Australia has among the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. In 2023, 3,182 Victorians (1,860 males and 1,320 females) were diagnosed with melanoma accounting for 8% of all new cases.
As UV levels rise this summer, HSRs can play an important role in consulting on outdoor work risks and sun protection measures.
WorkSafe has developed guidance on sun protection for outdoor workers and a UV exposure checklist.
Employees can be exposed to UV radiation from direct sunlight, reflections from surfaces, and the scattering of UV through the earth’s atmosphere. It is estimated that in Australia around 200 melanoma and 34,000 non-melanoma skin cancers per year are caused by occupational exposure to UV radiation.
WorkSafe notes that the risk of exposure is greater for employees working outdoors for extended periods. For example:
· farmers
· building trades
· heavy vehicle drivers
· miners
· construction employees
· employees who work on or near reflective surfaces.
WorkSafe’s Sun protection for outdoor workers page offers guidance for employers and employees, to help understand the risk of occupational exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight. It aims to help employers to ensure that the risk of UV radiation exposure is eliminated or reduced, so far as is reasonably practicable. The guidance explains the impact of UV exposure and details controls that may be implemented to reduce the risk to workers.
The Ultraviolet radiation exposure checklist to help protect employees working outdoors serves as a self-assessment checklist for employers, site supervisors and health and safety representatives to help reduce the exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV) to employees working outdoors. It may be used to determine the level of UV exposure to help protect employees working outdoors.
Read more: Sun protection | WorkSafe Victoria