2. What this presentation covers
This presentation gives a general overview of the
various health hazards to which construction
workers may be exposed:
3. 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
health hazards that can result in injury, illness, disability,
or even death.
4. Some Common health & safety issues for
construction workers
# Pain or injury from physical overexertion, repetitive
manual tasks, or working in awkward position.
# Exposure to molds, fungi and bird or rodent droppings.
# Exposure to lead, wood dust, asbestos, paints, solvents,
and other toxic chemicals or materials.
# Working in extreme temperatures and UV radiation.
5. Some Common health & safety issues for
construction workers
# Working with hand tools, power tools and heavy powered
equipment.
# Excess vibration in the hands, arms or body from
powered tools or equipment.
# Confined space
# Noise.
# Working at heights.
# Electrical hazards.
6. Some Common health & safety issues for
construction workers
# Working with cranes, hoists, and other material handling
equipment.
# Slip, trips and falls.
# Respiratory hazards from wood dust.
# Explosion and fire hazards from combustion dusts.
# stress.
7. .
Some Common health & safety issues for
construction workers
# Shift work or extended work days.
Working alone.
# Struck by mobile equipment
8. Main Types of health hazards
As in their job, hazards for construction workers are
typically of five classes:
# Chemical
# Physical
# Biological
# Ergonomics
# Psychosocial
9. Chemical Hazards
Chemicals can exist in the form of:
# dusts, fumes, fibers (solids)
# liquids, mists
# gases, vapors
Chemicals are found in variety of products used at construction
sites. Workers may also be exposed to chemicals generated
during construction activities.
10. Examples of chemical hazards found in construction
work:
# Asbestos # Welding fume
# Spray paint # Lead
# Cutting oil mist # Silica
# Solvents # Cadmium
# Hexavalent chromium # Carbon Monoxide
11. Chemical hazard
Chemicals can enter the body through
# Inhalation – Breathed in
inhalation is typically the most common way
chemicals can enter the body in a work situation.
# Ingestion - Accidental swallowing through eating, drinking
or smoking
# Absorption – Absorbed through contact with skin or eyes
# Injection -For example, injection can occur when a contaminated
object such as a rusty nail punctures the skin.
12. Chemical hazard
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
Some chemicals can have both acute and chronic effects, e.g., carbon
monoxide.
13. Dusts and Fibers
Examples of Dusts & Fibers found in construction:
Dusts are solid particles that are formed by handling, crushing, grinding,
drilling or blasting of materials.
Asbestos
Crystalline silica
Metal Dusts
Lead based Paint
Fiberglass
15. Asbestos
Exposure during demolition or remodeling jobs.
Found in some taping compounds, asbestos cement, pipes and
floor tiles.
Measured in fibers per cubic centimeter (f /cc).
(The Occupational Safety and Health Commission (OSHA) has set a
permissible asbestos exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 fiber per cubic
centimeter (f/cc) for work in all industries, including construction,
shipyards, and asbestos abatement work.)
In Canadian workplaces, the WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous
Materials Information System) 1988 classification for asbestos is
"D2A - Poisonous and infectious material - Other effects - Very
toxic". This class includes compounds that can cause cancer.
16. Asbestosis and Mesothelioma
Asbestos is a friable material which means that when it is
dry, it can be crumbled, pulverized or powdered. Small
fibres and clumps of fibres may be released into the air as
dust. Inhaling asbestos during its manufacturing or use is
the main health concern.
The human health effects from long-term asbestos
exposure are well documented, including asbestosis and
changes in the lining of the lungs (pleural abnormalities).
All forms of asbestos have been shown to cause lung
cancer and mesothelioma.
17. Fumes
Examples of fumes found in construction:
Welding Fumes
Asphalt
Naphtha – “Coal Tar” a brown or black
thick liquid that comes from coal;
it’s a skin irritant known to cause cancer.
Lead Fumes
Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI)
18. Welding Fumes
What is Welding fumes?
Fumes are solid particles that are formed when a metal or other solid
vaporizes and the molecules condense (or solidify) in cool air
Welding fumes contain a variety of chemicals depending on what is being
welded on, chemical makeup of welding rods, fluxes and shielding gases.
Metals - Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium,
Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lead, Manganese, Nickel, Silver, Tin, Titanium,
Vanadium, Zinc.
Gases ,
Shielding —Argon, Helium, Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide
Process —Nitric Oxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide,
Ozone, Hydrogen Fluoride, Carbon Dioxide.
19. Welding, Cutting & Brazing Gases
Welding fumes are some of the most hazardous
exposures a construction worker may experience
20. Health effects of breathing welding fume
Acute exposure to welding fume and gases can result in eye,
nose and throat irritation, dizziness and nausea. Workers in the
area who experience these symptoms should leave the area
immediately, seek fresh air and obtain medical attention.
Prolonged exposure to welding
fume may cause lung damage
and various types of cancer,
including lung, larynx and
urinary tract.
Contd.. Fumes are respirable size particles that
are inhaled and can enter the blood
stream
21. Health effects of breathing welding fume
Health effects from certain fumes may include metal fume fever,
stomach ulcers, kidney damage and nervous system damage.
