Environmental Issues in Construction

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EHST 3060/61:

Environmental Issues in

Construction

 To give a general overview of the various

hazards to which construction workers

may be exposed

 Health hazards

 Physical hazard

 Chemical hazard

 Biological hazard

 Ergonomic hazard

 Safety hazards

 Unsafe act

 Unsafe condition

 Construction work is dynamic, diverse, and

constantly changing. This poses a great

challenge in protecting the health and safety

of construction workers.

 Construction workers are at risk of exposure

to various workplace hazards that can result

in injury, illness, disability, or even death.

 

 Constantly changing job site environments and conditions

 Multiple contractors and subcontractors

 High turnover; unskilled laborers

 Constantly changing relationships with other work groups

 Diversity of work activities occurring simultaneously

 Exposures to health hazards resulting from own work as well as from nearby activities (“bystander exposure”)

 Private industry construction workers had a

fatal occupational injury rate nearly 3 times

that of all workers in the U.S.

 9.7 per 100,000 construction workers

 3.3 per 100,000 workers

 Construction has 3 of the 10 occupations

with the highest fatal injury rates (per

100,000 full-time equivalent workers)

 Roofers at 34.7 fatal work injuries

 Structural iron and steel workers at 30.3

 Laborers at 18.3

 

 

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 Number: 721 workers

 Percent: 16% of all fatal occupational injuries

1. Falls: 34% of fatal occupational injuries in

construction

 48% of all fatal falls in private industry were to

construction workers.

2. Transportation-related events: 25%

3. Contact with objects and equipment: 19%

4. Exposure to harmful substances and

environments: 16%

1. Falls, slips and trips: 35% of fatal

occupational injuries in construction

2. Roadway (e.g. transportation-related): 12%

3. Struck by object and equipment: 10%

4. Homicide: 1%

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.t02.htm

 Hazard – inherent potency to cause harm

to a person

 Risk – probability of being exposed to a

hazard

 

 Health hazards

 Physical

 Chemical

 Biological

 Ergonomic

 Safety hazards

 Unsafe act

 Unsafe condition

Occupational

Disease

Occupational

Injury

Occupations Potential Health Hazards

Brickmasons Cement material, awkward postures, heavy loads

Drywall installers Plaster dust, heavy loads, awkward postures

Electricians Heavy metals in solder fumes, awkward posture, heavy loads, asbestos

Painters Solvent vapors, toxic metals in pigments, paint additives

Pipefitters Lead fumes and particles, welding fumes, asbestos dust

Carpet layers Knee trauma, awkward postures, glue and glue vapor

Insulation workers Asbestos, synthetic fibers, awkward postures

Roofers Roofing tar, heat

Carpenters Noise, awkward postures, repetitive motion

Drillers, earth, rock Silica dust, whole-body vibration, noise

Excavating and loading machine operators

Silica dust, histoplasmosis, whole-body vibration, heat stress, noise

Hazardous waste workers

Heat stress, toxic chemicals

 

 

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 Different types of energy which may be hazardous to workers

 Noise

 Vibration

 Extreme temperature

 Extreme pressure

 Radiation

What are found

in construction?

 Prolonged exposure to

excessive noise levels

(>85 dB) can cause

noise-induced hearing

loss.

 When you are exposed

to excessive noise

levels, the first stage is

temporary hearing loss.

 Over time, the hearing

loss becomes

permanent.

Probable Noise Levels of Some Common

Construction Equipment at Operator’s Ear

Equipment or Tool Noise level will

probably exceed

Back hoe 85 dB

Bulldozer 87 dB

Chopsaw 92 dB

Grader/scraper 107 dB

Front end loader 90 dB

Jackhammer 102 dB

Nail-gun 97 dB

Router 90 dB

Welding equipment 92 dB

Source: U.W. Dept. of Environmental &

Occupational Health Services – Rick

Neitzel July, 2005

 Type of equipment being operated

 Condition/maintenance of the equipment

 Other equipment running at the same time

 Enclosed or partially enclosed spaces

What factors influence the noise levels to which workers are exposed?

