Gwangyang Steelworks Puts 'Full Effort' into Preventing Heat-Related Illnesses During Heatwave

Weekly Monday Weather Weekly Advisory Email Dispatch

Establishment of Heat Illness Prevention Process by Weather Advisory Type

POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks (Director Lee Dong-ryeol) is actively taking measures to prevent heat-related illnesses for employees who are sweating hard as industrial warriors during the hot summer.

Heat-related illnesses can occur when exposed to excessive heat for a long time, causing symptoms such as fatigue, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, and even neurological and mental disorders, requiring caution.

Workers at Gwangyang Steelworks are taking a break and receiving health education on the safety bus that visits them.
Photo by Gwangyang Steelworks

Accordingly, as a heatwave of over 30 degrees Celsius is forecasted, Gwangyang Steelworks is actively leading efforts to protect workers' health by preventing heat-related illnesses.

Gwangyang Steelworks has established work guidelines based on the three major heat illness prevention rules designated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor: water, shade, and rest, and has differentiated measures for heatwave advisory and heatwave warning days.

In particular, every Monday, an email summarizing the weekly weather special reports is sent to all employees to help workers proactively prevent heat-related illnesses on their own.

On heatwave warning days, high-risk tasks such as working in high heat, confined spaces, or at heights are restricted from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and a standard is set to take breaks of at least 15 minutes every hour during work.

Additionally, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., when the perceived temperature is highest, nurses from the Gwangyang Steelworks Industrial Health Center accompany the “Visiting Safety Bus” to assist workers with rest and health condition assessments.

The Visiting Safety Bus is equipped with cold water, ice, vitamins, saline glucose, first aid supplies, as well as medical tools such as thermometers and blood pressure monitors to conduct health checks while patrolling various sites to support workers exhausted by the heat.

Field staff also conducted extensive equipment inspections ahead of the hot season to practice safety as the top core value, actively leading efforts to prevent not only heat-related illnesses but also safety accidents.

Park Eun-hyang, a nurse at the Gwangyang Steelworks Industrial Health Center, said, “As the heatwave approaches, the risk of heat-related illnesses among employees increases, so we need to pay more attention to health management,” adding, “We will strive to ensure that all employees can work safely during the hot season.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.