Construction workers

The cause of the explosion, which also left four people seriously injured and 31 others with minor injuries, is unknown. A Hoechst Celanese spokesman says that the first blast occurred near a gas-fired boiler and the second blast at a nearby reactor in which butane is reacted with steam to produce acetic acid. The 35-year-old plant employs 600 persons, 150 as contract maintenance and construction workers, but the blasts on Saturday only involved a weekend crew of 60. 

The construction worker who was to cairy out the modification checked the cable with a current detector and found that the wrong one had been disconnected. It was then found that the cable was incorrectly described on the written instmctions given to the operators. The description of the cable was not entirely clear, but instead of querying it, the first operator decided what he thought was the correct cable and asked the electrician to disconnect it. The second operator, or checker, had not been trained to check cables [32]. 

The total number of calories a person needs each day is the sum of the basal requirement plus the energy used for physical activities, as shown in Table 29.1. A relatively inactive person needs about 30% above basal requirements per day, a lightly active person needs about 50% above basal, and a very active person such as an athlete or construction worker may need 100% above basal requirements. Some endurance athletes in ultradistance events can use as many as 10,000 keal/day above the basal level. Each day that your caloric intake is above what you use, fat is stored in your body and your weight rises. Each day that your caloric intake is below whatyou use, fat in your body is metabolized and your weight drops. 

FIGURE 62-5. Allergic contact dermatitis of the hand chromates. Confluent papules, vesicles, erosions, and crusts on the dorsum of the left hand in a construction worker who was allergic to chromates. (From Wolff K, Johnson RA. Eczema/ dermatitis. Fitzpatrick s Color Atlas Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. New York McGraw-Hill, 2005 27.)... 

Construction worker smoker with 35 pack-year history Meds... 

KM has light-brown hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. He has a history of numerous severe blistering sunburns in his childhood. As a teenager and young adult, he spent many hours outdoors as a construction worker and a lifeguard. 

Labour will be needed for construction of the plant and its operation. Skilled construction workers will usually be brought in from outside the site area, but there should be an adequate pool of unskilled labour available locally and labour suitable for training to operate the plant. Skilled tradesmen will be needed for plant maintenance. Local trade union customs and restrictive practices will have to be considered when assessing the availability and suitability of the local labour for recruitment and training. 

Cardiovascular effects have been noted in occupationally exposed workers after exposure to high levels of lead following exposure durations of as short as 4 weeks. Construction workers (race not specified) using oxyacetylene torches to cut a metal bridge that had been painted with lead-based paint were reported to exhibit increases in heart rate and blood pressure after 4 weeks of exposure (Marino et al. 

Fiedler NL University of Medicine Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ Compare the neurobehavioral performance of 60 construction workers exposed to lead and/or solvents National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... 

Performing research to determine why high blood levels continue to occur in bridge construction workers despite government regulations and industry recommendations... 

Marino PE, Franzblau A, Lilis R, et al. 1989. Acute lead poisoning in construction workers The failure of current protective standards. Arch Environ Health 44 140-145. 

Whelan EA, Piacitelli GM, Gerwel B, et al. 1997. Elevated blood lead levels in children of construction workers. Am J Public Health 87(8) 1352-1355. 

Throughout Europe as of 17.01.2005 only cements with a maximum chrome Vt ratio of 2 p.p.m. may be used and marketed for activities where skin contact is possible. Hazardous substance information system of the construction workers statutory accident insurance... 

Bherer L, Cushman R, Couteau JP, Quevil-lon M, et al Survey of construction workers repeatedly exposed to chlorine over a three to six month period in a pulpmill II. Follow up of affected workers by questionnaire, spirometry, and assessment of bronchial responsiveness 18 to 24 months after exposure ended. Occup Environ Med 51(4) 225-228, 1994... 

Compared to 352 local female construction workers in which the spontaneous abortion rate was 8.5%, an increase in spontaneous abortions to 15.9% was observed among 356 women who worked in a nickel hydrometallurgy refining plant in the arctic region of Russia (Chashschin et al. 1994). Exposure concentrations were 0.08-0.196 mg nickel/m, primarily as nickel sulfate, and nickel concentrations in the urine were 3.2-22.6 pg/L. Nickel levels in the urine of persons not occupationally exposed are generally <0.1-13.3 pg/L (Sunderman 1993). The investigators noted that the nickel-exposed women manually lifted heavy nickel anodes and that they may have experienced heat stress. 

Designing materials rather than relying on trial and error would be much faster and more efhdent. Imagine a team of construction workers trying to raise a skyscraper without benefit of a blueprint or architect— one mistake and the whole thing tips over. Developing new materials without a plan can be just as frustrating. 

Why do construction workers spray water when they are working with very dusty materials ... 

Harrison et al. (1985, 1987) reported on two construction workers who were exposed to 2-nitropropane while applying epoxy resin coating. One man died 10 days after exposure from fulminant hepatitis, the other man had persistently elevated serum aminotransferase activity. Serum concentrations of 2-nitropropane on admission were 13 mg/L in the man who died and 8.5 mg/L in his co-worker. 

Disaster Planning. Plant managers should recognize the possibility of natural and industrial emergencies and should oversee formulation of a plan of action in case of disaster. The plan should be well documented and be made known to all personnel critical to its implementation. Practice fire and explosion drills should be carried out to make sure that all personnel, ie, employees, visitors, construction workers, contractors, vendors, etc, are accounted for, and that the participants know what to do in a major emergency. 

Kirchner and Pemak (2004) investigated building material and analyzed indoor air for phenolic compounds in several buildings in East Berlin, Germany. Their work was done because of complaints of users, construction workers and the construction management about odor annoyance and health problems like headache and discomfort Phenolic compounds in indoor air summed up to concentrations between 15 and 105 ggm 3 with 4-ethylphenol and 2.4-dimethylphenol as most abundant. Although presumably not all substances responsible for the malodor may have been found, the main sources were identified. These were... 

PEL (8-hour TWA) for construction workers 5 mg/m3 OSHA 2001c 29CFR1926.55... 

The effect of decreasing the concentration of water-soluble chromium in cement from about 10 to below 2 ppm on the incidences of chromium-induced dermatitis was examined among construction workers in Finland (Roto et al. 1996). After 1987, when the decrease occurred, allergic dermatitis caused by chromium in the industry was reduced by 33% from previous levels, whereas irritant contact dermatitis remained unchanged. 

Hour time weighted average for construction workers Chromium(ll) Chromium(lll) Chromium metal and insoluble salts Chromic acid and chromates 0.5 mg/m3 0.5 mg/m3 1.0 mg/m3 0.1 mg Cr03/m3 29 CFR 1926.55 OSHA 1999c... 

Roto P, Sainio H, Reunala T, et al. 1996. Addition of ferrous sulfate to cement and risk of chromium dermatitis among construction workers. Contact Dermatitis 34 43-50. 

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