Roofing: A Balancing Act of Risk and Reward

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Roofing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States today. According to listverse.com, roofing places eighth among the top ten most fatal occupations. There are positive effects of working on roofs, and, unfortunately many ill effects related to this occupation. Does the good that comes from roofing outweigh the bad? This past summer I worked for Guilano Roofing. We worked on very old and tall commercial buildings. Our crew was assigned to tar- pitched roofs. These are flat and consist of two layers, the first of which resembles asphalt. One worker operated a machine that had a spinning blade known as a cutter. The section of the roof we were ripping up was cut into 2 foot by 2 foot pieces. Next, we received individual …show more content…

This brings me to two more dangers of roofing- dehydration and heat exhaustion. One day it was 95 degrees out. I brought a gallon of water with me, as did most of the crew. Usually that’s more than enough, but this day it was so hot that most people drank all their water halfway through the completion of the job. I don’t really find the work that strenuous, but when its 95 degrees out, it feels like you have a hundred pound weight strapped to your back. The heat was causing everyone to move extremely sluggishly, and we had to take many breaks. Half of our crew dropped that day, people were either throwing up or couldn’t move any more from the heat. One guy actually fainted while picking up a heavy chunk of the roof. It looked like a war zone, and we were definitely battling the sun that day. The sun was definitely the victor! Another more serious danger of roofing was the exposure to the pitch dust. The sun makes the effects harsher. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “repeated exposure to coal tar pitch can increase your risk of developing bronchitis, and cancer of the lung, skin, bladder, and kidneys.” My brother only worked there a week and had to go to the hospital, because he got the pitch dust in his lungs and couldn’t breathe. He was later diagnosed with bronchitis. And I have witnessed other people throwing up blood and wheezing. Which I think it’s safe to assume came from the exposure to the …show more content…

It’s similar to sunburn, but a lot more extreme. There were nights I couldn’t sleep because my hands were burning so painfully. Some people got pitch dust in their eyes, and had to stop working because they couldn’t see. Many of them wound up in the hospital because of the pain. I guess it affects everyone differently though, because it never bothered my eyes. Another negative result of dealing with pitch that I didn’t like is the chemical makes your skin peel. So I walked around with dead skin on my face and neck for a long time. It does, however, become more tolerable over

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