These Problems Aren't Set in Stone

Concrete burns are a serious, sometimes disabling problem for exposed workers. Medical tests cannot predict who will get skin problems.

pours thick and cool, like a mud milkshake. On a hot day it may even seem inviting, as more than one homeowner has stepped in, shoeless, to level the surface of a driveway. So the idea that this seemingly harmless substance could be responsible for severe burns runs counter to common sense.

You don't have to convince one cement mason named Ryan. He was working a slip-form concrete pour for a grain storage silo, a 24-hour operation that would take 16 days and involve cement masons, ironworkers, laborers, and concrete truck drivers. He was halfway through his 12-hour shift when it started to rain. The concrete pour continued, of course, and the rain continued through the next six hours. He finished his shift soaked to the skin.

Unfortunately, the concrete also soaked through his clothing, working its way through to his hands, arms, knees, and ankles. Hours after leaving the job, his skin started to peel off his arms and legs. "It felt like a bad sunburn," Ryan said. Other workers experienced similar problems. One ironworker went to a hospital emergency room, and health professionals applied an ointment that made the burn even worse.

That's the "sneak attack" of concrete burns. Concrete is highly caustic and works slowly, so a burn can develop over hours or even days. Left unattended, a concrete burn could blister, swell, ooze, and bleed. In fact, second- or third-degree burns may occur after short exposures. Once the burn is noticed, much damage has already occurred and further damage is difficult to stop. In severe cases, burns can go down to the bone, leaving disfiguring scars or disability. Skin grafts are not uncommon. Skin and tissue damage can be so severe as to require limb amputation.

How could something as non-threatening as concrete or cement result in amputation? It comes down to three factors: the abrasive nature of concrete and cement, its high pH levels, and its stew of sensitizing chemicals and metals. Portland cement, which is in concrete and many other products, contributes to concrete burns and other skin problems. It often contains the metal hexavalent chromium, a toxic form of the element chromium that causes severe skin problems in some workers.

This article originally appeared in the March 2007 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.