Appraisal of work hazards and safety in the industrial estate of Jeddah |
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Authors: | Madbuli H Noweir Mustafa M Alidrisi Mohammad S Al-Jiffry |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Industrial Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 9027, 21413 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
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Abstract: | An environmental study for the appraisal of work hazards and safety in Jeddah Industrial Estate (JIE), Saudi Arabia has been
conducted. The study is based upon a representative (stratified random) sample of 44 enterprises, including 52 plants and
employing 5830 workers.
Nearly 2/3 of the workers have heat exposure, orginating from climatic heat and heat dissipated from industrial operations,
while exposure to noise is slightly less, and is attributed to noisy operations and machinery and to lack of meticulous maintenance;
both exposures are mild in most of the plants and moderate in some. Mild exposures to nonionizing radiations (UV and IR) and
to deficient illumination occur in 25% and 19.2% of the plants studied. Respiratory exposure to chemical agents (organic and
inorganic dusts, metal fumes, gases and vapours — including asphyxiants, irritants, liver and nervous system offenders and
acid and alkali mists) occurs in 75% of the plants, particularly in the medium-size enterprises plants; however, is mainly
mild with a few moderate and severe exposures. Skin absorption contributes to absorption of chemical agents in 29% of the
plants, and direct skin contact to chemicals (particularly to lubricating oils) occurs in 81% of the plants.
Meanwhile, only eight plants, out of the 32 plants where controls for physical hazards are required (51.2%), apply engineering
controls, and even in a few of these plants the efficiency of the control measures has been rated ‘bad’. A few of them provide
personal protective equipment, and even no maintenance to this equipment is provided.
The level of safety is better in the large plants than in the small and medium-size plants; the safety score is the best in
the recently established plants, while is the worst in the plastic industry, which is relatively old. The appraisal of fire
protection is better than that of the safety, due to efficient supervision of the General Directorate of Civil Defense (GDCD).
However, most of the safety problems are managerial and are preventable.
First aid is present in all enterprises, as required by the Saudi Labor Laws; however, an in-plant medical service is present
in 75% of the large enterprises, in 31.6% of the medium-size and in only 17.6% of the small enterprises. Also, satisfactory
medical, accidents and absenteeism records exist in only 15.9% of the enterprises; safety supervision exists in 27.3, and
safety education exists in 91% of them, while no environmental monitoring is carried out in any enterprise. Sanitation facilities
exist in satisfactory numbers in most of the enterprises; however, their maintenance is poor in most of them, due to lack
of hygienic supervision. All enterprises dispose of their liquid wastes into the JIE sewerage system without any treatment,
while the solid wastes are collected by the city authorities in 56.8% of them; both wastes are anticipated to cause environmental
pollution problems. |
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