Assessing the Potential Health Hazards of Workers of Demolition Sector

Demolition is a dangerous and complex activity which requires sound knowledge. Demolition works involve highly hazardous activities which lead to high risk for workers and surroundings. Moreover, in order to implement of redevelopment policy, many old structures will be demolished in near future in India. Therefore, current demolition practices need more focus on site planning which involves assessing the potential health hazards of workers involved in demolition of structures. This study aims to investigate the hazards and its severity on workers' health during the execution of demolition works. Knowledge acquisition approach has been used to capture the demolition profession through an extensive analysis of the data gathered by visiting sites and questionnaire survey. Fifty questionnaires were collected from different ongoing demolition sites. Analysis of structured questionnaires and observations reveal that the workers are mostly exposed to excessive noise, dust, or flying particles, and most of operators are often not provided with safety accessories on sites. This study identifies negative impacts of major hazards such as noise, vibration, and dust emission with their level of influence on workers' health during demolition process. Outcomes of this study will expose the kind of risks prevailing at demolition sites to draw the attention of practitioners to take remedial measures accordingly.