Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory

Introduction: Potential health impacts resulting from wood dust exposure among workers in the furniture factories have been reported in many studies. However, most of the studies focused on pine, beech, teak, oak and red western cedar. There is still lack of studies pertaining to the health effects...

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Main Authors:	Yusof, Muhammad Zubir, Hod, Rozita, Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun, Samsuddin, Niza
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English
Published:	2011
Subjects:	RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/1/Dr%20Zubir%202011%20Abstract%20Book.pdf

id	iium-59859
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-598592017-12-12T03:16:18Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/ Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory Yusof, Muhammad Zubir Hod, Rozita Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun Samsuddin, Niza RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine Introduction: Potential health impacts resulting from wood dust exposure among workers in the furniture factories have been reported in many studies. However, most of the studies focused on pine, beech, teak, oak and red western cedar. There is still lack of studies pertaining to the health effects due to exposure to rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis) dust. Aim: To assess the health effects of the workers exposed to rubber wood dust in the furniture factory. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 277 workers in a rubber wood furniture factory located in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The data was collected through a face-to-face interview was conducted by using a validated questionnaire to assess the respiratory, nasal, eyes and skin symptoms and spirometry for their lung function assessment. The airborne wood dust levels were measured in various work area, continuously for eight hours. Results: A total of 241 of workers were exposed directly to the rubber wood dust compared to 36 workers which were unexposed (office area). Those exposed were from the production working areas. Majority of the workers aged 19 to 61 years were male (n=223, 80.5%) and foreigners (n=178, 64.3%). Direct measurement of area sampling showed a high level of dust concentration at material supply area (1.1 mg/m3) and a lower level of dust concentration at office area (0.445 mg/m3). Among the highest prevalence of respiratory and skin symptoms experienced by the workers were eyes (n=137, 49.5%), nasal (n=135, 48.7%), cough (n=46, 16.6%) and skin (n=60, 21.7%) with the worker’s group status of exposure. The study showed significant associations of cough (χ2=8.240, p=0.004) and chest tightness (χ2=4.553, p=0.033). Employees who had worked for 10 years and more in the furniture factory, were found to have significant experienced of breathlessness (χ2=15.564, p<0.0001), chest tightness (χ2=6.859, p=0.009) and phlegm (χ2=5.366, p=0.021). Workers that worked with the availability and used of exhaust ventilation showed significant experienced having cough (χ2=7.525, p=0.006), nasal symptoms (χ2=9.029, p=0.003), eyes symptoms (χ2=4.460, p=0.035) and skin symptoms (χ2=10.094, p=0.001). However, there were no significant differences on the use of PPE with all the symptoms studied. Conclusion: There were significant health effects potentially faced by the workers who were exposed to rubber wood dust in the furniture industry. In order to protect these workers, appropriate preventive and control measures should be implemented in the work places. 2011-12-14 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/1/Dr%20Zubir%202011%20Abstract%20Book.pdf Yusof, Muhammad Zubir and Hod, Rozita and Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun and Samsuddin, Niza (2011) Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory. In: Scientific Conference on Occupational Safety & Health (SCI-COSH), 13-14 December 2011, NIOSH, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
spellingShingle	RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine Yusof, Muhammad Zubir Hod, Rozita Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun Samsuddin, Niza Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
description	Introduction: Potential health impacts resulting from wood dust exposure among workers in the furniture factories have been reported in many studies. However, most of the studies focused on pine, beech, teak, oak and red western cedar. There is still lack of studies pertaining to the health effects due to exposure to rubber wood (Hevea brasiliensis) dust. Aim: To assess the health effects of the workers exposed to rubber wood dust in the furniture factory. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 277 workers in a rubber wood furniture factory located in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The data was collected through a face-to-face interview was conducted by using a validated questionnaire to assess the respiratory, nasal, eyes and skin symptoms and spirometry for their lung function assessment. The airborne wood dust levels were measured in various work area, continuously for eight hours. Results: A total of 241 of workers were exposed directly to the rubber wood dust compared to 36 workers which were unexposed (office area). Those exposed were from the production working areas. Majority of the workers aged 19 to 61 years were male (n=223, 80.5%) and foreigners (n=178, 64.3%). Direct measurement of area sampling showed a high level of dust concentration at material supply area (1.1 mg/m3) and a lower level of dust concentration at office area (0.445 mg/m3). Among the highest prevalence of respiratory and skin symptoms experienced by the workers were eyes (n=137, 49.5%), nasal (n=135, 48.7%), cough (n=46, 16.6%) and skin (n=60, 21.7%) with the worker’s group status of exposure. The study showed significant associations of cough (χ2=8.240, p=0.004) and chest tightness (χ2=4.553, p=0.033). Employees who had worked for 10 years and more in the furniture factory, were found to have significant experienced of breathlessness (χ2=15.564, p<0.0001), chest tightness (χ2=6.859, p=0.009) and phlegm (χ2=5.366, p=0.021). Workers that worked with the availability and used of exhaust ventilation showed significant experienced having cough (χ2=7.525, p=0.006), nasal symptoms (χ2=9.029, p=0.003), eyes symptoms (χ2=4.460, p=0.035) and skin symptoms (χ2=10.094, p=0.001). However, there were no significant differences on the use of PPE with all the symptoms studied. Conclusion: There were significant health effects potentially faced by the workers who were exposed to rubber wood dust in the furniture industry. In order to protect these workers, appropriate preventive and control measures should be implemented in the work places.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Yusof, Muhammad Zubir Hod, Rozita Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun Samsuddin, Niza
author_facet	Yusof, Muhammad Zubir Hod, Rozita Noor Aizuddin, Azimatun Samsuddin, Niza
author_sort	Yusof, Muhammad Zubir
title	Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
title_short	Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
title_full	Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
title_fullStr	Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
title_full_unstemmed	Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
title_sort	health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory
publishDate	2011
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/59859/1/Dr%20Zubir%202011%20Abstract%20Book.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:24:51Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:24:51Z
_version_	1777412122888634368

Health effects of rubber wood dust exposure among workers in a furniture factory

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