Construction Workers and Exposure
How Lead is Used
In construction, lead is used frequently for roofs, cornices, tank linings, and electrical conduits. In plumbing, soft solder, used chiefly for soldering tinplate and copper pipe joints, is an alloy of lead and tin.
- Soft solder has been banned for many uses in the United States.
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission bans the use of lead-based paint in residences.
- Lead continues to be used on bridges, railways, ships, lighthouses, and other steel structures because lead-based paint inhibits the rusting and corrosion of iron and steel.
Workers potentially at risk for lead exposure include those involved in iron work; demolition work; painting; lead-based paint abatement; plumbing; heating and air conditioning maintenance and repair; electrical work; and carpentry, renovation, and remodeling work.
Workers at the highest risk of lead exposure are those involved in abrasive blasting, and welding, cutting, and burning on steel structures. Significant lead exposures also can arise from removing paint from surfaces previously coated with lead-based paint such as bridges, residences being renovated, and structures being demolished or salvaged.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-5. Workers at the highest risk of exposure to lead are involved in _____.
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