3 Major Concrete Cutting Hazards and How a Concreting Professional Can Control Them
Posted on: 6 November 2017
Concrete cutting is a job that should be left to professional concreters because it can lead to serious health and safety hazards. Here is a look at some of those hazards and what a concreting specialist can do to manage them effectively.
Inhalation of health-deteriorating concrete dust.
Exposure to concrete dust is one of the major hazards associated with concrete cutting. Concrete contains crystalline silica, a mineral that can cause silicosis if inhaled. In addition to this, crystalline silica is a human lung carcinogen, meaning it has the potential to cause lung cancer in the human body in severe cases. In situations where concrete dust can pose a significant risk to the health of humans, concreting specialists can wet the concrete with water so as to minimise dust exposure while they cut. This work technique is known as wet cutting. Because some dust might still become airborne while wet-cutting through concrete, concreters usually wear dust masks and respirators to further minimise dust exposure.
Injury caused by flying debris.
Another hazard that concreting specialists are mindful of when they are cutting concrete is projectiles. Projectiles, in this context, refers to the small chips of concrete that can fly and injure someone while being cut. As any part of the human body may be susceptible to injury, it is important to ensure the whole body is protected from flying debris. In this regard, concrete professionals usually provide the staff assigned to cut through concrete with personal protective equipment such as full-length aprons, close-toed footwear, hard hats and safety glasses to control exposure to any projectiles.
Injury due to use of concrete cutting equipment.
Thanks to technological progress, there is a wide selection of state-of-the-art equipment used to perform concrete cutting jobs. These machines are powerful, but also give precise cuts, making it possible for concreters to perform concrete cutting jobs in record time.
Concrete cutters are not, however, without safety hazards. These machines can cause serious injury if they are faulty or if they are not operated properly. To minimise safety risks resulting from the use of concrete cutting equipment, concrete cutting professionals usually perform regular inspections and maintenance service to keep their machines in top working order. Apart from that, they also ensure that only personnel that are trained to safely use concrete cutting machines are allowed to operate them.
Now that you're well-aware of what a concreting professional can do to control the hazards that may arise out of concrete cutting jobs, you should consider letting a pro handle all your concrete cutting projects.
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