During Safety Week 2026, Recognize Stress Hazards
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There are jobsite hazards that not only are hard to recognize, but also are sometimes the result of trying to work more efficiently and safely.
NewsIdeasEditorials Editorials During Safety Week 2026, Recognize Stress Hazards Image by ENR April 9, 2026 There are jobsite hazards that not only are hard to recognize, but also are sometimes the result of trying to work more efficiently and safely. That’s why with Construction Safety Week 2026, May 4-8, emphasizing high-energy hazard recognition, we are thinking of Franklin Allen Burke Jr., a 47-year-old union laborer who died last Sept. 25 working at the Airport Access Road in Kenner, La., as part of a crew for Boh Bros. A member of Laborers’ International Local 99 who grew up in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, he had been employed by the contractor for 25 years, was known as “Big Burke” and was a father, son, husband and brother. According to federal safety officials, his crew was using a vacuum excavator, which is a truck equipped with a tank and powerful suction hose, to speed work that would otherwise involve laborious hand or machine digging and is especially valuable in exposing underground utilities before construction begins. Another oft-used tool is a wand that releases high pressure water or air. Exactly how Burke died is not clear, except that it involved a crushing hazard and the truck’s extendable hose reel, said a U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspector. Vacuum excavators have been used for many years and their hazards are well-known. Their tanks can be raised like a dump-truck bed and hoses and wands can exert powerful suction or high...
