I had the ignoble distinction of having traveled today, south for about 3 hours, on the Garden State Parkway…on route “down the shore.” Hadn’t done that in while, not since moving from central Jersey about 30 years ago to points North, specifically New York City. My new summer playground is referred to as the beach a la “Jones, R. Moses, etc.
Anyway, back to the GPS. Much progress has been made to widen this heavily-traveled route from two lanes to three. Legions of hardhat workers were out in the heat of day with pick axes and shovels, sweating feverishly in the early afternoon sun. The goal is to complete the highway weight gain by this time next summer.
Construction work can be a dangerous business. And, construction sites dangerous places. Falls from high places, heavy equipment that malfunctions, falling objects, sadly, are common occurrences on worksites. And, very bad things can happen to cranes. But has anyone ever considered another possible deadly consequence for the men and women in jeans and yellow vests? Namely, skin cancer?
The dominant skin color du jour under those hardhats today was red, some more red than others. Yet, despite the blazing sunshine, I didn’t catch a glimpse of any of these rough and ready men and women spreading sun screen where clearly too much sun had already shone. I had to wonder if the subject of using sun screen is even mentioned on the list of safety tips, like wearing hardhats and not drinking alcohol on the job, that workers are expected to follow.
I’m not aware of any situations of a construction worker suing his or her employer for contracting skin cancer on the job. But there’s always a first time. And, should that happen I’m sure the folks at Coppertone have a solution.