 Can occur from operating large mobile

equipment

 Drillers

 Air hammers

 Pile drivers

 Tractors

 Graders

 Excavators

 Earth-moving equipment

 Other large machinery

Hand-arm vibration can result from using hand-

held power tools (i.e. pneumatic drills and

hammers and disc grinders).

Hand-arm vibration may

cause carpal tunnel

syndrome, a disease that

affects the fingers and hands.

In the long run, permanent

damages to the nerves will

result in a loss of the sense of

touch and dexterity.

 A change in body temperature due to extreme

work environmental conditions can lead to

stress or illness from heat or cold.

Cold temperatures can lead to fatigue,

irregular breathing, confusion, and

hypothermia.

 

 

Heavy work in high temperatures can

cause muscle cramps, dehydration,

and heat stroke.

 

 

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 Hot conditions

 Prolonged work under direct sunlight in summer

 Wearing impermeable protective clothing when

doing heavy work

 Working in an

enclosed area with a

strong heat source,

poor ventilation, and

high humidity

 Cold conditions

 Cold air temperatures

 Rain, snow, sleet, or other wet weather

conditions

 Windy conditions

 Underground construction work

 Working over water and falling in

 

 X-rays and gamma rays from equipment

used:

 To gauge the density and thickness of pipes

 To inspect welds

 For detecting weakness of metal structures

 Radioactive isotopes from flow meters

 Health effects

 Increased risk of

developing cancer and

genetic disease

 

 Ultraviolet light from sunlight &

welding

 Infrared radiation from torch

welding and cutting

 Radio waves from radio transmission

devices (roof-top dishes &

antennas)

 Lasers used for aligning, ranging,

and surveying are usually low-

powered but can cause eye injuries

if directly viewed for extended time Rooftop radio antenna

Welding ultraviolet light

 Health effects

 Skin cancer

 Eye damage

 Premature skin aging

 Burns

 Liquid

 Gases

 Vapors

 Particulates

 Dust

 Fumes

 Mists

 Smoke

What are found

in construction?

 

 

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 Chemicals are found in variety of

products used at construction sites.

 Workers may also be exposed to

chemicals generated during construction

activities.

• Welding fumes

• Spray paints

• Cutting oil mists

• Solvents

• Hexavalent chromium

• Asbestos

• Lead

• Silica

• Cadmium

• Carbon monoxide

 Chemicals can enter the body through:

 Inhalation – breathed in; typically

the most common route of entry

 

 Ingestion – accidental swallowing

through eating, drinking or smoking

 

 Absorption – absorbed through

contact with skin or eyes

 Injection – chemical enters the body by skin

puncture rarely occurs (e.g. paint from a high-

pressure spray gun); a minor route of exposure

in construction

 Two types of health effects from chemical exposure

HEALTH EFFECTS EXPOSURE EXAMPLE

ACUTE

Appears immediately or within short time following exposure, (minutes or hours); death possible from some hazardous substances

Typically sudden, short-term, high concentration

Headache, collapse or death from high levels of carbon monoxide

CHRONIC

Usually develops slowly, as long as 15- 20 years or more

Continued or repeated for a prolonged period, usually years

Lung cancer from exposure to asbestos

AVOID BREATHING AIRBORNE

ASBESTOS FIBERS Asbestos pipe insulation

 Construction workers may be exposed to

asbestos during demolition or remodeling of

older buildings built before 1980 which can

contain asbestos insulation, or other asbestos

containing products. Asbestos removal can

only be done by specially trained asbestos

workers.

 Asbestos exposure can cause breathing

problems, lung cancer and cancer of the lung

lining many years after exposure.

Welding on a stainless steel tank,

generating hexavalent chromium Welding in a confined space

 Welding fumes contain a variety of chemicals

depending on what is being welded on,

chemical makeup of welding rods, fluxes and

shielding gases.

