Occupational health and safety problems of welding work among small scale welders in Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Background: Work related deaths, injuries, illnesses and accidents among small-scale welders have been increasingly reported in developing countries Tanzania included. Inadequate knowledge on health-associated hazards, problems and PPE has been associated with increased rate of fatalities following low use of PPEs and enforcement by the responsible authorities. Therefore, many people suffer from their job though there are few studies in Tanzania on the health and safety problems experienced by small-scale welders and so limited information is available. Aim: To determine occupational health and safety problems of welding work among small-scale welders of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Materials and methods: This was a community based cross sectional study, conducted in June 2020 at Toangoma ward in Temeke Municipality. The study involved 227 small-scale welders who were purposively selected from their workshops. The semi-structured pre tested questionnaire was used to collect demographic information of the study subjects, form of training they attended, literacy level, awareness on welding health and safety hazards, health problems, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Previous history of health problems for each welder and, use of PPE during welding and factors for use of PPE were also collected. The data were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Results: The study revealed that lower back pain is the most commonly reported health problem (95%) followed by skin burns (93%) and body cuts (89%), among small-scale welders. Moreover, difficult breathing (82%) and eyes irritation (87%) are also among the prevalent health problems. The use of PPE was reported high for eye protective gears followed by dust mask and overcoat. However, the use of recommended PPEs is a big challenge. Majority of the welders (69%) are aware of at least one health and safety hazard, health problem (77%) and PPE (91%). Conclusion and recommendation: This study revealed that working environment for the small scale welders in Dar Es Salaam is very poor and pause high health risk to welders themselves and even the community surrounding the workshops as they are both exposed to the hazards continuously.