Construction Work Hazards - Term Paper Example

Construction work hazards s: Construction work hazards Introduction A large number of people work in the construction sector acrossthe globe. The employees are faces several challenges such as high risks, constant change of working condition, working on different project simultaneous and transfer to different projects thus high employees turnover. Construction sector also contribute to national social and economic development (Zou, 2011). The construction sites range from building small residential houses, large estates, commercial building and transport facilities among others. Construction site is one the most dangerous place for employees, supervisors and general public because of the frequency of injuries as well as fatalities (Zou, 2011). Unfortunately, professionals in this industry pays a lot of attention on their construction related works while spending less time and resources on safety concerns (Navon and Kolton, 2006). This has led to high rate of accidents. There are wide range hazards in construction industry including safety hazards, biological hazards, chemical hazard, physical hazards and ergonomic hazards. Exposure to these hazards may cause physical injuries, disability, illness as well as death (Occupational Safety and Health Branch 2004). One of the most important aspects of hazard and risk management is risk identification. Construction companies should identify all the hazards and put up measure to mitigate these hazards before the commencement of the project. This study will identify all the possible hazards in different construction site ranging from small construction work, renovation and huge construction projects. Safety and health hazards Construction workers vary from one construction site to another. They include masons, carpenters, drillers, electricians, plumbers, painters, roofers, plasterers, pipefitters, and welders among others (Weeks and James, 2011). Construction workers are exposed to wide range of hazards depending on their duties such falling from elevated working platforms, strains, injuries by equipments, irritation by strong smell, gases and fumes, electrocution, skin disease and fatigue. Accident in the construction site like any other workplace are caused by human factors such as lack of proper training, lack of proper equipment, inadequate supervision, carelessness as well as poor judgment. However all accidents are not cause by human factors considering that workers are exposed to harmful substances and agents such as silica dust, sewer, harmful gases, radiations, fumes, leads, ultraviolent radiations, strong vibration and noise (Norlizah , 2010). Safety and health hazards include hazards include falling, tripping, and, contact to harmful chemical and dust, poor righting, exposure high temperature, electrocution, fire and explosions, exposure to harmful radiation, falling from high level objects, as well as psychological stress. Strains and other injuries are caused by injuries, forceful movement, inappropriate postures and affect the performance of the workers. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (n.d.), the four major causes of deaths in the year 2012 in construction are fall accounting for 36 percent, being struck by objects about 10 percent, electrocution 9 percent and fatalities that were caught between objects formed about 2 percent. the rest of deaths were caused by other hazards. Fall is the most common cause of deaths and injuries in a construction site. Accident by fall can occur in all areas of construction such as the building structures, exterior and interior work, ladders and stairs. According to OSHA, out of the 774 fatalities in construction site in United States of America in the year 2010 about 264 fatalities were caused by falling from a height (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d.). This shows that about a third of total deaths in construction are caused by fall. Ergonomics hazards Ergonomics is a science that deals with study posture and movement of body parts when performing specific tasks (Batson, 2012). It deals with designing the job, tools, equipment and working stations to fit the workers instead of the body of the worker adjusting to fit into the assigned job. The body posture and movement is influenced by environmental factors such as space, control of equipment and manual tools, the amount of load and the capabilities as well as judgmental of the involved worker. Most of the workers in construction industry are involved labor intensive work for a long period of time. Therefore they are exposed to greater risks that in any other professionals. In addition they constantly change their working environment, most of them lack formal training, they may work on different projects simultaneously and their working groups keep changing. This exposes them to more hazards that can cause injuries, temporary and permanent disability, diseases and even death. Ergonomic hazards are the most common hazards in a construction site. Injuries related to these hazards include strains, lower back ache, sprain and tendinitis among others. Adaptation of ergonomics helps to mitigate the ergonomic hazards that can musculoskeletal disorder (MSDs) and body injuries that can harm muscles, joints, nerves as well as tendons (Batson, 2012). Workers in construction industry are exposed to various hazards such as high demanding physical works, use o excess force, working for a long period of time, continuous and monotonous physical exertion, working on uncomfortable body posture, working on extreme weather condition, use of wrong tools for specific task, use of poorly maintained tools, continuous subject to vibration from large moving machines as well exposure to harmful radiation (Batson, 2012). Tendon illness near the joints is caused by rubbing against other tendons, bones and ligaments. These infections are painful and may last for a short period of time or a long period of time if the causing factors are not eliminated. Carpal tunnel syndrome is another problem caused by physical hazards. This leads to infection of the nerve with a sense of touch in the ring finger, middle finger and index finger. Pressure on the tendons also causes