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Assessment of Quarrying Activities and Dust-related Health Problems among Quarry Workers and Residents Communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria 1Nwazunku A.A., 2Amadi C.O.A., *1Ede A.O., 1Obasi K.O., 1Abonyi I.C., and Amadi A.N.2 1Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Health Sciences and Technology, Nnewi Campus, Nnamadi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. 2Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. *Corresponding Author’s E-mail Address ✉: austinazunku@gmail.com Accepted April 25, 2020 The study aimed at assessing the quarrying activities in relation to dust-related health problems among quarry workers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The study employed a cross sectional study that deals with observation that involved the assessment of dust particles, interview of participants with a well-structured questionnaire. The completed and collected questionnaires were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0. The results were presented in frequency tables and percentages in line with the research objective. A total of 354 subjects participated in the study, 52(43.3%) were males while 68(57%) were females in Ezza North LGA. In Ivo LGA, 52(43.3%) were males while 71(58%) were females. In Ohaukwu LGA,49(44.1%) were males while 62(55.8%) were females. The most common occupation among the respondents was quarrying with 28(7.91%) in Ezza North LGA, 31(8.76%) in Ivo LGA and 25(7.06%) in Ohaukwu LGA. The result showed that sneezing was the highest with 76.67% in Ezza North LGA, 75.61% in Ivo LGA and 80.18% in Ohaukwu LGA; followed by coughing (57.50%) in Ezza North LGA, 58.54% in Ivo LGA and 59.46% in Ohaukwu LGA. All these dust-related health problems among people in the studied LGAs in Ebonyi state were higher among crushed stone quarry workers compared to those who have other occupations as farming and trading as so on. In conclusion, the result showed a significant relationship between quarry activities and dust-related health problems because exposure to dust particles can have major health implications. Therefore, the quarry workers should be encouraged to comply with personal protective equipment to protect their health and others. Key words: Dust, Ebonyi, Hazards, Occupation, Quarry, Workers. Full Text PDF (360 KB) |
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