 Construction is good work. It can give you a real good feeling to help build something that hundreds or thousands of people are going to use. But sometimes before you can build, you have to destroy. You need to get rid of the old to make way for the new. And when your job is to clear the way for new construction, you face some special hazards. Demolition can be one of the most dangerous parts of a construction job. There is a lot of things going on at once, and any one of them is likely to produce flying or falling pieces, piles of unstable debris, explosions, or big holes. It's all part of the job. It's up to you to make sure it isn't your last job. On a demolition site, there can be hidden problems that you might not even be aware of until it's too late. Tearing down residential or commercial structures can be particularly hazardous. The people that used those buildings before had to have electricity, gas, and water. And they've all got to be shut off, capped, removed as part of the job. Most of the time, that will be handled by experts. But if you're around at the time, be careful. A stray spark at the wrong time around a gas line is a sure way to make the evening news. But you probably won't be around to see it. Asbestos removal is another job best left to experts. If you just start tearing things down without thinking about what you're doing, you'll endanger not only yourself, but your coworkers as well. Structures containing asbestos will be marked. That's done for a reason. Don't ignore the warnings. Take it down right or leave it to a properly equipped removal team. Even just getting to the site can be dangerous. You may be moving a lot of big equipment into a small area. And if you're working around a populated area, you need to be extra careful. Power lines are one of the biggest dangers. And they're everywhere. You run a crane boom into a transmission line and the sparks are really going to fly. And even if you don't hit a line, there are plenty of other hazards lurking up there. Tree limbs, signs, and building overhangs are all potential targets that can come crashing down on you. And if one of them does, a hard hat isn't going to be much protection. Once you get into the actual demolition, you need to keep your eyes open all the time. You never know what might be coming at you. When that wrecking ball starts in, or that charge goes off, you better believe that things can get dangerous in a hurry. Even if you're far away from the action, there's still a lot of things to look out for. What used to be somebody's basement is now a big hole in the ground just waiting for you to fall in. There's likely to be piles of lumber, broken glass, sheet metal, maybe even some contaminated soil. If you aren't careful, any one of these hazards and dozens more can cause serious injury. The long and short of it is that the job site itself can be a hazard. It's not like going out into a field that's going to be a road someday. It's more like walking through a minefield, broken glass, rusty nails, falling concrete. They're all out there just waiting for you. Tearing down something that was designed and built to last needs high-powered equipment, things like jackhammers, chainsaws, cutting torches. Any one of these tools can be dangerous when used alone, but on a demolition site, they might all be going at the same time, and you've got to watch out. One of the biggest hazards comes from flying debris, bits and pieces of stuff that get thrown around everywhere. Just one of these little bullets can blind you in an instant, so always wear safety glasses. If it's your job to make little pieces out of big pieces, be careful. That rebar you're cutting on may be under tension. When it comes loose, it's going to fly up and smack you in the face, and that jackhammer is great for breaking up concrete. Just make sure it isn't going to break something that you need to stand on. It's a long way down from the top of that bridge, and there's nothing soft down there to land on. Just a bunch of broken concrete and steel. Of course, you're not going to take down a four-lane bridge or an office building with just jackhammers and cutting torches. It takes some pretty big equipment and maybe some explosives to get the job done. Some of that big gear doesn't have very good visibility. It can be real hard to see what's going on around you when you're up in that cab, so the worker swinging that wrecking ball might not be able to see you. A 10-ton ball doesn't stop on a dime, and if it did, there wouldn't be much left. Just moving some of this stuff from place to place can be plenty dangerous. If you see a bulldozer or a crane headed toward you, get out of the way. Don't just assume that the driver can see you. Nobody ever wins an argument with a bulldozer. When you can't knock it down, you need to blow it down. That means dynamite, nitro, and all kinds of potentially very dangerous stuff. Explosives demolition is definitely a job for experts. You have no business fooling around with it. Dynamite doesn't play favorites. Make sure you're well back from the site. Just in general, demolition is dangerous work. No two sites will be alike, and that means that plans and procedures may change with each new job. You have to be constantly alert. Of course, some things are always the same. You have no business on the job site without your safety gear, hard hat, safety glasses, steel-toed boots. That's just common sense. When you think about it, a lot of safety rules are just common sense. You know enough to look where you're going, not to get in the way of heavy equipment, not to push a tree into a power line. The problem is that sometimes we forget our common sense, or worse still, ignore it. Sure, you may get away with it this time, but sooner or later, the odds will catch up with you and then you'll have real problems. Part of common sense is having respect for the job. If you go in with the wrong attitude without thinking about the hazards, you may live to regret it, if you're lucky. One of the most important elements in keeping you safe is knowledge. There's a logic to destroying a structure just like there is in building it. Make sure that you clearly understand not only your job, but the overall plan, what's going to happen, and when. Before you even hit the site, the contractor will have someone explain the demolition plan to everybody. Pay attention. If you aren't completely sure about what you're supposed to be doing, ask if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, it could be the last mistake you ever make. Yes, demolition can be dangerous, but it's not really the job site, or the equipment, or the debris that decide how safe or dangerous it is. It's you. Your attitude, your common sense, and your willingness to follow safety rules are what makes the difference. Think about what you're doing and what the other worker has to do. You have to know the job, the equipment, and the plan, because when it comes right down to it, the only thing keeping you safe on the job is you.