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IntroductionDespite the increasing interest in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), seldom studies are available on OSH in medical laboratories from developing countries in general although a high number of injuries occur without proper documentation. It is estimated that every day 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases resulting in over 2.3 million deaths per year. Medical laboratories handle a wide range of materials, potentially dangerous pathogenic agents and exposes health workers to numerous potential hazards. This study evaluated the status of OSH in medical laboratories in Kajiado County, Kenya. The objectives included establishment of biological, chemical and physical hazards; reviewing medical laboratories control measures; and enumerating factors hindering implementation of good practices in OSH.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive study research design. Observation check lists, interview schedules and structured questionnaires were used. The study was carried out in 108 medical laboratories among 204 sampled respondents. Data was analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) 20 software.ResultsThe commonest type of hazards in medical laboratories include; bacteria (80%) for Biological hazards; handling un-labelled and un-marked chemicals (38.2%) for chemical hazards; and laboratory equipment's dangerously placed (49.5%) for Physical hazards. According to Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analysis, not-wearing personal protective equipment's was statistically associated with exposure to hazards. Individual control measures were statistically significant at 0.01 significance level. Only 65.1% of the factors influencing implementation of OSH in medical laboratories were identified.ConclusionTraining has the highest contribution to good OSH practices.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASSGM) has experienced rapid growth due to mineral value and increasing poverty level in western and Nyanza regions in Kenya. The sub-sector has hazardous tasks occasioned by chemical exposures to such substances as mercury, physical strain and repetitive movements associated with extractive tasks challenge which vary from region to region and site to site. This paper reports findings of a study conducted on ASSGM in Kakamega (Roster mine and Ikolomani) and Migori (Masara-Suna West and Francis - Suna East) counties to assess workplace safety, health risk and good health practice among a population of one thousand four hundred (1400) miners and non-miners to identify and determine levels of health hazard in the sector. Descriptive cross-sectional design that involved stratified sampling technique with three broad stages was used: dividing mining and non-mining population in sub-groups (miners, foremen/supervisors, and head of households) at sites in administering to them research instrument using a simple random technique. Levels of airborne particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) were determined both at mining sites and away from mining sites using low cost monitor sensor (PA-11-SD Purple air sensor). The low-cost monitor sensor data was corrected using collocational data obtained using a continuous particulate monitor (BAM 1020) reference monitor in a similar location. SPSS version 25.0 was used to analyse qualitative data. The study found that common sources of hazards included handling elemental mercury with bare hands during amalgamation and exposure to fumes during refining raw sponge-like gold. Aaverage 24-hour variation cycle for (PM2.5 and PM10) was 117.11±14.47 and 195.18±15.35 μg/m3 in ambient air respectively at all mining sites. Histograms were used to present frequency distribution of variations for (PM2.5 and PM10) from mining activity. The average humidity and temperature variations of artisanal gold mining were in the range of (45-35) percentage (% RH) and (26-28)0C respectively. The study concluded that there were high risk cycle exposures to airborne particulate matter contaminants at artisanal gold mining sites as compared to non- mining sites. The study recommends that the county government should give priority to developing safe guidelines to ASSGM. The central government should also come up with guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health in artisanal gold mining to facilitate compliance with OSH requirements in the sector and offer effective participative training.

Fire safety is an essential aspect in each workplace; its efforts are geared to the preservation of life and protection of property. Petroleum dispensing stations handle highly flammable and combustible materials that ignite at any given time at a conducive condition. The government of Kenya has instituted various laws and legislation to alleviate the fire safety status of such workplaces which should be adhered to. The study aimed to assess the implementation of Fire Risk Reduction Rules in Kisumu County which will provide bases for the improvement of the available fire risk reduction rules and gauge the Fire safety status in petroleum dispensing stations. Research methods employed involved physical observation, interviews, and measurements. The study established that 27 (90.3%) Branded petroleum dispensing stations and 11 (68.8%) of independent petroleum stations had implemented safe storage and handling of highly flammable petroleum products, none of the stations had fully implemented the provisions in the Fire risk reduction rules, however, branded petroleum dispensing had better performance in the implementation than the Independent Petroleum dispensing stations. In view of the findings, the study recommends beef up of capacity in the directorate of occupation safety and health personnel to enable workplace inspections and awareness creation and enforcement on implementation of the Fire risk reduction rules as well as improvement of the available rules to be more specific on nature of works in petroleum dispensing stations.

