Construction workers are among the segments of the U.S. population opioids have hit hardest. Recent state-level studies of opioid overdose deaths show that construction workers are six to seven times more likely to die of an overdose than workers in other professions. The impact of opioids to our
field led CPWR to make it the focus of this recent Quarterly Data Report.

The report examines a small subset of construction workers who died of an overdose: those who died on a worksite. These are figures for which we have national data, but there is not equivalent national data yet about how many of the 130 Americans who die each day from an opioid overdose work in construction.

This report also reveals other gaps in our understanding of the impact of opioids on construction workers. For example, Section 2 contains the surprising finding that the percentage of workers who used prescribed opioids, on average, is slightly lower than workers in all industries combined.  Read more at https://www.cpwr.com/sites/default/files/publications/Quarter4-QDR-2019.pdf.

The first NIOSH-Arizona State University Prevention thru Design (PtD) workshop will be held on March 11th, 2020 in Tempe, AZ.  The workshop aims to identify, exchange, and leverage experiences and expertise on PtD research, practice, and education efforts at engineering, design, contractor, client and owner organizations, insurers, US colleges and universities, and agencies.

Workshop participants will actively engage in the assessment and comparison between outstanding and poor implementation and education cases. With subject matter expert (SME) feedback, a baseline on the current PtD state-of-the-art will be established. Past, current, and potential PtD research efforts will be discussed. High payoff research topics will be characterized. Synergistic and collaborative opportunities will be sought among SMEs, researchers, and academics.

Learn more from the official flyer and view workshop details at https://ptd.engineering.asu.edu/.

From Boston University:

Coming into contact with dangerous heavy metals like lead can, unfortunately, be a part of the daily job for construction workers across the country. Side effects of lead exposure are well documented, and can cause severe health problems like anemia, weakness, and kidney and brain damage. Very high lead exposure can even cause death.

But construction workers themselves aren’t the only people at risk—so are their loved ones at home, including their children, whose small bodies can be disproportionately affected by lead exposure.

As part of a nationwide effort to curb household contamination from toxins and harmful substances, Diana Ceballos will lead a team of BU researchers working to illuminate new ways to reduce lead levels in children who live in homes of construction workers.

Learn more at http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/workplace-lead-exposure/

NIOSH’s free daily inspection walkthrough tool allows mast climber users to navigate through what is commonly inspected during a pre-shift daily inspection. When prompted, click on the orange outlined section and the related inspection point will be displayed. Please note the pictures displayed are of a typical mast climbing work platform configuration and do not include all set-ups that may be present on site.

Use the MCWP Daily Inspection Walkthrough today!

A previously recorded webinar on protecting workers in trenches conducted by the OSHA Training Institute Region VI Education Centers is now available in Spanish as well as English. Both are free on Vimeo:

• Protect Workers in Trenches
• Proteger a los trabajadores en las trenchas