Cement arguably is one of the most commonplace materials present on any construction site here in Indiana and Illinois, regardless of the size of the project. After all, cement is needed for things like concrete floors and walls in all sorts of structures. It is required for pavement in drives and sidewalks, as well. Cement is also part of any recipe for mixing mortar and grout used in laying bricks or tile.
The prevalence of cement and concrete in our local residential and commercial construction work may lead employers as well as workers (e.g., plasterers, brick layers, masons, finishers, etc.) to discount or disregard the dangers it poses on any work site.
It is important to recognize that cement has a wide-ranging set of accident risks and health hazards which can cause severe or deadly harm to our local construction workers as well as endangering entire construction crews with potentially serious or fatal injuries on the job.
What is cement?
Cement is an ingredient that is combined with water and other materials to make concrete. Cement is manufactured through a process that combines several different minerals, including lime, silica, and iron oxide. There are different types of cement, including the popular “Portland Cement” to slag cement, high alumina cement, white cement, colored cement, and air-entraining cement.
The cement itself is a product that comes to the construction site, where workers use it as the primary component to make the concrete that is needed for the construction project.
Dangers Working With Cement and Concrete: Exposure to Hazardous Material
Cement can injure or kill construction workers simply by exposure to the cement itself. Anyone on the construction site, from Chicago to Demotte can be seriously injured or catastrophically harmed simply by coming into contact with this extremely hazardous material.
1. Eye Injuries: Blindness
Severe bodily injury involving one or both eyes is a risk for anyone who is near enough to cement that cement particles have the ability to enter an unprotected eye. Limited exposure may cause treatable eye injuries; however, cement particles have been known to cause blindness. See, What are Catastrophic Injuries? Severe Bodily Harm Suffered by Accident Survivors in Indiana and Illinois
2. Inhalation Injuries
If cement is breathed in or inhaled, the entire respiratory system and especially the lungs can be severely injured. Lung cancer and silicosis are two very real risks facing any construction worker who inhales large amounts of cement dust on the job. For more on silica dangers, read: Silica Injuries in Indiana and Illinois: Rising Danger from Deadly Work Exposure to Industrial Sand.
3. Severe Burns
Burns are also a serious danger posed by this hazardous on-site material. Severe cement injuries can involve third degree burns to the worker where permanent injury or death can result. For more on burn injuries, read our earlier discussion in: Burn Injuries from Accidents: Permanent Harm, Disability, or Death; and Chemical Accidents: Burns, Inhalation, or Neurological Work Injuries on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
Dangers Working With Cement and Concrete: Accident Injuries
Serious construction accidents can happen anytime cement or concrete work is involved during the workday. These include the following:
1. Worker’s Bodily Injury from Weight of the Concrete or Cement
During the process of using cement to make concrete, construction workers will be required to lift heavy concrete items as part of the job. Concrete is heavy; it is estimated to weigh around 150 pounds per cubic foot. Even lifting a single bag of cement can cause a worker serious harm.
Accordingly, permanent bodily injuries can happen even if the worker is tasked with lifting what appears to be a relatively small piece of concrete. Heavy concrete injuries can cause someone to suffer serious and permanent harm that can include:
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
- Permanent nerve system trauma
- Loss of use of limb / amputation
- Cardiac arrest / death.
2. Vehicular Accidents in Concrete Construction
Concrete work requires the use of motor vehicles on many construction projects, from trucks to forklifts to cranes and hoists. The weight of the concrete components (e.g., slabs) often demands the use of heavy machinery in order to move and maneuver the concrete products, as in a “jacking operation” (29 CFR §1926.700(b)(9)).
Employers and supervisors on any Illinois or Indiana construction site should have established safety protocols in place to protect construction workers from motor vehicle accidents associated with concrete construction work, where the worker can be severely injured or killed in the motor vehicle accident.
For more on construction vehicle accidents, read: Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job and Crane Accidents: Catastrophic Injuries and Fatalities in Indiana and Illinois.
3. Blow-Outs During Concrete Construction Work
There are times when the project entails using forms or molds for concrete work. In these scenarios, it is possible for a number of construction workers to be injured or killed if the mold, or form, fails in use. Here, the form breaks in what is termed within the industry as a “blow-out” and the energy from this released pressure can cause great injury as liquid concrete harms workers directly upon impact as well as indirectly as it weakens or collapses surrounding project structures.
Read “Avoid Too Much Pressure When Placing Concrete,” written by Kim Basham, PhD PE FACI, and published by ForConstructionPros on July 1, 2010.
Employers Have a Duty to Protect Against Cement and Concrete Injuries on the Construction Site
Working with cement in concrete construction work involves dangers that involve (1) not only exposure to a known hazardous material but (2) the risks of injury associated with the tasks that come with transforming cement into concrete components of the construction project. Construction workers involved with these duties can be injured or killed during the mixing process where cement is transformed into concrete. The risk of severe injury or death continues as the worker undertakes the chores of pouring the concrete and thereafter, when the concrete is dry and may need to be moved in some way (from a minor shift to a major relocation on the site).
Federal and state laws protect construction workers from these known risks by placing extensive duties on employers and those responsible for the work site to keep everyone safe from harm. Federal regulations for cement and construction work can be found in 29 CFR §1926 Subpart Q. These duties include things like:
- providing safety training before work begins on the risks involved in cement and concrete work;
- establishing safety protocols for use on the site;
- inspecting and monitoring the site for any hazards and removing them or stopping work as necessary for the safety of workers;
- providing personal protection equipment (PPE) for everyone working with cement or concrete;
- monitoring, repairing, maintaining, or replacing all heavy machinery including motor vehicles that will be used in the concrete work; and
- having safety practices in place in the event of an accident, including emergency procedures to aid the accident victim and to help other workers who may be at risk on site.
Anyone in Indiana or Illinois that has been severely injured in a construction site accident involving cement or concrete has a right to investigate the incident to determine if legal duties of care and safety were breached. These investigations may lead to legal claims for recompense against the employer, the site owner and operator, and others for the resulting damages which can include medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, and more.
For more, read:
- Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report
- Trade Stacking Construction Accidents: The Danger of Overcrowded Job Sites
- AFL-CIO 2021 Report: Shocking Risk of Dying on the Job for Workers in Indiana and Illinois.
Our construction workers are employed in some of the most dangerous lines of work available here in Indiana and Illinois, and sadly there will be workers who are severely injured or killed due to the neglect of those in control of the work especially when it involves cement and concrete construction. Please be careful out there!
