acclimatisation of each individual worker. This includes Territory workers who may be new to working for extended periods of time outside in the Northern Territory climate.
  2. Ensure your workers have appropriate information, training and/or instruction on the potential risks of working in the heat. This information should also include the symptoms of the various heat related illnesses.
  3. Have a heat stress/heat stroke management plan in place and ensure your workers have the required information and items readily available to implement the plan, if a heat stress or heat stroke incident occurs at the workplace. The Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR) guidelines (9.3.4) for heat induced illness can assist. Ensure you have sufficient first aid trained workers.
  4. Consider available control measures and implement them to eliminate the risk so far as is reasonably practicable. Where it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable. The PCBU must manage the risk of heat related illness by providing a safe system of work, which may include one or more of the following:
    • Scheduling work (especially heavy work) to avoid the hottest part of the day, and working in the early morning, late afternoon or night.
      • This should also include work in high heat environments such as ceiling spaces (limited ventilation) and roof tops (solar radiation and reflected heat) to give two examples.
    • If practicable, perform work in shaded areas, or shade your workers using temporary shade structures such as portable marquees or gazebos and use equipment to increase air movement, such as fans.
    • Ensure work wear or personal protective equipment (PPE) is appropriate for the work being done and hazards faced by your workers.
      • Wearing light coloured clothing (especially white or reflective clothing) is preferable to prevent absorbing heat.
    • Schedule appropriate rest breaks for workers, and actively encourage them to both cool down and hydrate. Encourage or enforce workers to take more frequent breaks if they are performing work during the hottest part of the day.
    • Encourage workers to use rest breaks to actively cool their body temperature.
    • Ensure appropriate facilities are available for workers, including:
    • Have your workers monitor each other for signs of heat stress (see point 2) and implement your heat stress management plan if required.
  5. Follow the Northern Territory’s Work health and safety consultation, cooperation and coordination Code of Practice, and consult your workers and their health and safety representatives and seek feedback on the effectiveness of the control measures implemented at the next toolbox talk or team meeting.

Further Information

For further information, please refer to the following.

Contact:
Communications Unit
Phone:
0401 114 569
Email:
ntworksafe@nt.gov.au
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