Knowledge On Occupational Hazards And Occupational Health Practices Among Cement Workers At Dangote Cement Ghana Limited

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Introduction: The use of cement in Ghana was increased steadily over the years due to the increase in construction activities. Much of the cement used for construction is being produced in the country, presenting a lot of concerns for the health of cement workers in the country. Dangote group is the first foreign entrant into the Ghanaian cement market, coming in, to compete with the existing two Ghanaian indigenous cement industries, Ghana Cement (GHACEM) and West African Cement Company (WACEM), producers of GHACEM and Diamond Cement respectively. Though most cement factory workers are exposed to significant occupational hazards, majority of workers tend to have low knowledge on hazards of their work.

Objectives: The study was conducted to assess the knowledge of cement workers towards occupational hazards, assess safety practices among workers and determine factors that affect the knowledge and safe practices of workers.

Methods: A total of 146 participants were sampled from cement workers in the production unit who gave information about their socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and practices of occupational hazards and safety respectively. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages were used to summarize baseline characteristics.

Results: The study included 146 participants and from the data obtained, 95.9% knew their work was hazardous; and all (100%) knew cement dust was the most common hazard while smoke (1.4%) was the least known hazard. The study showed that variables such as educational level, safety drills and trainings organized by management and attended by workers had no significant associations with workers’ knowledge towards occupational hazards. Years of work of respondents however had a negative association with their knowledge towards occupational hazards.

Conclusion: The study showed that, years of service, educational levels, safety drills and trainings has positive associations with safety practices among workers.

Keywords: Occupational hazards, personal protective equipment, Dangote.

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Knowledge On Occupational Hazards And Occupational Health Practices Among Cement Workers At Dangote Cement Ghana Limited

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