Epidemiology of Occupational Injuries and Workplace Assessment in Turnery Industries at an Industrial District, Eastern Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background Occupational injury could be fatal or non-fatal with lost work time. Turneries are workplaces in which multiple simultaneous health hazards occur and the most common hazards are mechanical hazards. Objective To measure the frequency and types of injuries among a sample of turnery workers, to identify risk factors of occupational injuries among them, and to describe the environmental conditions at some of these turneries as a part of occupational safety prospective. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 75 workers in three Industrial areas in Eastern Cairo El-herafeen, Madinat Al-salam and El-Abour. Data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire with both close and open-ended questions, and an observational environmental checklists were filled by the researcher. Results Seventy-five turnery workers were interviewed, (76%) of them reporting injury during the last 12 months. About (46.7%) of operators believing that their work is extremely dangerous. The most significant determinants for occupational injuries (p value < 0.05) were lack of safety training, non-use of personal protective devices and work hazard perception. In environmental assessment, all work stations had non-covered traditional machines, only 2 work stations out of 10 assessed had natural ventilation with open windows; not any of the work stations had regular noise survey neither did any of the workers use hearing protection equipment even though it was available in 2 work stations; only 4 work stations had floors free from protruding nails, splinters, holes and loose boards, goggles were available in 4 stations while gloves and rubber boots were available in 6 stations. Conclusion Most of workers in small scale work stations specialized in turnery industry had occupational injury during the last 12 months. Most of the observed workstations did not comply with advised safety checklist.