Health Hazards in Construction

John Newquist

Draft 3 1 11

Worst Job?

Introduction

• Top Ten Health Issues found by OSHA

• Problem correlated to Overexposures

• Effect Measure

• Best Practices

• Sampling Data 2004-2010, Region V, all industries

Risk Factors in Construction

• Daily change vs. fixed establishment

• Many contractors at onsite who may create problems for you

• Turnover; who is responsible to train new employees?

• Several tasks during the day

Factors increasing the health risk of construction workers include:

Illness Prevention Basics

• Management leadership• Employee Participation• Hazard Prevention and

Control• Education and Training• Program Evaluation and

Improvement• Communication and

coordination on multiemployer sites

• These elements exists in some form in….

• 2100 VPP Companies• 1600 SHARPs• 1926.20, 1926.21• 1910.119• ANSI Z9.10• OHSAS 18001• States AR, CA, LA, HI,

MN, MT NV, NH, NY, OR, WA

Clean Air Paradox

• Quality of Air

• 78.1% Nitrogen• 20.9% Oxygen• 0.9% Argon• 0.03% Carbon

Dioxide

Units Seem Small

1 % = 10,000 ppm

PEL = Permissible Exposure Limits (OSHA)

5 Mg/M3 is very small2 f/cc = 2,000,000f/M3

Health Effects

• Irritation• Asphyxiation• Organ Specific Effects• Mutagen• Teratogen• Acute/Chronic• Reversible vs.

Nonreversible

Factors

• Genetics• Age• Health status• Route of entry• Frequency and

duration of exposure

Exposure Limits

• Animal Studies• Epidemiological

studies• Industrial Experience• STEL – 15 minutes• Ceiling – never

exceeded• Threshold Limit Value

Sampling

• Qualified person• Appropriate

instrument• Duration of sampling• Pre and post

calibration

Hierarchy of Controls

• Engineering• Administrative• Personal Protective

Equipment• Training

Past Health Hazards

• 400 BC Hippocrates describes lead poisoning in mines

• 1473 Ellenbog – Mercury Poisoning

• 1700 Dr. Ramazzini published the first edition of his most famous book, the De Morbis Artificum Diatriba (Diseases of Workers)

“I can hire one-half the working class to kill the other half.” Jay Gould

Problem #1 Noise

• BLS

• 125,000+ workers w permanent, hearing loss since 2004

• In 2008 alone, 22,000 hearing loss cases were reported

#1 Noise

• 70% construction workers were exposed to over 85dba*

• 30% over 90 dba* • Hearing Protection worn

20%*• Several processes

involving hammering, cutting, blasting will cause overexposure

• Set up an effective hearing conservation program

REMEMBER!

• The aforementioned applies to overexposures above 90 dBA TWA (Time-Weighted-Average)

““Effective Effective hearing conservation hearing conservation program?”program?”

Monitoring

Engineering, work practice, and administrative controls

Hearing protectors with an adequate noise reduction rating

Employee training and education in hazards and protection measures

Baselines and annual audiometry

Audiograms

• Conduct a baseline analysis on all equipment (New too!)

• Employees can request personal noise monitoring at any time at VPP sites

• 60 employees were tested in IL. It cost $29.00 per person plus some labor cost (VPP)

• Insurance carrier will charge $35.00 per person. (VPP site)

#2 Lead

• Many bridges have lead coated surfaces

• Requires compliance with 1926.62

• Overexposure can occur in less than 5 minutes when torch cutting or painting Lead coating of bridge beams

usually requires an enclosure

Lead effects

• Chronic overexposure - severe damage to the blood-forming, nervous, urinary, and reproductive systems

• High levels will require medical removal

• Bridge Painting/Removal continues to be ones of the consistent lead issues in construction

#3 Silica

• Cutting, hammering, drilling, blasting can create high silica levels

• Use wet methods and wear respirators

• One of the oldest occupational diseases

Tuckpointing has one of the highest silica

generating process in construction

Silica

• 150-200 deaths a year (2004)

• 1150-1200 deaths a year (1968)

• Yet….one company had 3 silicosis and 10x+ severe respiratory diseases

#4 Copper Fumes - Welding

• Copper is inhalation hazard affecting respiratory system

• Mild steel (red iron) and carbon steel contain manganese

• Manganese may cause Parkinson's disease

What do you see?

