Measurement and removal of asbestos in residential dwellings to be demolished-urban transformation experience in Izmir, Turkey.

Asbestos has been used extensively in the construction industry for its superior insulation properties before its health hazards were discovered and its use eventually banned. It is likely that many residential buildings built before the 2000s in Turkey contain asbestos. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness of the potential danger of asbestos exposure during demolition work and to identify asbestos-containing materials and ensure their safe removal and disposal. This study is executed to determine the residential dwellings containing asbestos in Izmir, Turkey. The research included field studies to determine asbestos presence in the buildings that were damaged during the 2020 earthquake. Air measurements and bulk samples were taken from 50 buildings that would go through the demolition process. Eleven buildings were found to contain asbestos which corresponds to 22%. The detected asbestos type was 60% chrysotile (white asbestos). Results could be helpful for future demolition work, which are conducted in the same region that includes buildings with similar properties. Also, it is expected that the database created for this study could be useful in other studies in Turkey, where accurate statistical data related with asbestos measurements is essentially non-existent.

Mitigation strategies to reduce particulate matter concentrations in civil engineering laboratories.

In the departments of civil engineering, many experiments are conducted in laboratories for educational and research purposes. Varying degrees of respirable dust are generated as the outcome of these experiments, which could cause harm to instructors' and students' health. This study is devised to highlight the importance of indoor air quality in university laboratories. As part of the research, four different particulate matter (PM) sizes (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM4.0, and PM10) were measured during specific experiments-sieve analysis, preparation of the concrete mixture, crushing aggregate by jaw crusher, dynamic triaxial compression test, sieve analysis of silt specimen, cleaning sieve by an air compressor, and proctor compaction test-being conducted periodically in the laboratories of civil engineering departments. The measured values are mainly high compared to indoor air quality standards. Mitigation strategies were applied to reduce indoor air PM levels in the three experiments that contained the highest PM levels. The results have shown that mitigation strategies applied as control measures could make a remarkable difference in protecting instructors and civil engineering students.

Impact of human development on safety consciousness in construction.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that the risk of fatal occupational injuries in developing countries is almost twice as high as in developed countries, indicating a potential relationship between the fatality rates and the development level. The human development index (HDI), based on life expectancy, knowledge level and purchasing power parity, endorsed by the United Nations Development Programme, is a widely accepted measure of the development level. This study investigates the relationship between the HDI and the fatality rates reported by the ILO. A 23-country data set is used to demonstrate the general trend of the relationship followed by country-specific analyses for Australia, Spain, Hungary and Turkey. The study conducted is limited to fatal occupational injuries in construction, where the accidents are notoriously high. The results demonstrate a statistically significant inverse relationship between the fatality rates and the HDI.

Safety in ready mixed concrete industry: descriptive analysis of injuries and development of preventive measures.

Ready mixed concrete (RMC) industry, one of the barebones of construction sector, has its distinctive occupational safety and health (OSH) risks. Employees experience risks that emerge during the fabrication of concrete, as well as its delivery to the construction site. Statistics show that usage and demand of RMC have been increasing along with the number of producers and workers. Unfortunately, adequate OSH measures to meet this rapid growth are not in place even in top RMC producing countries, such as Turkey. Moreover, lack of statistical data and academic research in this sector exacerbates this problem. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting data mining in Turkish Social Security Institution archives and performing univariate frequency and cross tabulation analysis on 71 incidents that RMC truck drivers were involved. Also, investigations and interviews were conducted in seven RMC plants in Turkey and Netherlands with OSH point of view. Based on the results of this research, problem areas were determined such as; cleaning truck mixer/pump is a hazardous activity where operators get injured frequently, and struck by falling objects is a major hazard at RMC industry. Finally, Job Safety Analyses were performed on these areas to suggest mitigation methods.