Construction is a massive industry in the United States, as there is constant demand to build new homes, office buildings, malls, banks, and more. Many construction crews will be hard at work on a project, but as the adage goes, safety first. This applies not only to the workers, but also to the finished materials they are working with. Paint and paint thinner, silicate dust, glue, and more might get onto a surface and ruin it, such as drywall, floor tiles, or door jambs or even glass. For this reason, plastic sheets can be spread across the floor or door jamb protectors may be used as well. This can prevent time-consuming cleanup work if construction materials end up on a surface where they weren’t meant to go. During work, any responsible construction worker will use door jamb protectors, floor protection, a carpet shield, and more to keep everything neat and tidy. And of course, worker safety is a top priority. What is there to know about the hazards at the workplace?
Worker Hazards
Construction is a large industry, but it also presents a number of hazards to workers. Lung disease is just of of many health hazards that one may expect there. Workers often end up inhaling dust or silicate particles, harmful fumes, and more during work. The National Center for Biotechnology Information published a study on this topic in 2017, and the results were sobering. Just over half of all construction workers, 51.8% of them, had been diagnosed with moderate pulmonary restriction, and 4.7% of those cases were classified as obstructive. That could call for a trip to the hospital. Crystalline silica, for those unaware, are tiny airborne particles much smaller than sand grains, and they can greatly harm the lungs of anyone who inhales them. These particles are created during cutting, sawing, and crushing materials such as stone, rock, bricks, and concrete. It has been estimated that around 2.3 million Americans are exposed to respirable silica particles at their jobs. Overall, based on he severity, frequency, and preventability of the occupational lung diseases, they have been named the prime cause of occupation-associated illness in the United States.
Workers are urged to use eye, nose, and mouth protection while working to prevent lung illnesses. They can use surgical masks and goggles on the job, or even full respirators and gas masks if they are working around dangerous fumes. This can prevent silicates from entering the lungs, and can also protect a worker from paint thinner fumes, spray foam chemicals in the air, and motor fumes.
Protect the Surfaces
Workers can keep themselves safe with goggles, gas masks, and more. But what about the materials they are working with? Carpets and glass don’t have lungs, but they may suffer from spills or particles getting on them. When a window’s wooden frame is being painted, for example, a worker may accidentally get paint on the glass panes. Or, a worker who is cutting a hole into drywall may get a lot of particles onto the carpet under their feet, and that is a problem. Carpets can and do soak up a lot of dust, pollen, and other particles, which can make them unpleasant to smell or look at. Such carpets may also give off a lot of VOCs and other unwanted airborne materials. Even a clean-looking carpet might contain over a pound of dust and debris in a single square yard. And wooden door frames and jambs might get paint or paint thinner splashed on them.
This is where door jamb protectors and similar items come in. While a worker is cutting a hole into drywall for a lighting fixture, he or she should not only use eye and mouth protection, but also put down a protective sheet on the floor to keep dust from getting into the carpet. And while painting a door or the walls near the door, door jamb protectors can keep unwanted paint from getting onto the jab and ruining it. The same might be done if a lot of airborne plaster dust and other materials are floating around. A freshly painted door jamb may get a lot of particles stuck on the fresh paint. Door jamb protectors can help prevent that.
