Hazards compound normal everyday dangers associated with construction

The wreckage left behind by Hurricane Sandy and the lingering recovery effort strike a familiar chord with the issues of health and safety for the recovery workers and the occupants of affected buildings. Based on lessons learned from September 11 and Katrina, it is clear that Environmental Health and Safety cannot be overlooked as an integral part of the recovery plan. The recovery efforts will not be deemed successful if the physical destruction has been repaired, but thousands of construction and emergency response and recovery personnel are left with adverse long-term occupational illnesses. At a minimum, contractors and their workforce must be aware of, and take measures to protect against, the hazards their workforce may be exposed to during recovery operations. While workers are clearing potentially contaminated debris from interiors there are specific precautions that must be taken. The removal of water damaged interiors may disturb asbestos or could possibly contain contaminants such as lead, mold or fecal coliform from raw sewage that flooded interiors and must be properly handled and disposed of. Carbon monoxide produced by temporary generators or damaged heating and ventilating systems could cause illness and possible death. The corrosive and possibly latent effects of seawater in electrical systems could cause fire or equipment damage, which may be initially unnoticed. Recovery workers must be trained to recognize indicators that could lead to collapse of smaller, unreinforced structures. Shifting or heavy, water-logged soils against fragile or already deteriorated foundations or the removal of load-bearing partitions could activate movement leading to a collapse. These hazards compound with the normal everyday dangers associated with construction, interior demolition and excavation work. While the immediate result of short cuts in worker safety has its own risks, we must be equally concerned with the long-term health and safety of the building's occupants. After the initial remediation of the obvious damage is completed and tenants begin to re-occupy office buildings, the long-term effects of incomplete abatement and poor indoor air quality will present future liability to building managers and owners. Building managers can mitigate these risks by implementing safe work plans that include qualified safety professionals to support recovery efforts. The safety professional may perform the following functions: Develop safety guidelines for contractors' staff, subcontractors, and subcontractors' workforce to follow during recovery operations. These guidelines will be specific to the hazards that may be encountered during the scope of work that has been identified. Develop a hazard recognition and hazard mitigation orientation that will be provided to each person that will perform work involving the recovery operations. A written acknowledgment of the completion of the orientation will be obtained and maintained by the safety professional. Periodic site visits will be performed wherever there is active work being performed to review for compliance with the established safety guidelines and to verify that all workers have received the required safety orientation. Compliance with the established safety guidelines will be verified. A written report of findings will be maintained on a daily basis. It will identify the locations where inspections where performed, verify the conditions that existed, and specify any recommendations that were not immediately complied with. Should an accident occur, the safety professional will conduct an accident investigation and prepare and accident report of findings. Toolbox talks will be performed with the contractor's personnel, a record of toolbox talks will be collected from subcontractor personnel, and safety briefings and meetings will be held as appropriate. Construction safety, and EH&S trainers conduct specialized training as needs arise. This includes, asbestos, hazwoper, lead awareness, confined space, scaffolding or any other occupational health and safety training program. Air and water sampling technicians should provide confirmation that an area is free from a known hazardous substance. TSC, the leader in safety management and environmental safety and health training is working with clients to ensure a safe recovery effort and are providing emergency personnel where essential fire services have been disrupted or are off line. TSC is also assisting clients in facilitating scaffold, crane and sidewalk shed inspections, and having jobs released to go back to work. Additional training classes have been added to accommodate the increase attendees. The issues addressed in this article are critical to a successful recovery effort. TSC wishes you a swift recovery and will offer any assistance you may need in your efforts to resume normal operations. Paul D'Alessio is senior technical consultant for Total Safety Consulting LLC, New York, N.Y.