Safety First: Important Tips for Working with Concrete

Those who work in construction will likely know that working with concrete can pose a number of safety hazards if the necessary precautions aren’t taken. From skin burns to damage to your respiratory health, it’s important that the right care and measures are considered to ensure you and your staff stay safe when working with concrete.

Read on to see our top concrete safety tips.

1 | Wear the Necessary PPE

Personal protective equipment, better known as PPE, is necessary when undertaking various construction tasks. When working with wet concrete, it’s important that safety goggles are worn as well as a respirator mask.

This is because the dust involved with concrete mixes can cause irritation and redness. In some cases, the chemicals involved can even burn the eye if they come into contact with one another, resulting in long-term damage to your vision.

As for the respirator mask, it’s important that this is worn as if the dust is breathed in it can cause serious long-term lung damage. Concrete dust is not only toxic in large quantities, but often contains silica, which can lead to silicosis when breathed in - a progressive lung disease that can be fatal.

2 | Avoid Skin Contact

Wet cement can cause serious chemical burns to skin if contact is made. If not treated immediately, these chemicals can continue to burn the skin even after initial contact, and in severe cases can even burn as far through enough as to burn muscle.

In order to avoid this, it’s essential to wear long-sleeved and long-trousered clothing, along with rubber gloves and waterproof boots. This ensures that as little skin as possible is exposed when working with wet cement.

3 | Control Dust

It’s not just wet concrete that you have to take precautions with, but it’s equally important to take precautions when working with dry concrete, too.

For example, when drilling or sawing dry concrete, the dust produced presents a significant health hazard. As such, dust control measures should be put into place, such as using a dust extractor with HEPA filters and/or using water when cutting to minimise the amount of dust from becoming airborne.

Concrete Solutions from WM Thompson & Son

Whilst it's up to you to ensure the necessary safety measures are put in place when working with concrete, you can look to us to provide you with the concrete products you need for your projects here at WM Thompson & Son. Whether you need self-compacting, crushed, or ready mix concrete delivery, we'll batch a sustainable mix to your exact specification and bring it straight to site. Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can meet your concrete requirements.