The Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) among Workers of Five Refuse Disposal Companies within Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Key words, Personal, Protective, Equipment, Employee.Abstract
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is a crucial functional element that guard against or minimize the effects of occupational hazards. This has prompted the American occupational safety and health administration (AOSHA) agency, to insist that employers protect employees from work place hazards that can cause serious injuries. One of such jobs is done by the refuse disposal companies where hazards refuse exist in different forms at refuse disposal sites. This study seeks to evaluate the compliance level to the use of PPE among workers of five refuse disposal disposal companies in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria. Adequate use of PPE is minimizing or avoiding occupational /workplace hazards/ injury.  Two sets of workers were randomly selected: the senior staff and field workers of the five companies. Three senior staff members from each of the companies were selected and a survey  using questionnaire was conducted among them for a period of one week to evaluate their knowledge and opinion on PPE. Field workers were monitored(We got to work the same time as the workers,followed them to their different pickup sites and observed whether they used PPE or not in while they discharged their duties every day for the period of the study)  and interviewed(we tried to find out from the field workers what they know about PPE, their opinion of the importance of PPE and whether they agreed to the use of PPE)  for a period of four weeks. Results obtained showed 28% compliance and 72% non-compliance revealing a need for companies to step up on their use of personal protective equipment in the field.
References
Baggs J., B. Silverstein, and M. Foley. “Workplace Health and Safety Regulations: Impact of Enforcement and Consultation on Workers’ Compensation Claims Rates in Washington State,†American Journal of Industrial Medicine vol. 43: pp483–494. 2003
Ellis B. Oregon OSHA’s quick guide to the PPE hazard assessment for general industry. www.orosha.org. 2013
Foley. A.,.Protection of Employees from work place/ occupational hazards. 1995
Laired, I.S., Pack, R.J., and Carr, D.H.. A survey on the use and non-use of Respiratory equipment in workplaces in a provincial New Zealand City.Ann Occup Hyg. Vol.37: pp367-75. 1993
Laired I., Amanda E., Andrea M., Soo C., Jereon D., Lis E.L., Dave M., Philippa G., Stephan L., and Niel P.The New Zealand workforce survey I:Self Reported occupational exposure. Ann Occup Hyg. 2010. Doi:10.1093/annhyg/mep097.
Namibia Labour Act 11. Limitations of Personal Protective Equipment. www.deir.gld.gov.au/ppe
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1973. Benefits of OSHA Safety training: How correctly utilized PPE can save more than a life. 1973
Occupational Safety and Health Administation.,. Employees safety from occupational hazards. Pub L No. 91–596, 29 USC §651 et seq. 1970
United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEP).,. Managing workers health and safety. Awareness of hazards, use of PPE and Employee training. 2001
Wachukwu , K. Confidence , and E.U Eleanya. Health Impact of Assessment of solid waste Disposal workers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences 7(22): 3562-3566. 2007. DOI: 10.3923/jas.2007.3562.3566, URL:http://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jas.2007.3562.3566
Cheesbrough M. District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries. Part 2, Cambridge University press,Cambridge, UK., ISBN:0-521-66546-9, pp157-234. 2002.
Olatoya O.B. Evaluation of the Health, safety environment and waste(HSE&W)Management practices within production facilities in Nigeria: A case study of some companies in Lagos and Ogun state, Nigeria. 2011
World Health Organization. Vector Control for malaria and other mosquito born diseases. Report of WHO Study Group. World Health Organization ,Geneva. Technical Report Series No.857. 1995
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
- Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
- It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
- The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
- The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.
