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Comfort depends on air temperature, radiant heat, air movement and humidity. Individual personal preference makes it difficult to specify a thermal environment which satisfies everyone. For workplaces where the activity is mainly sedentary, for example offices, the temperature should normally be at least 16C. If work involves physical effort it should be at least 13C (unless other laws require lower temperatures).

The risk to the health of workers increases as conditions move further away from those generally accepted as comfortable. Risk of heat stress arises, for example, from working in high air temperatures, exposure to high thermal radiation or high levels of humidity, such as those found in foundries, glass works and laundries. Cold stress may arise, for example, from working in cold stores, food preparation areas and in the open air during winter.

Assessment of the risk to workers’ health, from working in either a hot or cold environment, needs to consider two sets of factors - personal and environmental. Personal factors include body activity, the amount and type of clothing, and duration of exposure. Environmental factors include ambient temperature, and radiant heat; and if the work is outside, sunlight, wind velocity and the presence of rain or snow.

measures to control the workplace environment, in particular heat from any source. Minimising the risk of heat stress may mean insulating plant which acts as a source of radiant heat, using local cooling by increasing ventilation rates and maintaining the appropriate level of humidity. If it is not reasonably practicable to avoid workers being exposed to cold environments you should consider using local environmental controls, for example cab heaters in fork-lift trucks used in cold stores; restriction of exposure by, for example, re-organising tasks to build in rest periods or other breaks from work. This will allow workers to rest in an area where the environment is comfortable and, if necessary, to replace bodily fluids to combat dehydration or cold. If work rates cause sweating, workers may need frequent rest pauses for changing into dry clothing; n medical pre-selection of employees to ensure that they are fit to work in these environments; n use of suitable clothing (which may need to be heat resistant or insulating, depending on whether the risk is from heat or cold); n acclimatisation of workers to the environment in which they work; n training in the precautions to be taken; and n supervision, to ensure that the precautions identified by the assessment are taken.

Lighting should be sufficient to enable people to work and move about safely. If necessary, local lighting should be provided at individual workstations, and at places of particular risk such as crossing points on traffic routes. Lighting and light fittings should not create any hazard.

Automatic emergency lighting, powered by an independent source, should be provided where sudden loss of light would create a risk.

Every workplace and the furniture, furnishings and fittings should be kept clean and it should be possible to keep the surfaces of floors, walls and ceilings clean. Cleaning and the removal of waste should be carried out as necessary by an effective method. Waste should be stored in suitable receptacles.