Scope

Employers have a duty to protect their workers from lead exposure on construction projects. This guideline has been prepared to raise the awareness of employers and workers in the construction industry of the hazards posed by lead in construction and the measures and procedures that should be taken to control those hazards.

For the purpose of this guideline, lead refers to inorganic lead.

Lead in Construction

Lead is a heavy metal that has been in industrial use for thousands of years. It is pale silvery grey when freshly cut but it darkens on exposure to air. It is heavy, malleable, and a poor conductor of electricity. Lead may be used in its pure elemental form or combined chemically with other elements to form lead compounds. Inorganic lead compounds are used in pigments, paints, glasses, plastics and rubber compounds.

Lead can be present on construction projects in two distinct ways:

  • It can be found in construction materials, such as paints, coatings, mortar, concrete, solder, and sheet metal.
  • It can be present at a construction site in existing structures, building components, and where lead was previously used in a manufacturing process.

Construction activities of particular concern include:

  • abrasive blasting of structures coated with lead-based paints
  • application or removal of lead-containing paints
  • welding, burning, or high temperature cutting of lead-containing coatings or materials
  • removal of lead-containing dust using an air mist extraction system
  • removal of lead-containing mortars using an electric or pneumatic cutting device.

This resource does not replace the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations and should not be used as or considered legal advice. Health and safety inspectors apply and enforce these laws based on the facts they find in the workplace.