BS 7915:1998

This British Standard gives guidance on ways in which cold stress or discomfort in cold indoor environments can be evaluated and cold strain reduced. It describes the human responses (physiological and behavioural) to the cold, together with the influence of different working practices on these. The risks from cold environments are also described.

This British Standard applies to those indoor environments which are either cold by design or by virtue of a designed process. It does not apply to outdoor work or those environments which, although largely enclosed, are cold by virtue of exposure to the external climate (e.g. unenclosed loading bays, tyre fitting bays, farm out-buildings).

For the purposes of this British Standard, cold environments are taken to be those with an air temperature of 12 ℃ or less.

NOTE The lower limit of application of this British Standard has not been rigorously defined. In survey work, temperatures down to –40 ℃ were encountered, with one application at a lower temperature. At temperatures below –40 ℃, hazards not considered in this document, for example to the respiratory tract, are known to exist.