Evaluation of Peak Expiratory Flow Rates (PEFR) of Workers In A Cement Factory In Port Harcourt, South- South, Nigeria
Keywords:
Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), Respiratory Health, Cement Dust, NigeriaAbstract
Background: Occupational lung diseases (OLD) remain one of the most common workplace health challenges since the industrial revolution. One of the risks for OLD is the exposure to cement dust which is associated with varying degrees of respiratory symptoms and reduction in lung function. This study aimed to measure the peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) of workers in a cement manufacturing company in Port Harcourt and estimate the determinants of the measured rates.
Method: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 105 workers of a cement company who presented for the annual fitness to work exercise were sampled and had their peak expiratory flow rates measured using a spirometer. Data were also collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and a walk through survey carried out to examine workplace situation. The results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: The study showed that 13.3% of the workers had abnormal (i.e low) PEFR. The lowest mean PEFR of 327.5L/min was found among workers who had worked for 21 23 years and worked mainly at the production and bagging area. Most of the workers (81.9%) made effective use of some form of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Conclusion: Reduction in the PEFR implied that prolonged exposure to cement dust may result in decreased lung function and by extension pulmonary disease. The high percentage of normal PEFR found among the workers, irrespective of their duration of work, could be attributed to the effective use of the PPE.
References
Oleru U G. Pulmonary Function and Symptoms of Nigerian workers exposed to cement dust. Environ. Research. 1984; 33: 379-385.
W.F. Ganong: Review of Medical Physiology, nd22Edition, 2005, Pg 647-9.
Hogue DE, Van Soet PJ, Stouffer JR, Earl GH, Gutenmann WH and Lisk DJ. Cement kiln dust as a Selenium source in sheep rations. Corneal Vet. 1981; 71: 69-75.
Lea FM. The Chemistry of cement and concrete.Thirdedition.NewYor.kChemical publisher I.N.C. 1971; 1-15.
Brochaus A, Dolgner R, Ewers U, Kramer U, Soddemmann H and Wiegand H. Intake and health effects of thallium among a population living in the vicinity of cement plant emitting thallium containing dust. Int. Arch Occup. Environ. Health. 1981; 48: 375-389.
Short S and Petsonk E L. Non-fibrous inorganic dusts. In: Philip Harber, Marc B Schenker and John R Balmes. Occupational and environmental respiratory disease. London. Mosby, 1996: 356.
EL-Sewefy A Z, Awad S and Metwally M. Spirometric measurements in an Egyptian Portland cement factory. J. Egypt. Med. Asso. 1970; 53: 179-186.
Abudhaise BA, Rabi AZ, Zwairy MAA, Hader AFE and Qaderi SE. Pulmonary manifestation in cement workers in Jordan. Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health 1997; 10: 417-428.
Yang CY, Huang CC, Chiu HF, Chiu JF, Lan SJ, and Ko YC. Effects of Occupational dust exposure on the respiratory health of Portlandcementworkers.J.Taxicol.Environ. Health. 1996; 49: 581-588.
Green GM. The J. Burns Amberson lecture. In defense of lung. Am. Rev. Rep. Dis. 1970; 102: 691-703.
MorganWKC.Thedepositionandclearance of dust from the lungs their role in the etiology of occupational lung disease. In: Morgan,WKC and Seaton AWB. Occupational lung diseases. Philadelphia, Saunders 1984: 78.
Sheppard D, Hughson WG and Shellito J. Occupational lung diseases. In: Joseph La Dou, Occupational Medicine, USA, Appleton and Lange, 1990: 221-236.
Abou Taleb, A.N.M., Musaniger, AO. and Abdel moneim, R B. Health status of cementworkersintheUnitedArabEmirates. J. Roy. Soc. Health. 1995; 2:378-383.
Rafnsson V, Gunnarsdottir H. and Kiilunen M. Risk of lung cancer among masons in Iceland. Occup. Environ. Med. 1997; 54: 184-188.
Mc Dowall ME. A mortality study of cement workers. Br. J. Ind. Med. 1984; 41: 179-182.
Vestbo J, Knudsen KM, Raffn E, Korsgaard B, Rasmussen FV. Exposure to cement dust at a Portland cement factory and the risk of cancer. Br. J.Ind. Med. 1991; 48: 803-7.
Elebute EA, Femi-Pearse D. Peak Flow Rate In Nigeria: Anthropometric Determinants And Usefulness In Assessment Of Ventilatory Function. Thorax,1971; 26: 578 600.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 The Nigerian Health Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Journal is owned, published and copyrighted by the Nigerian Medical Association, River state Branch. The copyright of papers published are vested in the journal and the publisher. In line with our open access policy and the Creative Commons Attribution License policy authors are allowed to share their work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations. While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
TNHJ also supports open access archiving of articles published in the journal after three months of publication. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g, in institutional repositories or on their website) within the stated period, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). All requests for permission for open access archiving outside this period should be sent to the editor via email to editor@tnhjph.com.
