A cross-sectional study of pulmonary function tests among the municipal street sweepers of Chitradurga District, Karnataka

Abstract

Municipal street sweepers are exposed to large amount of dusts, microorganisms, toxins and automobile exhaust pollution. Chronic inhalation of such particulate matter has the potential to impair their pulmonary functions. The strict adherence to the standards and norms for the management of municipal solid wastes to reduce occupational health hazards in developing countries India is still a matter of concern. This study conducted among the municipal sweepers of Chitradurga district, compared the effects of chronic exposure to dust on the pulmonary function using spirometry test. This study also assessed the effects of smoking and irregular usage of protection masks, and compared the results with the healthy controls. Respiratory symptoms of cough (30%), chest pain (17.5%), catarrah and sneezing (21.5%) were found to be in higher percentage among the municipal street sweepers than the controls. Only 20% of participants municipal street sweepers used personal protective measures, wearing protective masks, regularly in the past 1 year, during sweeping streets. It was found that FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEFR and FEF 25%-75% were significantly lesser among non-smoker street sweepers, when compared with that of non-smoking controls. Similarly these PFT values were significantly reduced among the smoker street sweepers and among the sweepers who didn't use protective masks while sweeping. This study highlights the occupational hazard faced by municipal sweepers and attempts to emphasize on importance of usage of protective masks.

Occupational health hazards of street cleaners – a literature review considering prevention practices at the workplace

“…Other authors also reported a negative correlation between the duration of exposure and lung function values for street sweepers [12,[27][28][29]. In most of the recent studies, the results of lung function measurements were adjusted for smoking [24,28] or the comparison with control subjects was only performed in non-smoking subjects [23,25,29]. Most of these studies showed that the decline of lung function was aggravated in smoking individuals.…”

“…A number of studies have revealed that street sweepers, especially in emerging and developing countries, are at risk of infectious diseases as they are exposed to inhalable matter, microorganisms, injuries, cuts and wounds. While a Kenyan study found that the involved street cleaners had little knowledge about the possible ways of transmitting infections and diseases [13], interviews with 70 street sweepers and garbage collectors from Egypt showed that between street cleaners and control subjects [23][24][25], indicating an obstructive pattern. Additionally, Sani et al [24] discussed that, due to the significant decline in forced expiratory flow (FEF 25-75 ) and peak expiratory flow (PEF), dust exposure of street sweepers might cause obstructive changes also in the small airways.…”