Abstract
In this investigation, the impact of cement dust pollution on respiratory systems of Lafarge cement workers was evaluated. A total of 120 respondents; 60 from the factory workers and 60 (controls) from Ifo, a nearby village 22 km NE of the factory were interviewed in 2014 using a modified respiratory symptom score questionnaire. Two hypotheses were formulated in null form and tested at 95% probability level. Descriptive statistics, independent and dependent t-tests were used to compare treatments while Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe multiple comparisons were used for comparing groups. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in the rate of breathlessness and wheezing, cough, chest illnesses and past illnesses between factory workers and controls. There were however significant differences in rates of breathlessness and wheezing, and past illnesses between workers in packing section and other sections of the factory. The study recommended that the government should look into the welfare of lafarge cement workers to ensure that additional and adequate safety devices are provided to the factory workers. Keywords: Cement dust, pollution, respiratory systems, illnesses, packing section
Highlights
Pollutants released from industries are the major source of environmental pollution
There were no significant differences in the major confounding variables of age and socio-economic status, any increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms and illnesses would invariable be attributed to the presence of the cement dust
The fact that the factory workers recorded higher percentages for all respiratory symptoms and illness was due to the presence of the cement dust pollutant
Summary
Cement production is a dusty operation leading to the exposure of factory workers to cement dust. The pollutants in the cement industry are emitted from the various production processes such as crushing, blending, storage and packing (Al Neaimi et al, 2001). Higher dust concentrations have been reported in the crushing and packing sections than in other sections (Mwaiselage et al, 2005). The aerodynamic diameter of the cement dust ranges from 0.05 to 20 micro meter (μm). Their small size makes the whole respiratory tract a target for cement dust deposition (Mwaiselage et al, 2005)
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