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Construction

Where are the hazards?

A broad range of construction activities[11] like:

  • cutting kerbstones
  • stonemasonry
  • scabbling
  • surface grinding
  • tunnelling
  • crushing
  • screening demolition material
  • clearing and removing rubble
  • chasing out mortar before repointing
  • laying epoxy floors and carpentry

can create a risk of exposure to hazardous substances that can damage the lungs when breathed in and cause lung disease if not properly controlled. 

What are the risks?

The most prevalent diseases in construction are asbestos-related diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer and silicosis.

Asbestos-related diseases

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and, by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal.

Asbestos-related lung cancer

Asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death.

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal.

Pleural thickening

Pleural thickening is generally a problem that happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COPD[12] is an obstruction of the airway that is not fully reversible. The condition is usually progressive and is associated with inflammatory responses of the lungs to hazardous substances.

Causes - exposure to harmful dust, fume and gases at work can contribute to the development of the disease.
Symptoms - include a chronic cough, sputum production and shortness of breath.
Construction workers have higher levels of this disease than the general population.

Occupational asthma

Occupational asthma is an allergic reaction some people experience when they are exposed to substances in the workplace, eg wood dust.

These substances are called 'respiratory sensitisers' or asthmagens. They can cause a 'hypersensitive state' in the airways of those affected.

Not everyone who becomes sensitised goes on to develop asthma, but once the lungs become hypersensitive, further exposure to the substance, even at quite low levels, may trigger an attack.

Work-related asthma can be triggered by exposure to substances in the workplace. People with asthma are more likely to be sensitive to these respiratory sensitisers.

Silicosis

Silicosis is an irreversible lung disease that can take years to develop.

Causes - Fine particles of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) cause damage and inflammation in the lungs. Over time, this leads to the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis), which shows up on chest X-rays.
Symptoms - Breathing difficulties and a chronic cough which may not appear before retirement. Silicosis can be extremely disabling and lead to early death.

Construction workers have an increased risk of developing silicosis because of exposure to high levels of silica dust during certain tasks.

If high-speed cutting tools are used on high-silica-content materials without suitable controls, RCS exposures can be very high. Exposures to freshly cut surfaces of RCS occur in many construction tasks such as cutting, blasting, drilling and grinding.

The RCS hazard is present whether the parent material is granite, sandstone, slate, or a manufactured product such as brick or concrete.

How to control

Asbestos

If you are likely to be working with asbestos in construction there is specific help and guidance available: Construction - Asbestos removal industry health & safety

Construction health risks

The construction health risks site[13] shows how to manage the health risks associated with working in construction.

Link URLs in this page

  1. Lung diseasehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/index.htm
  2. Lung disease basicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/about.htm
  3. Industry respiratory health links: Alpha A-Zhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/a-z.htm
  4. Silicosishttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/silicosis.htm
  5. Pneumoconiosishttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/pneumoconiosis.htm
  6. Extrinsic allergic alveolitishttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/extrinsic-allergic-alveolitis.htm
  7. Getting helphttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/help.htm
  8. Specialist serviceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/specialist-services.htm
  9. Overview - Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/resources.htm
  10. Videoshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/videos.htm
  11. construction activitieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/index.htm
  12. COPDhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/copd/index.htm
  13. construction health risks sitehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/index.htm
  14. Confined spaces: A brief guide to working safelyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg258.htm
  15. Control of exposure to silica dust: A guide for employeeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg463.htm
  16. Health surveillance for those exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/healthsurveillance.htm
  17. COSHHhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm
  18. COSHH Essentialshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/index.htm
  19. Asthmahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/index.htm
  20. COPDhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/copd/index.htm
  21. Local exhaust ventilationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/lev/index.htm
  22. Agriculture workers - Common causes of asthmahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/agriculture.htm
  23. All you need to know about disposable dust maskshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/dustmasks.htm
  24. Food Industry - Bakery productshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/food/bakery.htm
  25. Occupational asthma and rhinitis in bakerieshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/food/asthma.htm
  26. Common causes of asthma in bakershttps://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/bakers.htm
  27. COSHH Essentials in Quarries https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/qyseries.htm
  28. Health surveillance for those exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/g404.pdf
  29. Health and safety in the cement industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/non-metallic-minerals/concrete.htm
  30. COSHH Essentials series in ceramicshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/crseries.htm
  31. HSE Construction homepagehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm
  32. Dust control on cut-off saws used for stone or concrete cuttinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis54.pdf
  33. Solderers, eg in electronics - common causes of asthmahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/solderers.htm
  34. Health and safety in the engineering industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/engineering/index.htm
  35. Engineering workers - Common causes of asthmahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/engineering.htm
  36. Agriculturehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/index.htm
  37. Dermatitishttps://www.hse.gov.uk/skin/employ/dermatitis.htm
  38. Metalworking fluidshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/metalworking/index.htm
  39. Health and safety in mininghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/mining/index.htm
  40. BK – COSHH essentials in brick and tile making: Silicahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/bkseries.htm
  41. FD - COSHH essentials in foundries: Silicahttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/fdseries.htm
  42. Molten metals leaflets and guidancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/moltenmetals/guidance.htm
  43. Controlling airborne contaminants at workhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg258.htm
  44. Molten metal homepagehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/moltenmetals/index.htm
  45. Plastics Info sheet 13 - Controlling fume during plastics processinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ppis13.htm
  46. Plastics Info sheet 14 - Controlling Styrene levelshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ppis14.pdf
  47. List of general publications for the plastics industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/plastics/publications.htm
  48. Health surveillance for Occupational asthma https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/g402.pdf
  49. Health and safety in the Textiles industryhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/textiles/index.htm
  50. Textile Services Associationhttp://www.tsa-uk.org/
  51. Waste management and Recycling Health informationhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/health.htm#intro
  52. HSE Waste management and recycling websitehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/index.htm
  53. Recycling biodegradable waste health information https://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/composting.htm

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Updated: 2024-08-08