In our study on occupational health hazards among quarry workers, 400 questionnaires were shared and all the 400 were recovered giving a 100% response rate. In our study, majority of workers fall within the age range of 20-30 years (34.17%) this does not correspond to the work done in kaduna on pattern of occupational hazards and provision of occupational health services and safety among which majority of workers fall within the age range of 30-44 years (90%).
But this corresponds to the work done by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja et al in October, 2012 at the same umuohara in which most of the workers were within the age range of 21-30 years although with a percentage of 42.4% as against 34.17% of ours.
With regard to sex, majority of quarry workers in umuoghara are female who were employed by various employers and they constitute 55% of the workers as against 45% of them who are male. This does not correspond to the work done in Kaduna on the pattern of occupational health hazards in which majority of workers are males. This also does not correspond to the work done by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja et al in umuoghara in which majority of workers were males with apercentage of 51.6%.
Concerning marital status, most of the quarry workers in Umuoghara are married (56%). This corresponds to the work done in the same Kaduna on the pattern of occupational health hazards in which majority of the workers are also married although with a percentage of 72% as against 56% in Umuoghara. This also corresponds to the work done by A. N. Nwibo, E. I. Ugwuja et al at same Umuoghara in October, 2012 in which majority of workers are married with a percentage of 58.3% as against 56% of ours.
Regarding educational level, our study shows that majority of quarry workers in Umuoghara are senior secondary certificate holders (42.07%). This corresponds to the work done by the same A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja et al the same Umuoghara in which majority of the workers are also senior secondary certificate holders, though with a percentage of 49.1% as against 42.07% of ours.
Concerning the type of diseases they have suffered in course of their work, our study showed that 37.39% of them have suffered cough as against 40.5% in the work done by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja et al in the same Umuoghara. While 32.94% of them suffered chest pain as against 47.4% in their own study. In our study also, 5.64% of quarry workers have eye problem which dose not correspond to the result obtained from the work done in Owerri on the burden of eye disease among occupational workers in which eye diseases constitute the highest prevalence of 21.92%.
Based on they type of work the worker engage on, our study revealed that most of workers are store carriers with percentage of 44.72%. This does not correspond to the result obtained by A. N. Nwibo and E.I. Ugwuja et al in Umuoghara last year in which stone carriers constitute just 30% of workers.
In our study, stone breakers constitute 10.55% of workers. This also does not correspond with the result obtained by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Umuoghara et al in which machine operators constitute 19.3% of workers.
Regarding the type of accidents common among quarry workers in Umuoghara, they include open wound (38.38), mechanical injury (24.72%), crushing injury (18.45%), burns (0.74%). This does not correspond with the results obtained from the work done by O.O. Ogunleye and Mu’awiyyah on pattern of injury among quarry workers in Kaduna in May, 2013 in which prevalent injuries were: hand injury (80%), leg injury (30%), eye injury (11.7%), facial injury (8.3%).
With regard to the use of personal protective device, from our study, most of them, that is, almost all of them do not use personal protective device since they say that it causes discomfort for them. This also corresponds with the work done by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja where most of them also do not use PPD (98.3%). This does not corresponds with the work done in Kaduna where most of the workers (78%) admitted to the regular use of personal protective devices. 29.1% of the, said they feel uncomfortable wearing or using the PPD while 25.5% of them said the use of PPD makes work difficult for them. Then (23.6%) gave no cogent reason for non-regular use of PPD.
With respect to the awareness of workers about the hazards they are exposed, most of the workers in course of our study, are aware of the hazards they are exposed to (89.23%) of them. This is also compatible with the work done in Kaduna on pattern of occupational hazards where most of the workers (90%) were also aware of the hazards they may be exposed to.
Regarding the number of years the workers have spent on the work so far, most of the workers from our study spent less than 5 years (36.73%). This is also compatible with the work done by A. N. Nwibo and E. I. Ugwuja et al where most of the workers (80.6%) spent less than 5years so far at the site of work.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The level of awareness of PPE is high but the level of its usage is very low among quarry workers in Ezza Umuoghara quarry industry. The low level of using may be due to illiteracy, ignorance, high cost of PPE or non-availability of the regulatory agencies to enforce the usage. Because of poor compliance to the usage of PPE among them, many of them have been exposed to series of health hazards.
We therefore recommend that more awareness about the frequent use of PPE should be created through the radio by the health workers or community health extension workers.
Employers at the quarry industries should also provide the employees with the PPE to ensure that they are in optimal state of health for effective productivity
.
The workers should also be educated on the need to wear the PPE always as this will help to reduce the rate at which they are exposed to all these work-related hazards of quarry industry as this will help to reduce the ill-health that can result from them.
The quarry workers are also advised to be more careful while at work to reduce the rate of accident they encounter since the major cause of their accident is carelessness as this will ensure that they are in a state of optimal health.
REFERENCES
1. A.A Aliu, A. U. Shehu: Occupational hazards and safety measures among stone quarry in northern Nigeria, Nigeria Medical practitioner vol. 50(2) 2006: PP 42-47.
