Barriers to the Adoption of Prevention through Design (PtD) Controls among Masonry Workers

Abstract

Dust from masonry operations affects not only the workers involved in direct exposure-causing tasks, but also those performing ancillary activities. Dust generated by these operations contains quartz, which has been classified as 'group-I human carcinogen‘ by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. To reduce dust generation during masonry activities, various Prevention through Design (PtD) control options are available. However there is lack of systematic adoption of the control options among the workers. The objective of this study was to identify the barriers to the adoption of PtD controls among the masonry workers. Survey research methods were employed for this study and member companies of the Mason Contractors Association of America were selected as the sample. Content analysis of the survey data identified decline in productivity due to the use of PtD controls as the major barrier. Other emergent themes include unsuitable work conditions and lack of trust in technology.