Demolition

Overview

Demolition work has been referred to as construction in reverse. Although demolition involves many of the hazards associated with construction work, it’s especially dangerous because many of the hazards are unknown. These may include:

• Changes from the structure's design introduced during construction
• Approved or unapproved modifications that altered the original design
• Materials hidden within structural members, such as lead, asbestos, silica, and other chemicals or heavy metals requiring special material handling
• Unknown strengths or weaknesses of construction materials, such as post-tensioned concrete
• Hazards created by the demolition methods used
  

Oregon OSHA’s demolition rules are in Subdivision 3/T