2. Pope A. C, Dates. D.V. Raizenne M. E. health effects of particulate Air pollution: time for reassessment? Environmental Health perspectives. 1995.103,5, 472.
3. Nwogu Chido, Ohakwe H. surgery of occupational Noise exposure and Hearing loss among coal miners B. Sc. Thesis, Department of electrical/electronic engineering UNN, June, 1981.
4. Obakor M. N; Refuses and the mining industry in zambia East Africa Medical Journal 1979, 59,9,45.
5. Woodruff S. T, Grillo. J; Schoendorf K.C. The relationship between selected causes of adult and post neonatal infant mortality and particulate are pollution in United States. Environmental Health Perspectives 1997, 105,6,608.
6. O.C. Ugbogu, J. Ohakwe and V. follecus in 2000 showed that majority of quarry workers knew that their job exposed them to health hazards.
7. Christopher N. Obionu, 1999.
8. Pattern of occupational hazards and provision of occupational health services and safety among workers of kaduna refinery and petrochemical company Ltd continental S. Tropical medicine 5(1): 1.5, 2011.
9. Aliu and Saidu on occupational hazards and safety measures among stone quarry workers in northern Nigeria. Nigeria Medical practitioner, 2006.
10. Lee Hick Siang. Mineral dusts and Privation of Silicosis, vol. 4; No.2, September 1997.
11. Mu’awiyyah B. sufiyan, Olushola O. Ogunleye; Awareness and compliance of with use of safety protective devices and patterns of injury among quarry workers in kaduna, north western Nigeria. Vol. 6, No.2. 2013, pp.65-70.
12. A. N. nwibo, E. I. Ugwuja et al; pulmonary problems among quarry workers. Vol 3, No. 4, October, 2012.
13. Ezenwa E. C., Epidemiology of eye disease among timber workers in Owerri, Nigeria African Journal on line (AJOL) vol. 14, 2003-ISSN: 0795-0039
14. Algbedion I, lyayi SE. Environmental effect of mineral exploration in Nigeria.int J Phys Sci 2007; 2:33-8.
15. Fatusi A, Erbabor G. Occuptational health status of sawmill workers in Nigeria. J Roy Soc Health 1996:23-6
16. Olusegun O. Adeniyi A, Adeola GT. Imact of Granite Quarrying on the Health of workers and Nearby residents in Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria Ethiopian journal of Environmental studies and management 2009; 2 Available from www.ajol.info/index.php/ejem/orticle/view/43497 (Accessed March 4, 2012)
17. Oxman AD, Muir DCF, Shannon HS, et al. occupational dust exposure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A systematic review. Am rev Respire Dis 1993;148:38-48.
18. Medical Research council. Respiratory Symptoms questionnaires. Britrish medical, Research council. London, England, 1986.
19. Park. Occupational health in: Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine. 18th ed. Jabalpur: M/s Banarsidas Bhanot, 2007; 608-10.
20. Kasper DL, Braunmwald E, Fauci, et al. Environmental lung disease. In: Harrison’s principle of internal medicine. 16th ed. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2008; 1521-7.
21. Urom SE, Antal AB, Osim EE. Symptoms and lung function values in Nigerian men and women exposed to dust generated from crushing granite rocks in Calabar, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences 2004;19:41-7.
22. Malmberg P, Hedenstrom H, Sundblad BM. Changes in lung function of granite crushers exposed to moderately high silica concentration: a 12 year follow up. Br J Ind med 1993;50: 726.
23. Tsin TW, Okelly FJ, Chan SL. Survey of respiratory health of silica exposed gemstone workers in Hong kong. Am rev Respir Dis 1987;135:1249.
24. Ghotkar VB, Maldhure BR, Zodpey SP. Involvement of lung and lung function tests in Stone quarry workers. Ind J Tub 1995;42:155-60.
25. Deborah S. Breathtaking: premature Mortality due to particulate air pollution 239 America Cities New York. Natural Resources Defence Council, 1996,14-5.
26. National Industrial sand association Respiratory Health Effects of Crystalline Silica; 1997: Available from www. Riccisand.com/health (Accessed December 12, 2011).
27. Mengesha, YA, bekele A. relative chronic effects of occupational dust on respiratory indices and health of workers in t hree Ethiopian factories. Am J Ind med 1998;34:373-80.
28. Smilee Johncy s, Ajay KT Ohanyakumar., G, et al. dust Exposure and lung Function Impairment in Construction workers. J. Physicol Biomed Sci 2011; 24:9-13.
29. Mashaallah A, Mohammad RZ, All AF. Prevalence of silicosis among workers in stone-cutter and silica powder production Factories. Tanafos 2006;5:31-6.
30. Lemele A, de Araujo AJ, lapa e SIR, et al. Respiratory Symptoms and Spirometric Tests of quarry workers in Rio de Janeior. Rev. Assoc Med Bras 1994; 40:23-35.
Be the first to comment