
The American Industrial Hygienist Association (AIHA), and in particular their AIHA Construction Committee, has a guidance document titled Focus Four for Health: An Initiative to Address Four Major Health Hazards in Construction.
You may remember we had a recorded video discussion with Industrial Hygienist Barb Epstien, who helped to create the AIHA guidance document on construction health hazards, in which she explained it to us just a while ago. Check out that recorded discussion on the AIHA guidance document here.
We encourage you to download the AIHA guidance document and read it yourself, but we’ll provide a summary to the health hazards and controls they offer below, too.
And by the way, if the name “focus four” rings a bell for you, the AIHA intentionally selected the name of these construction health hazards so it would resonate with OSHA’s “fatal four” construction safety hazards.
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Four Construction Health Hazards to Beware of and Guard Against
The four health hazards for construction workers that the AIHA document calls out are:
- Manual material handling
- Noise
- Air contaminants
- High temperatures
We’ll take a closer look at each below.
You’re probably a safety professional if you’re reading this, so you know that being aware of these hazards is one part of the equation. But controlling them is a yet another part of that equation, and to control them, you’ll want to keep in mind the hierarchy of controls, prioritizing higher-level controls such as elimination and substitution over lower-level controls such as training and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Read more about the hierarchy of controls here.
Manual Material Handling
Construction workers lift, handle, and move a lot of materials and all of that manual material handling leads to a lot of health problems, most notably musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. Yep, we’re talking back injuries, sore or ripped muscles and joints, and similar issues.
While some of these are relatively minor and go away quickly enough, other MSDs can put a person on disability, end their career, and interfere with the ability to live a normal, healthy life.
It’s important for workers to know the risks and to avoid them by not overdoing the physical labor. And likewise, it’s important for employers to provide training to workers about the risks but also to implement controls that reduce the need for heavy, repeated material handling when possible.
The AIHA Focus Four document has a TON of great information on manual material handling, and we recommend you consult it, but in addition they offer a list of other related resources to help you with manual material handling health issues as well. Here’s a selection from their list of related resources:
- OSHA webpage on ergonomics & preventing MSDs
- OSHA Alliance fact sheet on “Strains, Sprains, and Material Handling Tips for Employers“
- NIOSH–Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling
- NIOSH–Simple Solutions: Ergonomics for Construction Workers
- NIOSH–Simple Solutions for Home Building Workers
- NIOSH app for Ergonomics & MSDs in Construction–Risk Index for Single- and Multiple-Manual Lifting Tasks
- ANSI/ASSP Standard A10.40-2007 (R2018), Reduction of Musculoskeletal Problems in Construction
- WorkSafe BC Calculators for Lifting & Lowering; Pushing & Pulling and Carrying; and Preventing MSDs in Manufacturing
- WorkSafe BC Videos (in 9 languages!) “Lifting in the Workplace” and “Back Talk”
- Center for Construction Research and Training: Info on Preventing MSDs in Construction
- Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Manual Materials Handling Tables
UK Health and Safety Executive Manual Materials Handling Information
Noise
Noise is common at construction sites, including loud noises and noises that occur over extended amounts of time, and that contributes to occupational hearing loss amongst construction workers. Which is bad. But noise does more than just harm hearing, and it’s also linked to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and dementia.
Remember that as is the case with many health hazards related to exposure, the risk of hearing damage is a function of both how loud the noise is and how long construction workers are exposed to it. And keep in mind that hierarchy of controls–it’s better to reduce or eliminate noise than to simply rely on having workers wear hearing protection.
