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Information about Construction Site Safety

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A site-safety sign at a highway overpass construction site describing the mandatory safety procedures and equipment.
Construction is the most dangerous land based work sector in Europe(the fishing industry is more dangerous). In the European Union, the fatal accident rate is nearly 13 workers per 100,000 as against 5 per 100,000 for the all sector average (Source: Eurostat).

In the U.S. at least 17,000 construction workers died from injuries suffered on the job from 1980 through 1995. [1] Construction has about 6% of U.S. workers, but 20% of the fatalities - the largest number of fatalities reported for any industry sector.[2] Construction has the third highest rate of death by injury: 15.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. Only mining and agriculture experience higher rates.[1]

The problem is not that the hazards and risks are unknown, it is that they are very difficult to control in a constantly changing work environment.

Nature of hazards

Hazards to construction workers

The leading safety hazards on site are falls from height, motor vehicle crashes,electrocution, machines, and being struck by falling objects. Some of the main health hazards on site are asbestos, solvents, noise, and manual handling activities.

Hazards to non-workers

Many construction sites cannot completely exclude non-workers. Road construction sites must often allow traffic to pass through. This places non-workers at some degree of risk.

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This sign and advisory plate (625 MPH, a test engineer's joke) penetrated the windshield and roof of a car in a side-impact test crash. A safer sign would have stiffer uprights, no advisory plate and the flashing light would be moved to the point of the sign to spread the impact force.
Road construction sites are blocked-off and traffic is redirected. The sites and vehicles are protected by signs and barricades. However, sometimes even these signs and barricades can be a hazard to vehicle traffic. For example, improperly designed barricades can cause cars that strike them to roll over or even be thrown into the air. Even a simple safety sign can penetrate the windshield or roof of a car if hit from certain angles.

Applicable laws

Under European Union Law, there are European Union Directives in place to protect workers, notably Directive 89/391 (the Framework Directive) and Directive 92/57 (the Temporary and Mobile Sites Directive). This legislation is transposed into the Member States and places requirements on employers (and others) to assess and protect workers health and safety.

In the United States the Occupational Safety & Health Administration OSHA sets and enforces standards concerning workplace safety and health.

See also

External Links

References

1. ^ NIOSH Construction Safety. United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
2. ^ NIOSH Construction. United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
construction is the building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site or sites. Although this may not be thought of as a single activity, in fact construction is a feat of multitasking.
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The fishing industry is the commercial activity aimed at delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes.
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“EU” redirects here. For other uses, see EU (disambiguation).


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European Union

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Politics and government of
the European Union


Treaties
Rome Maastricht (Pillars)
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Asbestos is derived from a Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. It is distinguished from other minerals by the fact that its crystals form long, thin fibers. Deposits of asbestos are found throughout the world.
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A solvent is a liquid that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution. The most common solvent in everyday life is water. Most other commonly-used solvents are organic (carbon-containing) chemicals. These are called organic solvents.
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Noise pollution (or environmental noise in technical venues) is displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the environment. The dominant form of noise pollution is from transportation sources, principally motor vehicles.
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European Union

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the European Union


Treaties
Rome Maastricht (Pillars)
Amsterdam Nice Reform
Institutions
Commission President Jos Manuel Barroso
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European Union

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the European Union


Treaties
Rome Maastricht (Pillars)
Amsterdam Nice Reform
Institutions
Commission President Jos Manuel Barroso
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
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OSHA may refer to:
  • European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, an Agency of the European Union
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal American agency

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Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. As a secondary effect, OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby
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construction is the building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site or sites. Although this may not be thought of as a single activity, in fact construction is a feat of multitasking.
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Temporary Fence is used where building a permanent fence is either impractical or unneeded. Temporary fencing is most commonly used as security fencing for building sites. Other uses for temporary fencing include venue division at large events and public restriction on industrial
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Roof edge protection is fall protection equipment most commonly used during the construction of commercial buildings or residential housing.

Legal requirements

Many federal and/or state laws require building contractors to put measures in place to prevent workers falling
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