Qualified and competent OSHA construction site safety inspectors play a very important role in preventing workers from being injured or dying on construction sites. Unfortunately with the recent boom in the construction business in New York City, these inspectors are very hard to find and their rates have been increasing significantly.…
The recent construction boom in New York has lead to a significant increase of hard hats dying on construction sites. These deaths could have been prevented if safety measures were proprely implemented and workers better protected. Among the workers who died this year, 9 fell because they weren’t proprely secured and…
Three people suffered personal injury in New York after a pane of glass fell from the 17th floor of a building. A 33 year old woman, a 23 year old woman and a 25 year old man were walking on the street near a building on Fifth Ave and East…
Construction workers that are exposed to vapors, gases, dusts and fumes are at increased risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) according to a study that was recently published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The study looked at 834 cases of older construction workers with COPD and analysed their lifetime work…
Construction workers exposed to some types of nanomaterials may suffer lung injuries and other respiratory illnesses. For example, recent lab tests on rodents have demonstrated that unprotected respiratory exposure to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can cause lung problems similar to those related to exposure to asbestos. Because nanomaterials are relatively new, their…
After hearing about multiple complaints of tenants being endangered by construction work in their building often because unscrupulous landlords are trying to push them out and rent at a higher price (see previous blog), the New York City Council today introduced a new package of bills intended to stop these dangerous practices. A…
Nano-enabled construction products usage has been expanding fast but little is know about the potential health dangers of these products for construction workers who are exposed to them. Because manufacturers are not obligated to disclose that their products contain nanoparticles it makes it even more difficult for contractors and construction…
Tenants at many building in New York City and particularly rent-stabilized tenants are being endangered and harassed by negligent property owners that are allowed to start construction work after they asserted that their building was empty when filing with the NYC Department of Buildings. Despite Mayor de Blasio’s blue print to improve the efficiency…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the preliminary data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) for 2014. There where 4,659 fatal work injuries in 2014. This is the highest number of fatalities since 2011. This high number of deaths on work sites is mostly explained by…
Two construction workers were injured after they fell from a building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan yesterday afternoon. The construction workers where working on the $50 million renovation of the World Diamond Tower building on Fifth Avenue and W. 47th St. They fell from the second floor mezzanine inside…