Chapter 11 Recognising health hazards in construction

Construction work is highly creative, involving a broad range of skills and work activities. Safety risks are generally well understood and when an injury occurs attribution to the risk is usually clear-cut. In contrast, work-related health risks are less obvious. In addition, clinically the question of disease attribution may be difficult particularly for conditions that have a number of causes such as those affecting the musculoskeletal system. This issue is acknowledged within the framework of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC, 2013). Diagnostic difficulties can also arise with long latency conditions such as asbestos-related diseases and silicosis in which frequently exposure data are not available.