Construction work is quite hugely important, there is just no doubting this fact. After all, it is through the construction industry that so much is possible. For instance, the homes that we live in are only made possible thanks to the industry of construction. So too are the buildings that we work in, the places we shop in, and even the various elements of infrastructure that we use on a regular basis as well. All of it is made possible through various construction endeavors.
However, protecting construction workers has become more essential than ever before, especially when you really break down the risks of things they are susceptible to. Consider lung disease, which is more commonplace than any other occupational disease throughout all industries and all throughout the country. Unfortunately, lung disease is particularly high in the field of construction, where more than half of all construction workers past and present have or will be diagnosed with at least a moderate pulmonary restriction. Among nearly 5% of all such workers, this restriction would even be classified as quite totally obstructive.
But how does this happen? In most cases, at least in the construction world, it is due to the things that construction workers are breathing in. Take the handling of stone products, for instance, common in many a home and other such building. Through not only the cutting of stone, but the grinding, sawing, drilling and crushing of it, crystalline silica particles can all too easily be released into the air. And if you don’t know about the risk of crystalline silica already, this will not tell you, as these particles are so much smaller than even a grain of sand, invisible to the human eye. And so it is unfortunately not surprising that very nearly two and a half million construction workers will be exposed to this crystalline silica over the course of a single year.
And the toll that this crystalline silica will take is certainly an immense one. Not only can crystalline silica exposure over the course of time lead to conditions like COPD, but it can actually cause lung cancer as well. In addition to this, regular crystalline silica exposure has even been linked to a number of different kinds of kidney disease to boot. Therefore, putting the proper measures of protection into place when it comes to any construction endeavor where crystalline silica might be found is something that is certainly quite hugely important indeed, no doubt about it in the slightest.
Of course, the home itself must be kept protected. This is critical for reducing the amount of crystalline silica or even other harmful products from getting released into the air within the home and lingering there, either stuck to the carpeting or furniture or even getting pulled into the HVAC system. One way to prevent this is through the regular cleaning of the HVAC system in general. After all, contaminants found in the typical HVAC system can actually circulate throughout the typical home as many as seven times over the course of just one day. Therefore, taking steps to prevent this can end up going a long way in terms of protecting overall health.
In addition, the use of floor protection for painting and other construction endeavors is a must. Floor protection for painting and other types of temporary floor protection are critical for keeping the flooring in any given home or building clean. Floor protection for painting and any other kind of temporary floor covering is likely to be particularly essential for carpeting, a type of flooring that can all too quickly become immensely dirty in any given construction environment. As a matter of fact, just one square yard of carpet can hold a whole pound of dirt. The use of floor protection for painting can prevent this. And floor protection for painting is certainly not the only type of protection that should be used. In addition to floor protection for painting, other types of temporary surface protection should also be utilized, as such site protection will keep everything in tip top shape and as it was before the construction process.
