scholarly journals Knowledge on occupational health hazard and safety practices among the municipal solid waste handler

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Sujan B Marahatta ◽  
D Katuwl ◽  
S Adhikari ◽  
K Rijal

Background: All over the world nearly 860,000 people are injured every day and 2.3 million deaths occur annually due to occupational accidents and work-related diseases.There are limited studies that specifically determine the knowledge of waste handlers on occupational health problems and associated factors of occupational health problems and injuries in waste handlersin context of Nepal. Therefore, this studyaimed to assess the knowledge of waste handlers on occupational health and safety practices and its association with utilization of PPEs along with the condition of occupational health problems and injuries and factors associated with them among the waste handlers of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among selected 355 solid waste collectors by using semi-structured questionnaire and observation checklist, which was completed from March 2016 to May 2016. The data was entered into SPSS 20 version for analysis and a chi-square test was performed to see the presence of the association between the dependent and selected independent variables.Results: Among total respondents (355) surveyed 51.5% had got knowledge on occupational health hazard, 16.1 %  had got the knowledge to prevent from work-related health risks, 29% had got knowledge about PPEs and  31.5% had got knowledge about PPEs utilization. About 45.8% of the study participants had practices of the utilization of PPEs. Majority of the respondents i.e. 63.7% reported that they were suffering from occupational health problems. The evidence of the occupational health injuries was found to be low i.e. 25.4%. Similarly, variables which had significant influence on the occupational health problems were knowledge on occupational health hazard (p=0.016), work experience (p=0.021), health checkup (p=0.042) and for the occupational health injuries were monthly income(p=0.036), knowledge to prevent from health risk (p=0.001), gender (p=0.02), and knowledge of occupational health hazard (p=0.011), work experience (p= 0.025), work type (p=0.001), knowledge on PPEs ( p=0.034) and knowledge on work-related health risks (p= 0.027).Conclusion: Based on this study, its recommended to improve occupational health and safety practices. Awareness programs need to be focused to increase the knowledge on Occupational health hazards and safety practices to improve the utilization of PPEs..Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health SciencesVol. 3, No. 1, 2017, page: 56-72

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Bellosta-López ◽  
Priscila de Brito Silva ◽  
Palle S. Jensen ◽  
Morten S. Hoegh ◽  
Thorvaldur S. Palsson ◽  
...  

Historically, the role of professionals specialized in occupational health and safety (OHS) has emerged from the need to protect employers working in major risk industries such as nuclear plants and large-scale chemical industries in Europe. More recently, a few studies highlighted that the range of activities linked to safety management responsibilities includes monitor and prepare reports, inspection and auditing, regulatory compliance, emergency response, incident investigation, hazard and risk assessment, and training. Additionally, there are some supplementary non-safety related duties, such as including environmental responsibility. Considering that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) are a major burden worldwide, adding up to 1.3 billion cases, more than 100 million years loss of disability-adjusted life years and that such disorders are common causes of disability and sick leave, this topic is highly relevant to OHS professionals. In EU Member States for which data are available, a large majority of all workers report complaints related to musculoskeletal disorders as their most serious work-related health problems. The percentage of workers reporting such complaints as their most serious health problem ranges from 40 % in Luxembourg to 70 % in Czech Republic and Finland. Furthermore, more than half of workers with musculoskeletal disorders reported taking time off work in a 12-month period. In the EU, 26 % of workers with musculoskeletal long-lasting disorders, that is lasting over 3 months, combined with other health problems report more than 8 days of absence per year. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have a key role in disseminating and increasing accessibility to the most up-to-date evidence available regarding the impact and management of musculoskeletal disorders, to facilitate translation of knowledge to implementation in practice. This way, the Knowledge Alliance Prevent4Work for Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders has elaborated this document with the most recent and relevant knowledge within the topic. HEI that offer courses within OHS as well as graduation and post-graduation courses for health professionals that work within the area, may benefit from the recommendations presented here.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 262
Author(s):  
Fertin Mulyanasari ◽  
Sigit Mulyono

