ConstructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
is the most dangerous land based work sector in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
(the
fishing industryThe fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
being more dangerous). In the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
, the fatal accident rate is nearly 13 workers per 100,000 as against 5 per 100,000 for the all sector average (Source:
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
).
In the U.S. there were 1,225 fatal occupational injuries in the construction sector in 2001 with an incidence rate of 13.3 per 100,000 employed workers.
ConstructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
is the most dangerous land based work sector in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
(the
fishing industryThe fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
being more dangerous). In the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
, the fatal accident rate is nearly 13 workers per 100,000 as against 5 per 100,000 for the all sector average (Source:
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
).
In the U.S. there were 1,225 fatal occupational injuries in the construction sector in 2001 with an incidence rate of 13.3 per 100,000 employed workers. For the same year the construction industry experienced 481,400 nonfatal injuries and illnesses at a rate of 7.9 per 100 full-time workers in the industry. Construction has about 6% of U.S. workers, but 20% of the fatalities - the largest number of fatalities reported for any industry sector.
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.
Construction Fatality Rates
| Country/Region | Fatalities (per Annum per 100,000 Workers) | Year | Notes |
|---|
| EU |
13.3 |
1996 |
|
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
|
12.1 |
1996 |
|
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
|
15.4 |
1996 |
|
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
|
8.0 |
1996 |
|
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
|
14.4 |
1996 |
|
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
|
3.4 |
2007/08 |
|
| United States of America |
10.8 |
2006 |
|
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
asbestosAsbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral with long, thin fibrous crystals. The word asbestos is a borrowed Greek adjective meaning inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the miracle mineral because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand...
, 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.
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 LawThe Law of the European Union is the unique legal system which operates alongside the laws of Member States of the European Union . EU law has direct effect within the legal systems of its Member States, and overrides national law in many areas, especially in areas covered by the Single Market...
, there are
European Union DirectiveA directive is a legislative act of the European Union, which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives...
s 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 StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the Occupational Safety & Health Administration
OSHAOSHA may refer to:* Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an American federal agency* Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, a federal law in the United States, the act that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration mentioned above* Occupational Safety and Health Act...
sets and enforces standards concerning workplace safety and health.
See also
- Occupational Safety
- Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking...
- Temporary fencing
Temporary Fence is used where building a permanent fence is either impractical or unneeded. Temporary fencing is used when an area needs barriers for the purposes of public safety or security, crowd control, theft deterrent, or equipment storage. Its most common use is as construction hoarding for...
- Roof edge protection
Roof edge protection is fall protection equipment most commonly used during the construction of commercial buildings or residential housing. It often consists of a toe board, a main guard rail and an intermediate rail.".-Legal requirements:...
- Safety by Design
Safety by design is a concept and movement that encourages construction or product designers to "design out" health and safety risks during design development...
- NIOSH Power Tools Database
The NIOSH Power Tools Database contains sound power levels, sound pressure levels, and vibrations data for a variety of common power tools that have been tested by researchers. Data are collected for both the unloaded and loaded use of power tools...
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_In_Sound_Award Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award
External links