Appraisal of occupational health practices of workers in an oil producing company in Port Harcourt-Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Workers in the oil industry are exposed to different types of hazards capable of causing various forms of health problems. The hazards considered by the study were noise and carbon monoxide poisoning amongst other forms of hazards. The importance of occupational health can never be overemphasized since human capital is the most important amongst all the factors of production.
Aim: The study aimed at appraising the occupational health practices of workers in the selected oil industry.
Methods: Two hundred participants were used as sample for the study. Self-administered structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the participants. Descriptive statistics of simple percentages and frequency counts were used in analyzing the data collected.
Results: One hundred and sixty one (80.5%) of the respondents agreed to the presence of noise pollution with damaging effects on the eardrum and carbon monoxide poisoning as occupational hazards in the company. One hundred and thirty five (67.5%) also agreed that some workers in the industry have lost their hearing to the noise hazard inherent in their jobs. According to 56% of the respondents safety gadgets such as earmuffs and plugs were not sufficiently provided by the company. Up to 80.5% of the respondents also disagreed that workers were always making use of the safety gadgets provided.
Conclusion: Findings revealed poor occupational health practices by the workers giving rise to victims of occupational hazards in the company. Safety gadgets were not sufficiently provided. Most employers in the developing countries are known not to be providing occupational health services for their workers while most workers do not also comply with the safety standards. Recommendations were made on the need to apply the tools of health education, supervision and monitoring to ensure service utilization by workers.


Keywords: Appraisal, Occupational health practices, Workers, Oil producing company, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Port Harcourt Medical Journal Vol. 2 (1) 2007: pp. 67-73