 Most hazardous welding activities:

 A variety of solvents with

varying degrees of toxicity

are used in construction

(e.g. paints, glues and

epoxies)

 Generally, the possibility of

exposure to excessive

amounts of solvent vapors

is greater when solvents are

handled in enclosed or

confined spaces.

 

 

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 Solvents can:

 Irritate your eyes, nose or

throat

 Make you dizzy, high, sleepy,

give you a headache or

cause you to pass out

 Affect your judgment or

coordination

 Cause internal damage to

your body

 Dry out or irritate your skin

 

 

Brick cutting Concrete cutting Blowing concrete dust

with compressed air

 Silica or quartz dust exposure is very

common in construction from drilling, cutting

or grinding on concrete, sandblasting, rock

drilling or in masonry work.

 Exposure to excessive silica dust causes lung

scarring and lung disease over time.

 

 Construction workers can be exposed to lead

on bridge repair work, lead paint removal on

metal structures or buildings or demolition of

old buildings with lead paint, or using lead

solder.

 Lead is highly toxic and can cause severe,

long term health problems

Carcinogens Cancer Caused

Benzene Leukemia

Polyvinyl chloride

(PVC)

Liver cancer

Methylene chloride Pancreatic and liver cancer

Trichloroethylene Bladder cancer, lymphomas

Perchloroethylene Liver and kidney cancer

Polychlorinated

biphenyls (PCB)

Liver, pituitary and

gastrointestinal tumors;

leukemia; lymphomas

Dioxin and furan Leukemia, lymphoma

 Exposure to chemicals or lack of

oxygen in confined spaces can be

deadly.

 Airborne chemicals can quickly

reach dangerous levels in

confined spaces that are not

ventilated.

 Carbon monoxide

 Hydrogen sulfide

 Welding fumes

 Solvent vapors

 

 

 Microorganisms

 Bacteria

 Virus

 Fungi

 Parasites

 Insects

 Organic aerosols

 Plants

 Animals

What are found

in construction?

 

 

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 Diseases or illnesses can occur

from biological sources

 Virus – West Nile virus; Hantavirus

 Insect – Lyme disease

 Fungi – Histoplasmosis

 Plant toxins – poison oak, sumac,

stinging nettles

 Some of these diseases are minor

infections.

 Others can be serious or deadly.

Poison oak

Stinging nettle

 Exposure may occur during demolition,

renovation, sewer work, work on air

handling systems, or other construction

work from contact with contaminated or

disease-carrying

 Soil

 Water

 Insects (mosquitoes, ticks)

 Bird or bat droppings

 Animals

 Structures

 

Pigeon droppings in

abandoned building

 Ergonomic hazards can cause painful and

disabling injuries to joints and muscles.

 Ergonomic hazards are the most frequently

occurring health hazards in construction and

the cause of most injuries.

 Injuries can occur from:

 Heavy, frequent, or awkward lifting

 Repetitive tasks

 Awkward postures and grips

 Using excessive force, overexertion

 Using wrong tools for the job

or using tools improperly

 Using improperly maintained tools

 Hand-intensive work

 Can lead to musculoskeletal

disorders (MSDs) and injuries

 Strains and sprains

 Tendonitis

 Carpal tunnel syndrome

 Low back pain

 Fatigue

To what health hazards is this construction

worker simultaneously exposed to?

 In some cases, workers can be exposed to

several health hazards at the same time or

on the same worksite over time.

 

 

 

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 Falls (from heights)

 Trench collapse

 Scaffold collapse

 Electrocution

 Caught-in and –between hazards

 Struck-by hazards

 Failure to use proper PPE

 Using shortcuts in performing a task

Unsafe act

Unsafe conditions

 Falls

 Caught-in or –between

 Struck-by

 Electrocution

 Health hazards

 Physical

 Chemical

 Biological

 Ergonomic

 Safety hazards

 Unsafe acts and

conditions

Occupational

Disease Occupational

Injury

Occupational Hazards  Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Washington State Department of

Labor and Industries

 Construction Safety and Health (NIOSH) –

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/constructi

on/

 Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA), Construction

Industry: Outreach Training Program –

http://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/constru

ction/index.html