Posted By Dympna Killian l would like to know if anyone can tell me what is a safe level of humidity in the workplace & at what measurement can cause ill health to workers. The workplace is the food serving area of a staff canteen. I would welcome any information on same. Thanks Dympna

Posted By Stewart Fullarton Hi Dympna, In environments most people concern themselves with temperature as it is a well known problem, however most people forget about humidity. Humidity has a similar but wider range of effects on the human body, these can be irritibility with dry or low levels of humidity and headaches. With high levels of humidity people will feel uncomfortable etc. The best idea is to put a search into a search engine for humidity, it will inform you of all the health effects. Stew

Posted By AlAN. LAC Number: 94/1 rev Keywords: Call Centre / Working practices Hope the related info helps Air quality: Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (WPR) 1 requires that all workplaces, including offices should be ventilated with either fresh air from outside or re-circulated air that has been adequately filtered and purified. This is to ensure that stale, contaminated, hot or humid air is removed, so workers do not suffer ill health effects such as tiredness, lethargy, headaches, dry or itchy skin and eye irritation. Adequate ventilation is particularly important in call centres, as the high concentration of employees and high level of occupation increase the risk of airborne pollutants and irritants. These, in turn, increase the risk of sickness absence, as bacteria and viruses can cause colds, and dust can irritate the throat and lungs which may contribute to voice problems or trigger asthma. Adequate ventilation also reduces the risk of allergic reactions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are released by certain glues, paints and carpets, and, with such rapid growth, many call centres are in buildings that have been recently constructed or refurbished, and these materials may have been used. Regulation 7 of WPR1 requires that 'During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.' A reasonable temperature for a call centre will be around 19oC. It is not just air temperature that must be considered to achieve this level of thermal comfort: Relative humidity, air movement, number of people in the workplace;equipment and solar gain also need to be considered to ensure comfortable thermal conditions. Air temperature should be measured with an ordinary dry bulb thermometer, close to workstations, at working height and away from windows, taking into account any localised effects of sunlight and radiant heat from office machinery. A sufficient number of thermometers should be distributed throughout the work area to allow employees to monitor the temperature. The provision of fans or heaters can help alleviate localised problems Relative Humidity: The risk of low relative humidity is high in call centres. The greatest risk is from the large number of computers, which, as already stated, can be generating heat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and this can dry the air to unacceptable levels. Low relative humidity can lead to dehydration which, in turn, can contribute to sore eyes, voice loss and headaches. Skin rashes may also appear. Unlike other physical stressors such as noise or temperature, people do not generally appreciate the impact of relative humidity on physical health and comfort so tend not to ascribe problems that they are experiencing to relative humidity levels. Relative humidity for an office should be between 40% and 70% with the lower end being the most comfortable in warmer offices. Employees should be provided with information on the risks of low relative humidity and their potential effects on physical and mental well-being and how to reduce these risks. Alan