Gas station attendant Bean Koberstein says Monday morning was one of the coldest he's seen in six years

Name:   Bean Koberstein	Profession:     Texaco Attendant
Relationship:	Country:     USA
Outdoor workers soldier on in dangerous cold Posted: Jan 21, 2008 06:31 PM PST ; KTVZ.com, Central Oregon (i.e. Bend Oregon) By Kelsey Watts, KTVZ.COM Sunny blue skies made it look like summertime Monday - until you stepped outside. "I've seen some cold winters, but this is the coldest I've seen so far," said Mark McGuire, an attendant at a Bend Texaco station. In many places, the temperature topped out in the teens Monday, making it dangerous for anyone who spends a lot of time in this weather. And with temperatures dropping fast toward (or below) zero Monday night, the danger intensifies for those who spend any time outside. "The bottom line is, you need to keep all your exposed skin as covered up as possible," said Dr. Woody Peoples, an Emergency Room physician at St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. Even when the weather's in the teens, with the wind chill it's usually much colder. And when it's below zero, frostbite can develop within minutes. "First you'll feel pain, and then you'll feel a sense that they're numb and tingling, and that's what they call frostnip," Peoples said. "As soon as you start to lose sensation in them, you're at a pretty high risk for getting frostbite." Frostbite is an irreversible condition - a concern workers who must be outdoors take very seriously. "Fingers and toes, fingers and toes," McGuire said. "There's never relief for the toes because the concrete is so cold and you're walking on it all day. Your feet are going to get cold." He should know - McGuire's been working outdoors for at least five years. "Right now it's like walking with fish sticks in the end of my boots," he said. "I can still feel my toes on the left foot, but not on the right foot, they're gone. I mean, all I feel is pain." But the frigid weather is something you get used to when you do jobs like pumping gas. "Actually, it's not cold now," said Bean Koberstein, a fellow Texaco attendant. "If you wanted cold, you should have been here this morning. It's probably one of the second coldest days I've spent here in six years." So cold, even the washer fluid froze. But sometimes, keeping the gloves on just isn't practical. "It's hard to push buttons with gloves, so you have to take them off to push the buttons on the machines and put the (gas) caps back on the car," said Lonny Clark, another Texaco employee. As far as getting dressed in the morning, it's a process that takes a little more time than usual. "It took me about half an hour this morning," McGuire said. "During the summer, I'm dressed in three minutes, with a pair of pants and a shirt." For anyone who works outside in these conditions, it can be a pain - literally. When dressing in layers, Peoples says to stay away from cotton. It retains moisture, and when you're wet, you lose body heat 35 times faster than you would when dry.