Health Hazards in Construction: An Evidence-Based Approach to Estimating Exposure

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brooks SB ; Cain CT ; Memarian B
• Description:
  Despite efforts to create safer and healthier workplaces, construction workers in the U.S. still experience a noticeably high rate of fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses. The construction industry has experienced a fatality rate of 10.2 per 100,000 full-time employees, approximately three times higher than all other industries' average (CPWR, 2018). These fatalities are, to a large extent, attributed to acute safety incidents or exposure to hazardous substances and materials on construction jobsites. However, approximately 95,000 workers died in 2017 from chronic occupational diseases (AFL-CIO, 2019), and up to 50% of occupational cancer deaths are attributed to exposures in the construction industry (Hutchings & Rushton, 2012). National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Construction Sector Council (2018) has identified silica, welding fumes, noise and lead as research priorities in the construction industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS: 1. Engineering controls are one of the most effective means of reducing construction worker exposure to health hazards. However, given the variability of construction tasks and the dynamic nature of construction work sites, assessing worker exposure and selecting the most appropriate controls at the outset of a project is challenging. 2. This article discusses the development, functionality and application of the Exposure Control Database, an evidence-based solution that estimates construction worker exposure to four common health hazards: silica, welding fumes, noise and lead. 3. It also highlights the limitations and lack of consistency in air sampling procedures and outlines a new approach to standardize and continuously improve data collection and data sharing processes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Database Engineering Hazardous Substances Lead Noise Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Silicon Dioxide Welding Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Construction Construction Industry Construction Workers Databases Engineering Controls Exposure Assessment Hazard Communication Health Hazards Information Dissemination Information Retrieval Systems Occupational Exposure Occupational Hazards Occupational Health Safety Education Safety Research Silica Welding Fumes Work Environment

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• ISSN:
  0099-0027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  28-32
• Volume:
  65
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060080
• Citation:
  Prof Saf 2020 May; 65(5):28-32
• Contact Point Address:
  Babak Memarian, Director, Exposure Control Technologies Research, CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Professional Safety
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8dcfe2780b7eda49a79644818f3c1cbe880e834ff37b93dbabb973d9ce2d09cb7972f846559b8c2fe21f6c64df8090c11552c99a3efb42edd605c2ce2739bf30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224108/cdc_224108_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 430.97 KB ]