Abstract-The Kenya agricultural and livestock research organisation (KALRO) western region is divided into KALROKakamega (non-ruminant) and KALRO-Kitale (food crops)

Agriculture is one of the three most hazardous occupations in terms of safety and health due to,among others, the physical strain and repetitive movements associated with its tasks. This study was conducted to evaluate the exposure to occupational safety and health hazards among farm workers in Ahero irrigation schemes, Kenya. The findings will inform development of mitigation measures to support the government’s goal of attaining food security. A sample of 38 farm workers were randomly selected across the scheme comprising of 7 villages. The data collected was sorted, edited coded and analyzed using SPSS ver. 20 and presented in descriptive statistics.  Statistical tests for correlation was carried out using Pearson’s correlation and the results presented using charts and tables. The study established that about 71% of the respondents were aged above 46 years. Most of the workers had attained a primary level education. Biological hazards were found to be more prevalent due to the presence of livestock, blood sucking pests and deficiency of clean drinking water in the farms and poor sanitation. Majority of the farm workers lifted heavy weights with over 40% of the farm workers lifting 86 Kgs and above. There was widespread use of agrochemicals that included organophosphates (31.6%) without adequate protection in a very hot environment. The study concludes that farm workers at Ahero irrigation scheme are exposed to myriads of occupational hazards which can be an impediment to food security and achievements of the government’s vision 2030.

Background: In the context of the highly complex and hazardous work environment, particular challenges arise in pursuing protections for healthcare workers in this unique employment sector. Due to its unique mission of caring for the sick, self-preservation behaviors which normally aid in protecting workers are suspended in a culture of selfless commitment to patient care. The objective of this study is to investigate factors influencing occupational injuries and hazards among healthcare workers in selected hospitals in Nairobi County.Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The scope included Kenyatta national hospital, Mama Lucy hospital, and Pumwani maternity hospital. A structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to collect information. A sample size of 304 healthcare workers was selected. Univariate and multivariate analysis was carried out to assess the association of study variables. Findings are presented in tables.Results: This research found that most of the healthcare workers (65.5%) are exposed to health hazards the commonest being cuts, wounds and lacerations (34.2%). The leading predisposing factors to health hazards are job related pressure (39.5%) and not wearing necessary PPEs (39.1%). There was a statistically significant relationship between experience of work-related injury and lack of enough supplies/materials and poor working environment (p<0.005).Conclusions: The study recommends that there should be much focus on creating awareness of occupational health hazards at the hospitals by the relevant stakeholders, preventive measures that will incorporate manageable workloads to reduce work-related pressure on the healthcare workers.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASSGM) is practiced at open-cast gold mines in Western Kenya. Mining is still going on in deep mines, with huge tailings littering the workplace for most miners. This mining exercise brings to the surface myriad radioactive materials from the earth’s crust, which pose physical and radiation hazards to miners. The aim of this study was to determine occupational exposure to radiation at artisanal gold mining sites. Four sites were studied for a period of six months. Environmental radiation exposure levels were measured using the Geiger Mueller tube (GMT) model; PHYWE, whereas thermoluminescent dosimeter badges (TLB) 802A were used to record personal radiation exposure levels. d-Orbital Limited Company provided UD-716AGL, used to read the radiation levels from the TLB. Exposure levels were reported in terms of monthly skin, eye, and body exposures. Results revealed an increase in counts per minute with an increase in depth in a range of 19.83 ± 3.87 to 27.83 ± 2.10 and a mean of 23.62 ± 5.17 cpm. Personal effective radiation exposure doses for the skin, eye and body were 0.19 ± 0.01, 0.19 ± 0.01 and 0.18 ± 0.015 for two sites in Western Kenya, whereas those in Nyanza had 0.27 ± 0.01, 0.27 ± 0.01 and 0.25 ± 0.05 mSv on skin, eye and body. The maximum dose threshold limit was estimated at 1.67 mSv per month. There was no significant difference in the radiation exposure of the eye, skin, and body between the sites as indicated by χ2 = 2.0 and p = 0.157 (at p<0.05) with df = 1. The study revealed that workers are exposed to ionising radiation, but the measured levels were within safe limits.