Dust Exposure and Respiratory Symptoms among Cement Factory Workers in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

This study was conducted in a cement factory in the United Arab Emirates to assess cement dust exposure and its relationship to respiratory symptoms among workers. A total of 149 exposed and 78 unexposed workers participated in this cross-sectional study. Information on demographic and respiratory symptoms was collected by questionnaire. Personal total dust levels were determined by the gravimetric method. Concentration of the total dust ranged between 4.20 mg/ m 3 in the crushers and 15.20 mg/m 3 in the packaging areas, and exceeded the exposure limit in the packaging and raw mill areas. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was higher among the exposed workers, but the difference from that of unexposed workers was statistically significant only for cough (19.5%; OR=4.5; 95%CI=1.5-13.2), and phlegm (14.8%; OR=13.3; 95%CI=1.8-100.9). Cough and phlegm were found to be related to exposure to dust, cumulative dust and smoking habit, while chronic bronchitis was related to smoking habit. The few factory workers (19.5%) who used masks all the time had a lower prevalence rate of respiratory symptoms than those not using them. High dust level was the only variable that influenced the workers to use the mask all the time. It is recommended that control measures be adopted to reduce the dust and workers should be encouraged to use respiratory protection devices during their working time.

A study on respiratory problems and pulmonary function indexes among cement industry workers in Mashhad, Iran

“…These findings are similar to other reports [7,11,16], and in contrast with some others [11,21]. Mwaiselage et al found such association in a cross-sectional study among 120 exposed and 107 unexposed workers at a Tanzanian cement factory [8].…”

“…The levels of inhalable cement dust observed in the current study are higher than the ones observed in developed countries such as the United States [15]. The inhalable dust exposure among the production workers in our present study is higher than American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values (ACGIH TLV), similar to the dust levels for cement production workers in Malaysia, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and some other regions of Iran [1,3,6,[16][17][18][19][20].…”

Ventilation impairment of residents around a cement plant

“…Many studies for cement factory workers on the adverse respiratory effects of cement dust exposure have been focusing on pulmonary function and symptoms, or their relationships [11-17]. But, few have researched the health effects of cement dust and asbestos [18,19], or heavy metals [20,21] derived from cement plants, thus a study on the relevance of dust and lung diseases of residents who live around these plants was rare.…”

Human health risk assessment of airborne trace elements for human receptors in the vicinity of the diamond cement factory, Volta Region, Ghana

“…This value is over three times higher than the permissible limit of 150.0 µg/m 3 specified by the Ghana Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for a rural setting. The inter-zonal variations were significant (F (3,16) =4.73; p< 0.05) between zone 1, and the other zones which did not show any significant differences among themselves. The highest concentration of TSP was in Zone 1 where the prevailing wind across DIACEM is designated.…”

“…Cement is manufactured through a series of processes that include the mining, crushing and grinding of raw materials, blending and kiln burning to form clinker (calcining), cement milling and packaging [3]. Dust is emitted during these processes exposing the ambient air to total suspended particulate matter.…”