Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Hospitalizes 12 Construction Workers in Maryland

A dozen construction workers in Odenton, Maryland were transported to local hospitals on Tuesday, July 17 after apparent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, according to local fire officials.

Crews began working on a federal credit union building around 5am Tuesday morning and between 8am and 9am, several workers began feeling sick, prompting a call to 911.  According to CBS Baltimore, propane powered saws were being used indoors that morning and is the likely cause of the incident.

When firefighters arrived, they measured carbon monoxide levels of up to 850 parts per million (ppm) inside the credit union. According to the CSPC, ppm amounts as low as 70 can cause symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and nausea. At sustained levels of 150 to 200 ppm, more severe symptoms like disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible.

3 of the victims were treated for serious symptoms and the other 9 were treated for possibly serious symptoms. Fire officials stayed on the site after the workers were transported to ventilate the building and bring the inside air down to safe levels.

As a reminder, CO is a colorless and odorless gas that is otherwise undetectable until symptoms appear. Even small propane powered tools have the ability to quickly fill an indoor space with CO. The CDC has a few recommendations to reduce the hazards of carbon monoxide on the jobsite, including not allowing gas powered equipment to be used indoors unless the engines can be located outside and away from air intakes and educating employees to recognize the common signs of CO overexposure. Electric powered or compressed air equipment should be used indoors, when possible. If it is impossible to avoid using gas powered equipment, employees can be outfitted with personal CO monitors to alert them if unsafe levels have been reached.

 Full story: 12 Hospitalized After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning At Credit Union | CBS Baltimore

How Construction Workers Can Better Protect Themselves from Skin Cancer

A large portion of construction work is completed outside, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers exposed to the sun for long periods of time.  Along with that sun exposure comes an increased risk of skin cancer, which is the most common type of cancer.

The deadliest form of skin cancer is melanoma and it is expected that 90,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease and 9,000 of those will be killed by the disease in 2018.  Not all of those cases will be from the construction industry, but it speaks to the real threat that skin cancer provides.

To help the construction industry reduce their risk of developing skin cancer, the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) has developed a document called Hazard Alert: Skin Cancer, which outlines how to protect your skin and how to detect early signs of the disease. You can find that document by clicking here, it’s a good hand out for your crew and a good topic for an upcoming toolbox talk.

Skin Cancer Detection

Like most cancers, early detection is the biggest key to recovery.  With skin cancers, the development of new moles is the most common warning sign that skin cancer is developing on your body.  CPWR states that you should look out for new or existing moles that:

• Have an irregular border

• Are not symmetrical or have color variation

• Are bigger than a pencil eraser

• Are itchy or painful

Another sign to look out for is if you have a bump, patch, or sore that bleeds, oozes, crusts, or doesn’t heal

How to Protect Your Skin

The first tip that the CPWR document is to wear sunscreen.  The avoidance of getting sunburned is a huge part of reducing skin cancer risk and an SPF of 30 or more can reduce your sunburn risk.

Protective clothing is another great way to avoid sunburns.  It may be counterintuitive for you to wear long sleeve shirts and pants in the summer, but they’re a very effective means of protecting the skin, because it doesn’t require you to re-apply sunscreen multiple times throughout the day. There are some good options for long sleeve shirts that wick away moisture, like Milwaukee’s Workskin shirts ($39.99 on Tool Barn). Be sure to cover your neck with a cloth flap attached to your hard hat, as well.

Staying in the shade is the 3rd effective means of avoiding sun exposure that CPWR notes.  Adjusting schedules to earlier in the day or overnight can keep workers cooler and out of the sun for longer.  When breaks are taken, find a shady spot or build a temporary shade structure.

In addition to skin cancer risks, there are plenty of other summer dangers on construction sites to be aware of, so make sure you and your crew is prepared to take on the heat.

Full story: Hazard Alert – Skin Cancer | CPWR

Are You Ready for a Smart Safety Boot on the Jobsite?

Now that nearly everyone has a cell phone, we’re entering a world where every single inanimate object has to be connected to the internet or Bluetooth.  In the past, we’ve talked about Bluetooth enabled tools, a smart hard hat, and even a smart safety vest that can send alerts if objects are approaching to quickly, among many others. We recently came across another piece of construction related Internet of Things (IoT) objects, a safety boots, thanks to Conexpo-Con/Agg’s blog.

Intellinium, a French company, has developed a “smart & connected safety shoe,” which can be used to alert workers of hazardous conditions or allow the worker wearing the boot to send for help, all with the tap of a toe. Alerts and messages are sent by the boot wearer using a derivative of MORSE code or through the use of a smartphone app. 

The boot itself features an internal sensor and an external sensor for acknowledging and sending alerts, so if the wearer’s leg or foot is injured, their hand is still able to reach down and activate the external sensor. Intellinium touts the fact that the user does not need to use hands to interact with the device as a difference maker amongst other smart PPE.

The boot is equipped with a system of vibration motors, a 90dB buzzer, and LED lights which allow the wearers to communicate with each other.

It appears that in order to benefit from all of the boot’s features you would have to purchase the boot from Intellinium, but they do also offer a “lateral flexible casing,” which can integrate some of the features into the boots the worker already owns.  In that situation, the internal sensor, which would allow hands free use, would not be available.

What do you think? Can you see yourself or your company wanting or needing this on a job site? Tell us in the comments below!