Here are some of the resources the AIHA recommends you check out on identifying and controlling noise hazards at construction sites in addition to their own guidance document:
- NIOSH–an evaluation of smartphone sound apps
- NIOSH-sound level meter app for smartphones
- OSHA-information on noise and occupational noise hazards and hearing preservation in construction
- OSHA–pocket guide on construction noise hazards & controls
- OSHA construction noise presentation
- NIOSH recommended exposure limits (RELs) for noise
- NIOSH guidance on setting up a “buy quiet” program
- NIOSH power-tool database with noise information
- CDC/NIOSH simulated noise level meter
- NIOSH web page on noise control approaches
- NIOSH noise-related infographics for download
- Electronic Library of Construction Safety and Health (eLCOSH) construction noise resources
- WorkSafe BC occupational noise materials & video
- University of Washington noise booklets for major construction trades
- Federal Highway Administration Construction Noise Handbook
- ANSI/ASSP Standard A10.46-2013 (R2018), “Hearing Loss Prevention for Construction and Demolition Workers”
Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America web page on “Quieting Your Construction Site” - National Hearing Conservation Association website
American Tinnitus Association “Understanding the Facts” tinnitus topics page - National Institute of Health fact sheet on tinnitus
If you want to see what OSHA has to say about occupational noise exposure in construction, check out 1926.52, Occupational Noise Exposure.
Air Contaminants
When you think of industrial hygiene, it’s possible you immediately think of air contaminants. And that’s the fourth health hazard in construction profiled in the AIHA guidance we’re highlighting.
Air contaminants may include particulates, dusts, fumes, gases, and vapors. They can be created by or during any number of common construction job tasks, including cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding, welding, using solvents, performing hot work, and more. The health hazards associated with air contaminants can be easy to overlook initially because in many cases, the serious health consequence appears significantly after the initial exposure.
- OSHA Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances web page
- OSHA occupational chemical database
- OSHA Toolkit: Transitioning to Safer Chemicals
- NIOSH construction-related air contaminant resources
- NIOSH Pocket Guide to Hazardous Chemicals
- NIOSH Pocket Guide to Hazardous Chemicals (app version)
- ANSI/ASSP Standard A10.49-2015, Control of Chemical Health Hazards in Construction and Demolition Operations
- CPWR/Center for Construction Research and Training resources on air contaminants
- CPWR Work Safely with Silica website
See OSHA’s 1926.55, Gases, Vapors, Fumes, Dusts, and Mists and 1926 Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, for just a few of the key OSHA standards related to airborne contaminants. One air contaminant that’s on the mind of many in the construction industry is crystalline airborne silica, as a result of OSHA (still-somewhat) new 1926.1553 Crystalline Airborne Silica standard; you might want to download our 6 Components of OSHA Silica Compliance in Construction infographic.
High Temperatures
The fourth of the four construction health hazards profiled in the AIHA guidance document is high temperatures.
Of course, high temperatures can lead to fatigue, heat rash, heat syncope, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and even, ultimately, death. And things aren’t getting any easier when it comes to the dangers of working in heat, because we’ve had several of the hottest years on record in recent years.
Here are some of the resources the AIHA suggests you check out for help avoiding the hazards of heat at work.
- NIOSH Heat Safety App for SmartPhones
- OSHA’s occupational heat exposure safety and health topic page
- OSHA & Cal/OSHA heat index webpage
- OSHA Technical Manual (includes chapter on heat stress)
- NIOSH heat stress page
- NIOSH “Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments”
- CPWR resources and toolbox talks on heat illnesses
- WorkSafe BC heat stress resources
Conclusion: Don’t Ignore Health on the Construction Job Site
We hope you found this article helpful. Be sure to read the entire AIHA guidance document on construction health hazards and follow up on some of the resources we’ve offered above to help keep your construction workers safe and healthy and protected from manual material handling, noise, air contamination, and heat hazards at work.
Although mental health issues weren’t addressed in this AIHA guidance document, mental health, depression, and suicide are significant issues in the construction industry. And as we write this in late 2020, that’s become even more true due to the COVID pandemic. And speaking of COVID, the AIHA has written an entirely separate guidance document about COVID and construction and we’ll be profiling that shortly.
In addition to everything else above, you might also find some of the articles, recorded discussions, and online training courses about industrial hygiene helpful:
- Industrial Hygiene & Safety
- What Is Industrial Hygiene? (An interview with industrial hygienist Dr. Morgan Bliss)
- The Vector Solutions | Convergence Training online training course on Industrial Hygiene
And before you go, feel free to download our free Construction Safety Training Guide!

Construction Safety Training Guide
Learn to use, design, deliver, and evaluate safety training more effectively in the construction industry. Includes tips on how people learn, evidence-based training design, safety training within safety management, and the hierarchy of controls plus links to helpful resources.