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Wet concrete burns skin

Wet concrete burns skin

PPE 5 min 29 CFR 1926.95

Concrete, Masonry

Why it matters

Wet concrete is caustic. It burns skin slowly, so people keep working and notice too late. It feels like wet mud inside a boot, a glove, or on a knee. Wear the boots and gloves the site provides. If it gets on you, wash it off with water right away and tell the foreman.

The talk

You are placing a slab, rubbing a wall, or kneeling where the mud is still fresh. It looks like plain dirt. It is not. Wet concrete sits against your skin inside a boot, inside a glove, and on a knee pressed into the pour. It does not feel like a flame. It feels wet and a little warm, so people finish the section before they look down. The skin gets red and tight while you are still on your knees. By the time it hurts enough to stop, the burn has been working the whole time you knelt there.

Wet concrete is caustic. It burns skin slowly, and people often notice too late. Wear the boots and the gloves the site provides. Do not tuck your pants into your boots in a way that traps wet concrete against the skin. A cuff stuffed into the boot holds the slurry on your ankle. If concrete gets in a boot, on a knee, or in a glove, wash it off with water right away. Do not wait for the break. Do not wipe it with a dry rag and keep going. Tell the foreman. A small red patch gets worse if the concrete stays on you. Water, right away, beats finishing the edge first.

Before the pour or the rub today, put on the boots and gloves the site gave you for this work. Check that your pant legs are not stuffed into the boots where slurry can pack in. Set water where the crew can reach it without crossing the whole slab. If a boot fills, a glove soaks, or a knee is in it, stop. Get the concrete off with water and tell the foreman. Change the wet sock or the wet glove. Do not go back in with the same soaked glove. Watch the person next to you. If they are kneeling in it and have not rinsed, say so.

Key points

  1. Wet concrete is caustic and burns skin slowly.
  2. People often notice the burn too late.
  3. Wear the boots and gloves the site provides.
  4. Do not tuck pants into boots so wet concrete stays against the skin.
  5. If it gets in a boot, on a knee, or in a glove, wash it off with water right away.
  6. Tell the foreman when concrete has been on the skin.
  7. Do not go back to work in the same soaked glove or sock.

Do this

  • Wear the boots and gloves the site provides for this work.
  • Keep pant legs from trapping slurry inside the boots.
  • Wash concrete off with water as soon as it gets on skin.
  • Tell the foreman when concrete has been against your skin.
  • Change a soaked glove or sock before you go back in.

Do not do this

  • Do not treat wet concrete like plain mud.
  • Do not tuck pants into boots in a way that traps concrete on the skin.
  • Do not wait for the break to rinse a boot, a knee, or a glove.
  • Do not wipe it off with a dry rag and keep working.
  • Do not put the same soaked glove back on to finish the edge.

Talk about it

  1. Where is the wash water for this pour, and can everyone reach it?
  2. Are any pant legs tucked into boots in a way that will trap slurry?
  3. If concrete gets in a boot, what do we do before going back to the edge?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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