Hi, It must all come down to risk assessment and mitigation measures. Please bear in mind that over 60% of drownings are by people deemed competent swimmers, over 60% were within 3m of safety, and nearly 70% died within the first 3 minutes from cold shock effects. Obviously no line workers, a robust rescue plan, and good PPE with training to use too. Cheers Phil

Pretty impressive statistics there He02 Graham

It's taken from my presentation on the offshore sea survival course. Most of my data comes from Dr's Mike Tipton, and Frank Golden. They are renowned world experts on Hupothermia and drowning: he subject becomes hypothermic when the core temperature is threatened. Effect of Cold water Immersion The authors highlighted that 55% of annual open water immersion deaths occur within 3 metres of a safe refuge, 42% within two metres of safety, two thirds of those who died having been regarded as good swimmers; and in doing so argued that it is the debilitating effects of cold water immersion – which led to drowning or other cause of death such as heart failure, and not hypothermia which killed them. Cheers Phil

For me the minimum would be the wearing of a suitable life jacket. The modern, self-inflating ones can be so comfortable that they are barely noticeable. Swimming is not the answer, not just because of the hypothermia etc. but what happens if the person is rendered unconscious, perhaps due to a blow to the head, has a minor seizure or is otherwise unable to swim? At least they will remain afloat for someone else to rescue them. Chris

again a public services area that has probably dropped from 2 person to 1 person working and other beneficial areas to the worker have been removed--------- facilitate a suitable etc. risk assessment [ inclusive of the use of Chris P's area] with the workers & management concerned and present the findings/evidence to management team for them to manage noting that management have the duty to manage and they have the final say anyway, thereafter U have done your job and U can do no more and make sure that U have recorded the paper trail

Please be aware that the latest data from the trauma world indicates that if you are injured as well as in cold water you can become hypothermic with just a one degree C drop in core temp. So in numbers, a drop from 37 deg C to 36 with an injury can render you at the mercy of hypothermia. This should be considered in your risk assessment and rescue plan. Cheers Phil

When wearing waders it is essential to elevate the legs and feet in the water to prevent them filling and creating an anchor. The life jacket will help with this. Mostly with older types of wader but something to think about for the training of these staff. Kevin