<p><em>Waste pickers are a group of workers who are at risk of accidents and work-related diseases because they are exposed to sources of disease from rubbish piles. Various diseases and work accidents occur in waste pickers in various countries. To describe occupational health and safety problems that occur in waste pickers as well as efforts that can be made to improve occupational health and safety of waste pickers. Literature search through online databases on ScienceDirect, Wiley Online, and ProQuest with the keywords used "occupational health service", "occupational health nursing", "waste picker", and "scavenger" obtained a total of 3,624 articles, carried out reviews resulting in 17 selected articles. Health problems and workplace accidents of waste pickers range from respiratory problems, musculoskeletal problems, communicable and non communicable diseases, mental health problems and other problems to impacting their families and causing death. Policies are needed to regulate the health and work safety of waste pickers as well as to improve knowledge of occupational health and safety, providing Persolan Protective Equipment (PPE) and improving waste picker obedience to use PPE by health care program. </em></p><p> </p><p><em>Pengumpul sampah merupakan kelompok pekerja yang berisiko terhadap kecelakaan dan penyakit akibat kerja karena terpapar sumber penyakit dari tumpukan sampah. Berbagai penyakit dan kecelakaan kerja terjadi pada pengumpul sampah diberbagai negara.</em><em> </em><em>U</em><em>ntuk </em><em>mendeskripsikan masalah kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja yang terjadi pada pengumpul sampah serta upaya yang dapat dilakukan untuk meningkatkan kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja pengumpul sampah. Pe</em><em>ncarian </em><em>literatur </em><em>melalui online database </em><em> pada ScienceDirect,  Wiley Online, dan ProQuest dengan kata kunci yang digunakan yaitu “occupational health service”, “occupational health nursing”, “waste picker”, dan “scavenger” didapatkan total 3.624 artikel, dilakukan review sehingga dihasilkan 17 artikel terpilih. Masalah kesehatan dan kecelakaan kerja pengumpul sampah beragam mulai dari masalah pernapasan, masalah muskuloskeletal, penyakit menular dan tidak menular, masalah mental dan masalah lainnya hingga berdampak pada keluarga mereka dan menyebabkan kemantian. Diperlukan kebijakan yang mengatur kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja pengumpul sampah serta peningkatan pengetahuan kesehatan dan keselamatan kerja, pengadaan alat pelindung diri dan meningkatkan kepatuhan penggunaan alat pelindung diri oleh pengumpul sampah melalui peran pelayanan kesehatan.</em></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Aditira Dwi Hanani

Pregnant workers have more health risks for health problems than other workers. There are different potential hazards in different workplaces. Occupational Health and Safety Programs need to be implemented for pregnant workers in order to avoid work related diseases in various workplaces. This study aims to determine the the implementation of occupational health and safety for pregnant workers in various workplaces. This study uses a qualitative method by conducting FGD (Focus Group Discussion) with pregnant women workers from various workplaces and in-depth interviews with occupational health and safety experts. Occupational health and safety programs have been implemented for pregnant workers such as the right to maternity leave, working hours arrangements, health insurance, and special protection for pregnant workers. However, there are some workplaces that still do not provide special protection for pregnant workers. Every workplace should pay more attention to the health and safety of pregnant workers as an effort to prevent occupational accidents and work related diseases


Author(s):  
Mehrad Bastani ◽  
Nurcin Celik ◽  
Danielle Coogan

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Please check back later for the full article. The volume of municipal solid waste produced in the United States has increased by 68% since 1980, up from 151 million to over 254 million tons per year. As the output of municipal waste has grown, more attention has been placed on the occupations associated with waste management. In 2014, the occupation of refuse and recyclable material collection was ranked as the 6th most dangerous job in the United States, with a rate of 27.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. With the revelation of reported exposure statistics among solid waste workers in the United States, the problem of the identification and assessment of occupational health risks among solid waste workers is receiving more consideration. From the generation of waste to its disposal, solid waste workers are exposed to substantial levels of physical, chemical, and biological toxins. Current waste management systems in the United States involve significant risk of contact with waste hazards, highlighting that prevention methods such as monitoring exposures, personal protection, engineering controls, job education and training, and other interventions are under-utilized. To recognize and address occupational hazards encountered by solid waste workers, it is necessary to discern potential safety concerns and their causes, as well as their direct and/or indirect impacts on the various types of workers. In solid waste management, the major industries processing solid waste are introduced as recycling, incineration, landfill, and composting. Thus, the reported exposures and potential occupational health risks need to be identified for workers in each of the aforementioned industries. Then, by acquiring data on reported exposure among solid waste workers, multiple county-level and state-level quantitative assessments for major occupational risks can be conducted using statistical assessment methods. To assess health risks among solid waste workers, the following questions must be answered: How can the methods of solid waste management be categorized? Which are the predominant occupational health risks among solid waste workers, and how can they be identified? Which practical and robust assessment methods are useful for evaluating occupational health risks among solid waste workers? What are possible solutions that can be implemented to reduce the occupational health hazard rates among solid waste workers?


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