Abstract
Respirable crystalline silica poses a major health concern, particularly in the construction industry where many dust-generating practices exist. Risks are often managed by implementing various control measures using the hierarchy of control to reduce hazards associated with respirable crystalline silica. However, some control measures often rely on human behaviour to keep workers free from harm. This study recruited N = 204 construction workers in Australia/New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States of America to assess their safety behaviours towards control measures implemented for managing respirable crystalline silica. This study found that for all activities involving respirable crystalline silica across the control measure types (engineering, administrative, PPE) more than half rely on human behaviour to activate a control measure designed for health safety. Further, employees were only engaging in safety behaviours towards control measure adoption about half the time or most of the time, particularly when it came to activating engineering and administrative-related measures. This has implications for workplaces who are relying on these controls to prevent against silicosis in their workforce.
Presenters
Rebecca LangdonPostdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
Construction Work, Control Measures, Health and Safety, Respirable Crystalline Silica
