FACTS

Burns and scalds are significant hazards in the hospitality industry, particularly in environments like kitchens, laundries, and restaurants within hotels. Here are some of the key hazards associated with burns and scalds in this sector:

1. Kitchen Operations: The kitchen is a high-risk area for burns and scalds due to the presence of hot surfaces, liquids, and steam. Employees are at risk from hot cooking equipment (stoves, ovens, fryers), boiling liquids, hot oil, and steam from pots and pans.
2. Handling Hot Beverages and Food: Serving and preparing hot beverages and food can lead to scalds. Spills from hot drinks or soups are common and can cause severe injuries.
3. Equipment and Appliance Contact: In the hospitality industry, workers often interact with dishwashers, steamers, and other hot appliances that can cause burns upon contact.
4. Chemical Burns: The use of cleaning chemicals and agents in housekeeping and maintenance can lead to chemical burns if proper protective gear isn’t used or if there’s accidental skin contact.
5. Laundry Operations: Industrial laundry equipment can reach high temperatures, posing burn risks to employees handling linens straight out of dryers or presses.
6. Maintenance Work: Maintenance staff in hotels might be exposed to risks of burns when dealing with electrical equipment, boilers, or heating systems.

STATS

• In the hospitality industry in Canada and the USA, burns and scalds are serious risks that can lead to many injuries. According to the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), there were 1,682 cases of thermal burns and scalds sustained, representing 1.2% of injuries reported in that year. Additionally, CE Safety analyzed the Labour Force Survey and found that between 2015 and 2018, 23,000 workers reported suffering from non-fatal burns or scalds in the workplace, with an average of 75 workers out of every 100,000 experiencing such injuries.
• In the broader context of the restaurant industry, which can be somewhat related to the hospitality sector, burns and scalds account for 16% of all accidents.
• The American Burn Association’s National Burn Repository reported that scalds accounted for 31% of burn injuries in the USA, making them a notable cause of injuries in the country.
• For the Canadian context, a study from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) in 2013 showed that out of 1,682 cases of burns and scalds treated in emergency departments, half were scalds and around 30% were contact burns from hot objects.