Occupational health and safety in mining: Predictive probabilities of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use among artisanal goldminers in Ghana

Augustine Appiah,Benjamin M. Saalidong,Idongesit Bassey Utip,Ammal Mokhtar Metwally,Simon Appah Aram

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257772

Augustine Appiah, Benjamin M. Saalidong

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257772

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Journal: PLOS ONE	Publication Date: Sep 30, 2021
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Taiyuan University of Technology

Abstract

Artisanal goldminers in Ghana are exposed to various levels and forms of health, safety and environmental threats. Without the required legislation and regulations, artisanal miners are responsible for their own health and safety at work. Consequently, understanding the probabilities of self-protection at work by artisanal goldminers is crucial. A cross-sectional survey of 500 artisanal goldminers was conducted to examine the probabilities of personal protective equipment use among artisanal goldminers in Ghana. The data was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. Initial findings showed that personal protective equipment use among artisanal miners was 77.4%. Overall, higher probabilities of personal protective equipment use was observed among artisanal goldminers who work in good health and safety conditions as compared to artisanal miners who work in poor health and safety conditions. Also, personal protective equipment use was more probable among the highly educated artisanal goldminers, miners who regularly go for medical screening and the most experienced miners. Additionally, personal protective equipment use was more probable among artisanal miners who work in non-production departments and miners who work in the medium scale subsector. Inversely, personal protective equipment use was less probable among female artisanal miners and miners who earn more monthly income ($174 and above). To increase self-care and safety consciousness in artisanal mining, there is the need for a national occupational health and safety legislation in Ghana. Also, interventions and health promotion campaigns for better occupational conditions in artisanal mining should target and revise the health and safety related workplace programs and conditions.

Highlights

Artisanal goldmining is on the rise globally due to the rising prices for minerals and precious metals [1, 2]
The results showed that the expected protective equipment (PPE) use was 0.757 (76%) and the better the occupational conditions, the higher the probability of using PPEs
The significant statistical relationships between health conditions, safety conditions and PPE use were robust and persisted in all models. This meant that artisanal miners who worked in good health and safety conditions were more probable to use PPEs at work as compared to those who worked in poor health and safety conditions

Summary

Introduction

Artisanal goldmining is on the rise globally due to the rising prices for minerals and precious metals [1, 2]. Predictive probabilities of personal protective equipment (PPE) use among artisanal goldminers in Ghana over 80 million depend on it for their livelihood [1]. The goldmining industry in Ghana is one of the most important contributors to the nation’s economy in terms of employment, direct and indirect revenues, exports, and investment [3]. In Ghana, artisanal gold mining accounts for over 20% of the nation’s gold production and render employment to thousands of people mostly indigenous folks [5]

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Conclusion