Gebremichael, Fitsum (2015) Assessment of Occupational Lead Exposure in Selected Printing Enterprises: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
![[img]](http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png) |
PDF (Assessment of Occupational Lead Exposure in Selected Printing Enterprises: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study)
Fitsum, Gebremichael.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (1MB) | Request a copy |
Abstract
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 workers of 3 printing enterprises namely Berhanana Selam, Bole and Artistic which are located in Addis Ababa to assess occupational Lead exposure. The respondents comprised 30 exposed and 30 non-exposed workers. Structured close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data related to socio-demography, existing exposure factors and, clinical Lead-related poisoning symptoms of the exposed workers. Venous blood was taken for Lead test and tested using GFAAS.The mean blood lead level of exposed workers (95%CI: 247.867 ± 26.027 µg/L) was significantly higher than the mean blood lead level of non-exposed workers (95%CI: 180.640 µg/L ± 21.011µg/L) (p<0.05).The blood Lead level and service years (of exposed workers in the Lead related jobs) show positive Pearson correlation (r= 0.238, p=0.205).The mean blood Lead levels of sampled exposed workers from Bole (259.514 ± 12.708 µg/L) and Birhanena Selam (253.453±28.203µg/L) were similar but significantly higher than from Artistic (227.200 ±15.906 µg/L). Consistently, the mean service Years (in Leadrelated jobs) of exposed workers from Bole (24.286years) and Birhanena Selam (25.533years ) were similar but higher than from Artistic (12.625 years ) This showed that duration of exposure was one factor for higher blood Lead level keeping other factors into consideration. Eighty percent (24 workers) and 46.67% of the sampled exposed workers blood Lead level exceeded the recommended blood Lead level for workers set by NIOSH (70 to 220 µg/L) and OSHA-US (250 µg/L) respectively. The exposed workers showed higher Lead-poisoning related clinical symptom frequency than the non-exposed. This might be due to their elevated blood Lead level. As questionnaire result showed that Poor practice of using personal PPE and unhygienic personal practice of the workers were also factors for overexposure. Therefore, it is recommended that the enterprises and government regulatory bodies address the problem before it gets even worse.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Blood Lead Level, Occupational Lead Exposure. |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Selom Ghislain |
| Date Deposited: | 31 Oct 2018 09:50 |
| Last Modified: | 31 Oct 2018 09:50 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/7217 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |