Occupational safety in archaeological fieldwork

Abstract

In general, institutions with a public service mission carry out or have carried out integrated risk analyses, in which primarily economic risks are analysed and only in general terms the exposures and occupational risks for workers in different jobs are examined. These studies do not deal with the performance of archaeological tasks, which can be carried out under regulated conditions (professional ethical standards, rules, Government Decree 68/2018 (IV.9) and Act LXIV of 2001), but in the case of work processes involving significant risks in the open air - possibly within a construction site, under special natural conditions - the (generally considered) Mvt. applies, while the laws and regulations on construction, construction sites and earthworks do not.

In the light of the above, a detailed risk assessment is essential for safe working practices for these activities, which requires the development of a suitable system of criteria, for which basic professional knowledge is necessary, or the involvement of archaeological experts in the preparation processes, in order to gain basic knowledge of the work processes. The aim of our work is to identify the hazards arising from the work processes in this specific area of work which could pose a risk of harm to the health of the persons carrying out the work processes or those within the area of work. It is also intended to determine the criteria for risk assessment, on the basis of which the extent of the risk can be estimated and proposals made to reduce the presumed impact of the risk by technical means or, where this is not possible, by the provision of collective or individual protective equipment.