numbness, itchiness, painful hand and wrist and lowers effectives of performing important tasks. If the pressure is not eliminated, it can cause permanent disability. Another major problem associated with ergonomic hazards is lower back problem. Most construction workers complain of back pains after contracting flu and other respiratory disease. They include strained muscle and ligament. Another serious problem is spinal strain and injury. This problems can cause long term problems on the spinal cord, absenteeism from work, high medical cost as well as pre mature death. Physical Hazards Physical hazards are the most common hazards in construction site. They are hazards from external environment but they harm construction workers as well as general public (Norlizah , 2010). Construction works are sometimes done in extreme conditions such high and low temperature, during extreme weather such as snow, rains and foggy weather. The hazards associated with these conditions include exposure to high ultraviolent radiations, vibration, electrical, exposure to high or low temperature, high or low atmospheric pressure as well as noise (Weeks and James, 2011). Innovation and development of technology has improved working conditions of employees in construction industry as well as reducing the duration of projects however this machine produces a lot of noise. The sources of noise include vehicles, cranes, tractors, guns (rivet guns, paint guns and nails gun), power saws, routers, airplanes and power saws. The effects of noise in construction site include physiological imbalance and stress on employees, increase chances of accident as it hinders communication and affects hearing abilities of the employees. Noise affects both the employees as well as people in the surrounding area (Norlizah , 2010). Earth moving large machine and other machines can produce vibrations that affect the workers (Weeks and James, 2011). Vibration affects people sitting on these machines such as tractors and other machine operators. Vibrations affect the workers causing physiological stress. Harmful radiations are also common in construction site. The most common radiations are ionized radiation. Radiations are used are used in construction site for demolition of existing structures and during piping. Exposure of employees and general public to these radiation increases their chances of contracting terminal disease including cancer. Another source of harmful radiations are sun and welding equipment. Lasers are also found in construction sites. Exposure to extreme cold and high temperature is harmful. Weather is the major cause of heat and cold. Construction takes place in extreme weather such as hot sun, rain, snow and cold seasons (Weeks and James, 2011). Road constructions workers are exposed work with tar while exposed to the sun without appropriate protection thus receiving heavy radiation that is harmful to their health. Roofers are also exposed to hot sun. Large machines also produce large amount of heat and machine operators sit near their engines in cubical with poor ventilation. Machine operators that work in open cubical are exposed to sun too. Most of workers are engaged in demanding jobs thus high metabolic rate thus releasing a lot of heat from their bodies. In some cases constructions workers are also work in extreme cold condition at night and during winter. This extreme condition can be stressful to the workers impairing their performance. Environment with extreme low and high pressure are also harmful to the employees such as pressurized tunnels (Weeks and James, 2011). Effects of extreme pressure include necrosis and decompression sickness. The best way to protect the effects of extreme weather is avoid working during very hot weather, provision of shades, fans and adequate water supply to replace water lost through sweating and adequate resting time. Chemical hazards Construction industry has been changing over time. Chemical hazards are chemical that cause short term and long term illness to human being. They damage lungs, mucus membrane, skin, eyes and other delicate organs. Chemicals in construction site include lead, asbestos, silica, zinc, cadmium, Beryllium, carbon monoxide among other chemicals. They occur in form of gases, dust, fibers, fumes, mist, vapor and liquids (Weeks and James, 2011). The chemical get into contact with human bodies through inhalation of gases, ingestion since some employees may eat food after handling the chemical without washing their hands. Other chemicals are absorbed through the skin. Gases are chemicals that occur in gas form at room temperature. The harmful gases affect the workers and they lead to health problems such as cancer, silicosis, asbestosis, poisoning, burns, skin allergies neurological problems, respiratory diseases, organ damage as well as disfigurement. The death rate due to respiratory and lung cancers have been on the rise among construction workers especially those who work with asbestos and lead, welders, roofers, painters. Workers may also have weak skin and white fingers (Weeks and James, 2011). Vapors are gases at room temperature and include gasoline, paints and solvents. Fumes are solid molecules formed when metals vaporize then condense for example zinc, lead and cadmium (Construction Safety Council, 2012). Dusts are solid small materials formed from large particles through mechanical process for example lead, Asbestos and silica. According to Weeks and James (2011), construction workers are also by alcoholism and this has been associated with work related stress, social factors due to frequent movement from one project to another as well as high work demands. Silica is a major chemical in construction industry that workers are exposed to. It is found on the soil, natural stones used in construction, concrete, cement and bricks. All the mechanical processes that involve breaking, gridding and crushing of construction law materials produces silica dust that respiratory problems to the involved workers (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004). Exposure to the silica for a long period of time can cause diseases such as lung fibrosis Lead dust originates from materials containing lead such as leaded paints and