Green construction and worker safety
Green construction yields promising results for the future of our planet. But new technologies come with new safety risks for workers.
Folk, Emily
http://theecologist.org/2019/mar/19/green-construction-and-worker-safety
Date Written: 2019-03-19
Publisher: The Ecologist
Year Published: 2019
Resource Type: Article
Cx Number: CX23554
Eco-friendly construction exposes workers to new methods and materials which do not have the standard safety practices of those that are more established.
Abstract:
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Excerpt:
While worksites have improved in the past, how things are built is under constant transformation.
In this case, switching to green, eco-friendly building designs have been both a good and bad thing for construction workers. While the general point is to ensure the health of people throughout the building's life, some of the practices are new and not yet mastered....
The NIOSH Office of Construction Safety and Health, along with the United States Green Building Council, has developed a concept called Prevention through Design, or PtD. This concept, explained in two webinars, covers the prevention of occupational injuries, illnesses, fatalities and exposures on the worksite. PtD is there to minimize risks during the design phase of buildings by changing equipment, tools, processes and anything else to make the job safer.
Through PtD, workers eliminate hazards as early as possible. This can easily be implemented through green construction, as everything to make the building green is decided upon during the design phase. The premises, structure, equipment, machinery, substances and other parts of construction all have to be taken into account for both reasons.
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