Working With Hazardous Chemicals and Demolition

There is one aspect of construction sites and demolition, which we have only really touched on with this blog and that, is working with hazardous chemicals. Some chemicals can have an effect on employees health if they not are suitably protected so imagine the damage that it can cause to members of the public who will not be aware of the dangers and therefore will not be suitably protected.

The main areas that people need protecting from are dust and asbestos. Both of these can have long term effects, which might need the person to make a personal injury claim to deal with the financial restraints of not working or a lower quality of life.

In some cases, depending on the age of the structure that is being demolished there may be chemicals or contamination from that was not cleared up properly and these can range from;

• Acids from previous industrial processes
• Paints that might have been used for decorating
• Any potential flammable liquids
• Drums that are not identifiable. These could contain anything from chemicals to water, but without examining the contents first, this is unclear.
• Old buildings, such as the older hospital buildings may even have microbiological hazards that were not cleaned or sanitized properly. 

Dismantling a pipe and knocking it into smaller pieces can release asbestos if the pipe work is old, as it might be asbestos lined. This will cause problems as asbestos getting into the atmosphere can cause problems, but if the person is too close they may inhale some of the asbestos and this could lead to medical problems later on, which might lead to a compensation claims.