Respiratory health problems among the ceramic workers in Dhaka

Abstract

:Ceramic factory workers are potentially at risk to develop occupational respiratory diseases due to chronic inhalation of dust particles generated in the ceramic factory. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to assess the respiratory and other health problems among the workers of Mirpur Ceramic Works Limited, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period of April to June, 2011. Among 200 participants, 132 (66%) were males and 68 (34%) were females. Less than one-third of the workers were habituated to use personal protective equipments (PPE), while more than two-third were not habituated. Nearly half (45.5%) of the workers were suffering from at least one respiratory problem and of them 86.8% (P = 0.001) had problems after joining the factory. Of the respiratory sufferers 27% had chronic bronchitis, 20% bronchial asthma, 1% pulmonary tuberculosis, and 0.5% had silicosis. A significant numbers (60.5%) of workers were suffering from other health problems along with or without respiratory problems, in terms of musculoskeletal pain, back pain, headache, dermatitis, anaemia and fever. The prevalence of respiratory problems was significantly higher among non-users of PPE than PPE users (P = 0.006), and it was found to be higher with the increased of job duration. The study showed the notable higher prevalence of respiratory problems among the workers exposed to ceramic dust, although the other potential environmental confounding factors could not be ruled out in the analysis. Obligatory use of PPE by all workers and health education to increase awareness among the workers might have role to reduce the prevalence.

Occupational exposure to dust and respiratory symptoms among Ethiopian factory workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…According to the finding of this systematic review and meta-analysis, workers who did not use PPE in the workplace were 1.76 times more likely to develop respiratory symptoms than workers who did. This study finding were supported with those of studies conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh [50], the United Arab Emirates cement factory [51], and the furniture industry workers in Indonesia [52]. The possible explanations for the high prevalence of respiratory symptoms might be workers exposed to different dust particles at work environment due to the lack of PPE in work environment increases workers exposure.…”

On the Relationship between Exposure to Particles and Dustiness during Handling of Powders in Industrial Settings

“…Particulate matter (PM) as well as ultrafine particles (UFP) can penetrate deep in the human respiratory tract, the finest fractions reaching the alveolar region (Brunekreef & Forsberg, 2005;Pope & Dockery, 2006). Respiratory-related disease in the ceramic industry due to inhalable dust has already been reported (Alim et al, 2015;Dehghan et al, 2009;Neghab et al, 2009). In Spain, concentration limit values have been established for particulate matter exposure (not otherwise specified) as 10000 µg/m 3 and 3000 µg/m 3 for inhalable and respirable mass fractions, respectively (INSH, 2017).…”

Prevalence of respiratory abnormalities and spirometric disparities among construction workers in Tangail, Bangladesh

“…Our study also reveals higher numbers (92%) of workers not accustomed to face masks during their working hours that shows congruence with a research on ceramic workers in Dhaka where 68% of ceramic workers were not inclined to use personal protective equipment. 18 Continuous exposure to pithy particles from construction sites can cause symptoms of respiratory disease.…”