Posted By David Scott
HS(G) 76 H&S in retail and wholesale warehouses has a section on cold stores - general, safeguards and precautions or HS(G) 194 Thermal Comfort in the workplace.

Posted By Dave Daniel
I don't think you will find any definitive standards. The Inuit Indians, Scott, Shackleton and others have proved that with the right equipment and in Shackleton's case sometimes without it, long term survival by human beings at these temperatures is possible.

When I worked in British Leyland/Rover, our research staff, working in coldrooms at temperatures down to -40 and in some cases in chilled windtunnels were subject to a 20 minute maximum exposure (if I recall correctly) and had an annual medical.

I guess that with the right PPE, especially these days when heated suits etc can be obtained, exposure periods are less of a problem. Perhaps a PPE assessment would be a good first step.

I do not think medical surveillance is very prevalent in coldroom working, but since there are circulatory and other conditions which could be exacerbated by cold room working I would suggest that this is a more worthwhile avenue of exploration.

Good luck

Dave Daniel
Technical Director
Practical Risk Management Ltd