#5 Total Dust

• All the things not regulated.

• Good, bad, or indifferent?

• Air blowing!

#6 Iron Oxide -Welding

• Metal fume fever • Direct Draw or forced

ventilation should be used

• Personal Protective Equipment should be used

• Bystanders should be protected as well

#7 Carbon Monoxide

• Generators are most common problem of CO

• Heaters out of tune are another cause

• CO TWA is 50 ppm• Others set levels 25

ppm

#8 Hex Chrome

• Stainless steel contains nickel and chromium

• Some cements

# 9 Cadmium

• Overexposure to cutting cadmium bolts, coated poles

• Torch cutting should never be used

• Use hydraulic bolt cutters

• Comply with 1926.1127 Cadmium bolts are often

found in sprinkler pipe use.

#10 Methylene Chloride• Paint stripping• Parts cleaners• Cancer causing

Asbestos

• Common Fireproofing material used pre- 1980s

• Found in pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, and floor tiles

• Must comply with 1926.1101

Heat Stress• Train the workforce • Perform the heaviest work in the

coolest part of the day• Slowly build up tolerance to the

heat and the work activity (usually takes up to two weeks)

• Drink plenty of cool water (one cup every 15-20 minutes)

• Wear light, loose-fitting, breathable (cotton) clothing

• Take frequent short breaks in cool or shaded areas

• Provide fans

Paint Solvents

• Ventilation is required or overexposure can result

• Fire Hazard • Electrical must be

Class I if within 20 feet during open spraying with flammable paints

Tank painting. What could go wrong?

Waterproofing

• Volatile compounds are heavier than air and toxic.

• Death• Hazards similar to a

confined space

Confined Spaces

• Manholes, pits, vaults, tanks, are common confined spaces

• Ensure atmosphere is safe by testing and ventilating

Worker in a sludge pit exposed to lead, arsenic, and

cadmium

Diesel Fuel Exhaust

• blue smoke (mainly oil and unburnt fuel)

• black smoke (soot, oil and unburnt fuel);

• white smoke (water droplets and unburnt fuel)

• Diesel Fuel Exhaust is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen per IARC

What else is toxic in this ????

Back Strains

• Many workers out in construction with bad backs

• Due to lifting and twisting constantly

• Heavy loads should have assistance via machines or another person

Workers shoveling under a pipe. Safe or unsafe job?

Knee Strains

• Housekeeping often a common cause

• Several $50,000 cases

West Nile

• Use DEET or lemon eucalyptus based sprays for protection

• Clothing can be treated with Permethrin

• Wear light color clothing and reduce exposed skin

On The Horizon

• Silica?

• Noise?

• Confined Space in Construction?

Resources

• WISHA has a good health in construction presentation at http://wisha-training.lni.wa.gov/training/presentations/HealthHaz.pps

Quiz• CO PEL is ___ ppm.• Name one place where cadmium can be found in

construction. ______________• ____% Oxygen is in normal air.• Which color smoke from a diesel engine is a concern?

__________________• Overexposure can occur in less than ____ minutes

when torch cutting lead painted surfaces• The Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) is for ____

minutes

Summary

• A baseline hazard analysis for normal routine tasks is accomplished by use of a Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

Further• This ppt was prepared by John Newquist as a

preliminary aid for people required to evaluate health hazards in construction

• Thanks to Kim Stille and Richard Gilgrist for the many training sessions on the subject

• Janet Schulte for corrections and suggestions. • This is not an official OSHA publication. Those

will be on the OSHA.gov website. • My contact information is

Newquist.john@dol.gov or 312-353-5977 if you see any errors.

• This is a draft as of the date on the first slide.