Rebar Hazards — Impalement Prevention

Talking points

1. All protruding reinforcing steel, inserts, or other steel projections that workers could fall onto must be guarded with protective caps or mushroom caps. Standard practice is to cap every exposed vertical rebar.
2. Federal OSHA requires any protruding rebar a worker could fall onto to be guarded so impalement is eliminated — effective caps are the ones tested to stop a falling worker, the benchmark state rules like Cal/OSHA's set. Thin plastic caps that crush on impact do not meet this requirement — use steel-reinforced or mushroom-type caps.
3. Horizontal rebar extending from formwork or foundations is a tripping and impalement hazard. Bend exposed ends down, cap them, or barricade the area.
4. Workers tying rebar are exposed to tripping hazards from the rebar mat itself. Wear boots with ankle support and walk carefully on rebar mats — the spacing creates a tripping grid.
5. Falls onto rebar during construction are among the most severe injuries in the industry. Combine impalement caps with fall protection for any elevated rebar work.

Ask the crew

Is every exposed piece of vertical rebar in our work area capped right now — and are the caps the crush-resistant type?

Standards this talk is built on

• 29 CFR 1926.701(b)

A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing. It supports the training a standard requires; it does not replace it.

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