Prolonged exposure to manganese fume can cause Parkinson’s–
like symptoms.
.
Gases such as helium, argon, and carbon dioxide displace oxygen
in the air and can lead to suffocation, particularly when welding
in confined or enclosed spaces. Carbon monoxide gas can form,
posing a serious asphyxiation hazard.
22. Welding and Hexavalent Chromium
Chromium is a component in stainless steel, nonferrous
alloys, chromate coatings and some welding consumables.
Chromium is converted to its hexavalent state, Cr(VI),
during the welding process.
Cr(VI) fume is highly toxic and can damage the eyes, skin,
nose, throat, and lungs and cause cancer.
OSHA regulates worker exposure to Cr(VI) under its
Chromium (VI) standard, 29 CFR 1910.1026 and 1926.1126.
OSHA’s Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for Cr(VI) is 5 µg/
m3 as an 8-hour time-weighted average.
23. Asphalt Fumes
Made from petroleum.
Headache
Skin rash
Sensitization
Throat and eye irritation
Cough
Suspect carcinogen
No specific OSHA standards.
Must wear appropriate PPE.
24. Naphtha (Coal Tar)
By-product of coal.
Acne
Allergic skin reactions
Know to cause cancer
Photosensitivity – A condition in
which a person becomes more
sensitive to light.
25. Lead Fumes
Usage Period
Still in use for rust inhibition on metal
structures
Still in use in sheet applications and
ceramics
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.
26. Lead Fumes
Lead poisoning
Loss of appetite
Nausea &vomiting
Stomach cramps & constipation
Fatigue
Joint or muscle aches, anemia
Decreased sexual drive.
Heart attack and strokes
Kidney failure
Central nervous system damage
Acute
Chronic
27. Crystalline Silica
Silica or quartz dust exposure is very common in construction
from drilling, cutting or grinding on concrete, sandblasting, rock
drilling or in masonry work.
Concrete cutting with no
engineering control or PPE!
28. Crystalline Silica
Exposures to crystalline silica dust include:
Concrete cutting.
Sandblasting for surface preparation.
Crushing and drilling rock and concrete.
Masonry and concrete work (e.g., building and road construction
and repair).
Mining & tunneling.
Demolition work.
Cement and asphalt pavement manufacturing
30. Crystalline Silica
Silicosis
Exposure to excessive silica dust causes lung scarring and lung
disease over time.
Silicosis is a type of fibrotic lung disease that develops when
silica dust particles become trapped in the lungs and form scar
tissue.
This can be seen in x-rays by the light areas on the lungs.
32. Chemical Health Hazard Categories
Under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS), toxic materials are part of Hazard Class D -- Poisonous
and Infectious Materials. Since toxic materials can cause acute
(short-term) health effects as well as chronic (long-term) health
effects, WHMIS has a division for each. It is possible for a toxic
material to be classified in both categories
Division 2 (D2) is for "Materials Causing Other Toxic Effects". It is
represented by the WHMIS symbol to the right. These materials
have toxic effects but these effects may be delayed. The D2
division also has two subdivisions that separate "Toxics" and
"Very Toxics". The "Very Toxics" are D2A; the "Toxics" are D2B.
The "Toxic" group here also includes products that produce
immediate but less serious reversible effects.
33. Chemical Health Hazard Categories
Under the D2A heading of "Materials Causing Other Toxic Effects",
the health effects considered for very toxic materials (D2A) include:
severe chronic toxic effects
reproductive toxicity (material known or suspected to cause a
negative impact on reproductive functions (male or female)
teratogenicity and embryo toxicity (material known or suspected
to cause a negative impact on a developing embryo or fetus)
carcinogenicity (material known or suspected to cause cancer)
respiratory sensitization
34. Chemical Health Hazard Categories
Under the D2 heading of "Materials Causing Other Toxic
Effects", the health effects considered for toxic materials
(D2B) include:
chronic toxic effects
skin or eye irritation
skin sensitization
mutagenicity (material known or suspected to cause changes to
cells)
35. Reproductive Toxins
Mutation- Permanent change of the genetic material in a cell.
Teratogen -Malformations of an embryo or fetus
Benzene (mutagen)
Cadmium and compounds (fertility & teratogen)
Chloroform (mutagen)
Lead and compounds (fertility, teratogen & mutagen)
Mercury and compounds (fertility & teratogen)
36. Synergistic Effect
Two or more hazardous materials are present at the same time.
Smoking paralyses the body’s natural defense – cilia
cilia
Mucous
37. Carcinogenicity
.
Chemical exposures in the workplace can happen at high
levels and over long periods of time.
Carcinogens are agent that cause or promote the formation of
cancers.
39. Prevention/ Control Strategies
Become familiar with the Canada Health & safety
regulations 490/09 – Designated substances.
Prepare and implement a Hazard Communication
Program.
Assign a competent person to implement all aspects of
the Program .
Labels and other forms of warning must be in place.
Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) available.
Employee information and training conducted
Must conduct a hazard assessment in consultation with
JHSC.
