Construction

Kansas City, MO — OSHA is urging employers in the construction industry to take part in a weeklong safety stand-down to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

Boston — The top five costliest injuries in the construction industry in 2018 had a combined price tag of nearly $9 billion, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index – an annual ranking of serious, nonfatal workplace injuries based on direct workers’ compensation costs involving more than five days away from work.

Los Angeles — When temperatures rise, the risk of injuries and incidents on the job escalates “significantly,” according to a recently published working paper authored by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University.

Contact with electricity is one of the leading causes of fatalities in construction, according to OSHA.

Toronto — Findings over the past decade – including the results of case studies in the past two to three years – have strengthened the link between the lung disease sarcoidosis and on-the-job exposures to, most notably, silica and silicates, dust from the World Trade Center, and metals, according to a recent research review.

Washington — OSHA’s Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health is scheduled to meet Aug. 11.

New York — A recent string of construction worker deaths has prompted the New York City Department of Buildings to begin conducting “zero-tolerance” safety sweeps at thousands of the largest and most complex construction sites in all five boroughs.

Silver Spring, MD — Workers in construction trades are at “significantly” higher risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than non-construction workers, according to the results of a recent study.

Detroit — Workers in construction and manufacturing may experience a “significantly higher incidence” of carpal tunnel syndrome compared with office workers, results of a recent study by researchers from the Henry Ford Health System show.

Outdoor workers are unique in that they regularly share their workspaces with wasps, bees, hornets and other stinging insects. It’s important for workers to know how to respond to and treat stings, especially because some people may be allergic.