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Injury Prevention Resources for Construction - General Construction

General Construction | Hazardous Materials | Heavy Construction | Road Construction

Concrete & Masonry | Cranes | Demolition | Electrical | Fall Protection | Hearing Protection | Mobile Equipment | Personal Protective Equipment | Residential | Roofing | Scaffolding | Site Preparation & Excavation | General

The following links list tools, publications, and other resources to help prevent the most common injuries and illnesses in the construction industry. These resources may not meet all the requirements for health and safety in British Columbia. Please check the Workers Compensation Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, and related materials for specific WorkSafeBC requirements.

Demolition

WorkSafe Bulletin: The dangers of breathing silica dust WS 2009-04 new item
This WorkSafe bulletin defines silica, silicosis, and how employers and workers can protect themselves from exposure to silica dust.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC

WorkSafe Bulletin: Renovation and Restoration Projects WS 05-06 (PDF 85 KB)
This WorkSafe bulletin describes what's required of you and your contractor before you start your renovation or restoration projects.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC

Asbestos Hazards in Demolition, Renovation and Salvage WS 03-03 (PDF 193 KB) space
This WorkSafe Bulletin describes the safe methods of handling asbestos-containing material (ACM), procedures for demolition, renovation, or salvage of buildings or structures, and the responsibilities of employer or owner/builder.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC

Also available in the following languages:

An Evaluation of Glove Bag Containment in Asbestos Removal (PDF 3 MB) space
This report examines the effectiveness of the glove bag control method to prevent asbestos emissions during the removal of asbestos-containing pipe lagging.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

OSHA Asbestos Advisor 2.0 space
"The Asbestos Advisor is an interactive compliance assistance tool. Once installed on your PC, it can interview you about buildings and worksites, and the kinds of tasks workers perform there. It will produce guidance on how the Asbestos standard may apply to those buildings and that work. Its guidance depends on your answers. It can provide general guidance and may, also, be focused on a particular project. It provides pop-up definitions through 'hypertext'."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

OSHA Technical Links: Asbestos space
List of "technical links" to internal and external online resources.
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Safe Work Practices for Handling Asbestos BK27 (PDF 1 MB) space
This booklet describes the safe methods of handling all types of asbestos-containing materials. It discusses suitable work procedures for the removal, enclosure, and encapsulation of friable asbestos materials.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC
Available in print from Publications, Videos and Forms Distribution.
Updated: July 2006

OSHA Technical Links: Demolition space
List of "technical links" to internal and external online resources.
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Children of Construction Workers at Increased Risk for Lead Poisoning space
"In the first comprehensive study of home lead contamination among construction workers, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that children of lead-exposed construction workers were six times more likely to have blood lead levels over the recommended limit than children whose parents did not work in lead-related industries."
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Lead: Preventing Exposure at Work BK17 (PDF 515 KB) space
This booklet explains lead exposure, its health effects, and ways to prevent it.
Source: WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBC

Controlling Lead Exposures in the Construction Industry: Engineering and Work Practice Controls space
"This chapter [Section V, Chapter 3] provides OSHA compliance officers and safety and health professionals with general information on the types of construction activities involving worker exposure to lead and the feasible engineering and work practice controls to reduce these exposures. The construction activities identified range from those such as abrasive blasting and welding, cutting, and burning, where exposures to lead are often high, to encapsulating lead-based paint or using lead pots, where exposures are generally low."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Lead in Construction (PDF 1 MB) space
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

OSHA Lead in Construction Advisor 1.0 space
"This program provides interactive expert help on OSHA's Lead in Construction standard (29CFR1926.62). Once installed on your PC, it asks you about work policies and practices. Then, it asks follow-up questions based on your answers, in order to provide help regarding coverage of the rule, initial determinations, use of exposure data, and more."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

OSHA Technical Links: Lead Exposure space
List of "technical links" to internal and external online resources.
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

Preventing Lead Poisoning in Construction Workers space
Lead poisoning may occur in workers during abrasive blasting, sanding, cutting, burning, or welding of bridges and other steel structures coated with lead-containing paints. This NIOSH Alert provides case reports of 42 constructions workers at 8 different worksites who developed lead poisoning, and recommends measures for reducing lead exposure and preventing lead poisoning among workers involved in demolishing or maintaining bridges and other steel structures.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Protecting Workers Exposed to Lead-Based Paint Hazards: A Report to Congress space
This report summarizes current information regarding the health effects of occupational lead exposures, high-risk exposure settings, surveillance and intervention capabilities, and methods for control, sampling and analysis of lead exposures. It also provides recommendations for reducing hazardous occupational lead abatement exposures.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Crystalline Silica Dust Exposure in Construction (PDF 176 KB)space
"Worker exposure to crystalline silica and other air contaminants often goes unchecked because some businesses lack organized respiratory protection programs or employee training."
Source: Yukon Worker's Compensation Health and Safety Board

New Shroud Design Controls Silica Dust from Surface Mine and Construction Blast Hole Drills space
NIOSH Hazard Control
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

NIOSH Issues Nationwide Alert on Silicosis space
"A nationwide Alert to warn workers involved in rock drilling that they may be at risk for developing silicosis -- a chronic, irreversible, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease which is completely preventable."
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

NIOSH Warns of Silicosis Risks in Construction, Suggests Measures to Reduce Exposure space
"Exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust during construction activities can cause silicosis -- a serious and potentially fatal respiratory disease -- but employers and workers can take practical steps to reduce risks, according to an Alert released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)."
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

OSHA Silica Advisor space
"An expert training and information aid. It includes current information that will assist businesses and workers in identifying potential silica hazards in their workplaces by choosing appropriate sampling and analytical techniques, comparing monitoring results with the silica exposure limits, and selecting appropriate short-term and long-term control options."
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

OSHA Technical Links: Silica, Crystalline space
List of "technical links" to internal and external online resources.
Source: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

NIOSH Silica Topic Page space
Provides links and references for silica.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Preventing Silicosis and Deaths from Sandblasting space
This Alert describes 99 cases of silicosis from exposure to crystalline silica during sandblasting. It recommends measures to reduce such exposures in the workplace.
Source: NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Code of Practice No.14 - Demolition (PDF 764 KB)
"Demolition is a 71 page guide that provides practical guidance on measures to be taken to prevent injury and disease to people engaged in work on demolition sites, and to any others who might be exposed to risks arising from the demolition process. See also Demolition (Amendment No.1)."
Source: Victorian WorkCover Authority, Australia

Code of Practice No.14 - Demolition (Amendment No.1) (PDF 18 KB)
"Demolition (Amendment No.1) amends Demolition (Code of Practice No. 14) in respect to guidance on individual fall arrest systems for people engaged in work at height on demolition sites. It consists of 4 pages."
Source: Victorian WorkCover Authority, Australia



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