Am I In Danger?
Unguarded protruding steel reinforcing bars are hazardous. Even if you just
stumble onto an unguarded rebar you can impale yourself, resulting
in serious internal injuries or death. View
Rebar Accident
How Do I Avoid Hazards?
- Guard all protruding ends of steel rebar with rebar caps or wooden troughs, or
- Bend rebar so exposed ends are no longer upright.
- When employees are working at any height above exposed rebar, fall
protection/ prevention is the first line of defense against impalement.
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These rebar should be bent over or protected with caps so that a worker would not
be injured by falling on them.
Not Guarding Protruding Steel Rebars
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Rebar Caps |
The
OSHA Standard requires that rebar "be guarded to eliminate the
hazard of impalement." Not all guards provide that level of protection. In some circumstances, the
force of a fall can cause rebar to push clear through a plastic cap and still impale a worker,
or the worker can be impaled by the rebar and the cap together.
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Only rebar caps designed to provide impalement protection, such as those containing steel reinforcement, should be used.
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This type of cap positions a 2 x 4 over the exposed
rebar, and has been approved by California OSHA.
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Additional Information:
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