leaded metals. Continuous exposures to lead cause long term respiratory diseases. Employees that are more prone to lead dust are welders and workers in a demolished site (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004). Asbestos cause fibrosis of the lungs, lung cancer and cancer of inner walls of respiratory system, material containing asbestos are asbestos coating demolition of structures contain asbestos can be a major source of this harmful chemicals. Disposal of asbestos in various countries such as United States of America is regulated by government authorities and workers must ware appropriate protective gear (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004).. Harmful vapors, gases and fumes can also be released through welding, burning of LPG gases, burning of waste materials, spray painting, running engines and adhesive material (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004). Their extent of harmful chemicals depends on the type of chemical, concentration of harmful substances and the level of toxin. Proper veneration and protective gear are the major preventive action. Statistics showing deaths caused by exposure to chemicals in workplace are scarce in US since exposure can occur over a long period of time without recognition. It is estimated that about 60, 000 occupational deaths occur every year due to chemical exposure (Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2008). Biological hazards Construction site may have organisms that cause diseases. In addition some substances produced by organisms may cause diseases. These organisms may include microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, virus and molds. Toxic biological substances include animal waste products, contaminated human blood and plant toxin (Weeks and James, 2011). Biological factors affect human in several ways, ranging from mild reaction to serious infection or death. These organisms are small, require few resources and can survive in various habitat they pose greater risk to the employees. These organisms are found in water, soil, air, plants and animals (Construction Safety Council, 2012). Biological hazards may not be found in all construction sites. Construction sites that are most likely to have biological hazards are sites with groundwork and areas that requires demolition, refurbishment, renovation, sewerage system work and air venerations. Harmful biological products include bird droppings in demolition and renovation sites may cause disease such as respiratory pneumonia. Poor disposed human wastes such blood as well as sharp objects such as needles may cause diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Contaminated water through animal waste and sewage can cause water borne diseases. Employees in construction site have a direct interaction with each other and thus contagious disease such as flu and tuberculosis easily spread among the employees. Constant movement from one project to another may increase the risk of workers contracting other diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. Workers may also be attacked by wild animals as well as insect for destroying their habitat. Construction projects in new areas destroy areas occupied by snakes, wasps, ants among other animals (Weeks and James, 2011). To overcome this threats employees must take precautions such as maintain cleanliness, avoid sharing personal effects and wear protective clothes. Hazard prevention Despite the high risk in construction industry, accidents in the work places can be reduced through regular maintenance of equipment, using the right equipments for specific job, avoid working in uncomfortable posture that can strain various body parts, good working conditions, clearing the working areas to avoid abstraction and carefully following all the rules and regulations (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004). Employees should also ware protective gears such as face protection, foot protection, hand protection, head gear and hearing protection (Occupational Safety and Health Branch, 2004). Conclusion Construction industry has both developmental as well as economic advantages. It is among the largest industry employing large number of people across the globe. Unskilled labor is common in construction industry. However employees as well as general public are exposed to several hazards relating to construction. These hazards include ergonomic hazards, physical hazards, chemical hazards as well as biological hazards. Most these hazards are caused by human error and therefore can be minimized to acceptable levels through use of proper equipments, regular maintenance of the tools and machineries, wearing protective clothes, supervision at work as well as proper public and safety education. Most construction companies have realized that safety of their workers is a key factor to growth, effective production, low management cost and increase profitability. Work related hazards may not be completely eliminated but their mitigation can have a positive impact on the performance of the construction industry. The initial step to hazard mitigation is identification of existing hazards. References Batson R. G. (2012). Masonry construction. Professional Safety, 57(9), 44-49. Construction Safety Council (2012). Health hazards in construction. Workbook. Navon R. and Kolton O. (2006). Model for automated monitoring of fall hazards in building construction.  Journal of Construction Engineering & Management, 132, 7, pp. 733-740, Norlizah S. (2010). Managing physical hazards on construction site. Occupational Safety and Health Branch. (2004). Guidance notes on health hazards in construction work. Labour Department Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2008). Dermal exposure. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/dermalexposure/ Occupational Safety and Health Administration (n.d.). Welcome to OSHAs fall prevention campaign. https://www.osha.gov/stopfalls/ Weeks and James L. (2011). Health and safety hazards in the construction industry. Encyclopedia of occupational health and safety. Zou P.W. (2011). Fostering a strong construction safety culture, Leadership & Management In Engineering, 11, 1, pp. 11-22, Read More