A study on the respiratory effects in road construction workers in Mysore, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20174834Keywords:
Road construction workers, PEFR, Occupation health, SafetyAbstract
Background: The process of road formation involves lot of chemicals which harm the respiratory tract. This leads to many health problems faced by road construction workers due to occupation. This study was done to find out the respiratory problems in road construction workers in Mysore.
Methods: 128 workers were asked questions about their respiratory symptoms and knowledge of protection from occupational hazards, and their peak expiratory flow rate and oxygen saturation were measured.
Results: Only 31.25% workers had appropriate PEFR. The oxygen saturation was more than 95% for all the workers studied. 30% of the workers suffered from cough and 30% from breathlessness. There was poor knowledge and practice of using protective clothing, especially masks (46% and 5%).
Conclusions: Policy changes in preventive precautions for occupational hazards need to be brought in.
Metrics
References
Ministry of Highways and Road Transport. Annual report 2011-12. New Delhi; 2011. Available at: http://indiagovernance.gov.in/files/road-transprt-annual-report.pdf. Accessed on 9 September 2017.
Chauhan SK, Sharma S, Shukla A, Gangopadhyay S. Recent trends of the emission characteristics from the road construction industry. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2010;17(9):1493–501.
Hansen ES. Mortality of mastic asphalt workers. Scand J Work Environ Heal. 1991;17(1):20–4.
Norseth T, Waage J, Dale I. Acute effects and exposure to organic compounds in road maintenance workers exposed to asphalt. Am J Ind Med. 1991;20(6):737–44.
Burstyn I, Kromhout H, Boffetta P. Literature Review of Levels and Determinants of Exposure to Potential Carcinogens and Other Agents in the Road Construction Industry. Am Ind Hyg Assoc. 2000;61:715–26.
Randem BG, Ulvestad B, Burstyn I, Kongerud J. Respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation in asphalt workers. Occup Environ Med. 2004;61(4):367–9.
Kodgule RR, Singh V, Dhar R, Saicharan BG, Madas SJ, Gogtay JA, et al. Reference values for peak expiratory flow in Indian adult population using a European Union scale peak flow meter. J Postgrad Med. 2014;60(2):123–9.
Tepper A, Mueller C, Singal M, Sagar K. Respiratory symptoms and lung function in workers in heavy and highway construction: A cross-sectional study. Am J Ind Med. 2001;40(1):73–86.
Valiante DJ, Schill DP, Rosenman KD, Socie E. Highway Repair: A New Silicosis Threat. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(5):876–80.
Greenspan CA, Moure-Eraso R, Wegman DH, Oliver LC. Occupational hygiene characterization of a highway construction project: A pilot study. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 1995;10(1):50–8.
Mohseni PH, Farshad AA, Mirkazemi R, Orak RJ. Assessment of the living and workplace health and safety conditions of site-resident construction workers in Tehran, Iran. Int J Occupational Safety Ergonomics. 2015;21(4):568–73.
Mohamed S, Ali TH, Tam WY V. National culture and safe work behaviour of construction workers in Pakistan. Saf Sci. 2009;47(1):29–35.
Nyende-Byakika S. Occupational safety and health issues on road construction sites in sub-Saharan Africa: A case study from Uganda. Afr J Sci Technol Innov Dev. 2016;8(3):256–63.
Medabala T, Rao BN, Mohesh MIG, Kumar MP. Effect of cigarette and cigar smoking on peak expiratory flow rate. J Clin Diagn Res . 2013;7(9):1886–9.
Rothenbacher D, Arndt V, Fraisse E, Daniel U, Fliedner TM, Brenner H. Chronic respiratory disease morbidity in construction workers: Patterns and prognostic significance for permanent disability and overall mortality. Eur Respir J. 1997;10(5):1093–9.
Wagner NL, Beckett WS, Steinberg R. Using spirometry results in occupational medicine and research : Common errors and good practice in statistical analysis and reporting. Indian J Occupational Environ Med. 2006;10(1):5–10.
