Prevention through Design: Health Hazards in Asphalt Roofing
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140, Issue 9
Abstract
The optimal method of preventing occupational illnesses, injuries, and fatalities is to design out the hazards and risks, thereby eliminating the need to control them during work operations. In 2007, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health launched a national Prevention through Design (PtD) initiative calling on all major industrial sectors to emphasize hazard mitigation at the design stage. PtD applies to the design of all tools, equipment, materials, and work processes that are employed during the construction process. This article reviews the asphalt roofing health hazards and currently available design solutions for their control and identifies gaps and priorities for further research. PtD solutions such as tanker systems, insulated hot luggers, mechanical asphalt spreaders, fume-suppressing asphalt, and local exhaust ventilation systems are discussed in terms of effectiveness and availability.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Behm, M. (2008). “Rapporteur’s report: Construction sector.” J. Saf. Res., 39(2), 175–178.
Engholm, G., Englund, A., and Linder, B. (1991). “Mortality and cancer incidence in Swedish road paving asphalt workers and roofers.” Eur. Asphalt, 2(2), 23-32.
Hervin, R. L., and Emmett, E. A. (1976). Health hazard evaluation determination: Sellers and Marquis Roofing Company, A.J. Shirk Roofing Company—A joint venture, Vol. 75, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Atlanta, GA, 102–304.
Hatjian, B. A., Edwards, J. W., Williams, F. M., Harrison, J., and Blain, P. G. (1997). “Risk assessment of occupational exposure to bitumen fumes in the road paving and roofing industries.” J. Occup. Health Saf., 13(1), 65–78.
Howard, J. (2008). “Prevention through design: Introduction.” J. Saf. Res., 39(2), 113.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). (1985). IARC monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of chemicals to humans: Polynuclear aromatic compounds. Part 4: Bitumens, coal tars, derived products, shale-oils, and soots, Vol. 35, World Health Organization, Lyon, France, 39–81.
Malaiyandi, M., Benedek, A., Holko, A. P., and Bancsi, J. J. (1982). “Measurement of potentially hazardous polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from occupational exposure during roofing and paving operations.” Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons: Physical and biological chemistry, M. Cooke and A. J. Dennis, eds., Battelle Press, Columbus, OH, 471–489.
McFall, T., et al. (1984). “Mutagenic activity of methyl-substituted tri- and tetracyclic aromatic sulfur heterocyclic.” Mutat. Res., 135(2), 97–103.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2001). Health effects of occupational exposure to asphalt, Cincinnati.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2003a). Reducing roofers’ exposure to asphalt fumes, Cincinnati.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2003b). Asphalt fume exposures during the application of hot asphalt to roofs, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati.
Niemeier, R. W., Thayer, P. S., Menzies, K. T., Von Thuna, P., Moss, C. E., and Burg, J. (1988). “A comparison of the skin carcinogenicity of condensed roofing asphalt and coal tar pitch fumes. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons: A decade of progress.” Proc., 10th Int. Symp. on Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons, M. Cooke and A. J. Dennis, eds., Battelle Press, Columbus, OH, 609–647.
Norseth, T., Waage, J., and Dale, I. (1991). “Acute effects and exposure to organic compounds in road maintenance workers exposed to asphalt.” Am. J. Ind. Med., 20(6), 737–744.
Partanen, T., and Boffetta, P. (1994). “Cancer risk in asphalt workers and roofers: Review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies.” Am. J. Ind. Med., 26(6), 721–740.
Schulte, P. A., Rinehart, R., Okun, A., Geraci, C. L., and Heidel, D. S. (2008). “National prevention through design (PtD) initiative.” J. Saf. Res., 39(2), 115–121.
Thayer, P. S., Menzies, K. T., and von Thuna, P. C. (1981). “Roofing asphalts, pitch and UVL carcinogenesis.”, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Cincinnati.
Toole, T. M. (2005). “Designing for safety: opportunities and barriers.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 199–207.
Toole, T. M., and Gambatese, J. (2008). “The trajectories of prevention through design in construction.” J. Saf. Res., 39(2), 225–230.
Young-Corbett, D. E. (2013). “Prevention through design (PtD).” Chapter 45, The Handbook of Industrial and Systems Engineering 2nd Ed., CRC/Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, 1005–1015.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140 • Issue 9 • September 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 18, 2013
Accepted: May 2, 2014
Published online: Jun 16, 2014
Published in print: Sep 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Nov 16, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.