Throughout July, the Health and Safety Executive visited hundreds of construction sites across the United Kingdom to evaluate the industry’s health and safety practices. Inspectors uncovered some surprising results, as many construction sites were exposing workers to dangerous health risks.

According to the HSE’s report, one of the biggest issues involved workers being exposed to respiratory risks, such as inhaling dusts that contain silica materials. Exposure to hazardous substances such as cement and lead paint also posed significant danger to the safety of workers. Manual handling, noise and vibration are other health hazards that were present at construction sites.

At 13 sites, the conditions were so poor that that the HSE issued prohibitions to stop work immediately. Work on these sites can only resume once improvements are made. At a further 85 sites, enforcement notices were served.

The findings stress the importance of the ‘health’ in ‘health & safety’. While construction sites have seen a significant reduction in workplace accidents, it is also crucial to look after health concerns in order to prevent ill-health and fatal diseases. As such, managers and workers should undergo occupational health and safety training to ensure that all people on site remain in good health.

British Safety Services provides a wide range of courses to teach managers and employers the best health and safety practices on construction sites. For more information, visit our Construction Health and Safety Training page or call us at +44 (0) 121 333 7232.