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Lanka sees increase in hazards in manufacturing, construction and tourism industries
It will be a conference with a difference. While there will be the singing of the National Anthem and the lighting of the traditional oil lamp, as are customary, five minutes will be devoted as the ‘Safety Moment’.
This will comprise a presentation or video clip about what the participants should do in case of an emergency such as a fire and will set the tone for the 6th Asian Occupational Safety and Health Research Institutes Meeting from October 10 to 12 at the Galadari Hotel in Colombo.
Organised by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Sri Lanka, this three-day meeting will be attended by eight other countries in the region. They are Singapore, India, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines.
The extensive discussions and brainstorming following a series of presentations from around the region including Sri Lanka are expected to formalise a regional collaboration network in occupational safety and health for the effective exchange of information and expertise via web-based information technology and other channels.
Over the years, there has been an increase in occupational accidents and diseases in Sri Lanka, points out NIOSH Director-General Dr. Champika Amarasinghe, explaining to the Sunday Times in a pre-meeting briefing, the changes that have taken place in the employment arena in the country.
Sri Lanka which was an agricultural country, introduced economic liberalisation in 1977, in the wake of which a large number of industrialists invested here, while export processing zones were opened up. Tax reductions and benefits also saw textile and other manufacturing industries being set up, providing employment opportunities to skilled, unskilled and poorly-educated Sri Lankan youth. In the late 1990s, a boom in the construction industry led to new technologies and machinery being introduced and tourism taking off along with technology transfers, multi-skilling and brain-drain.
Some of the occupational hazards highlighted in Sri Lankan over time, according to Dr. Amarasinghe, include Cancer Hospital nurses preparing to strike over a chemotherapy issue; more than 4,500 farmers contracting Leptospirosis (rat fever) in the Western Province; seven cases of Silicosis (lung fibrosis caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica); alleged unlicensed X-ray machines and uncontrolled radiation; renal disease prevalence being high among farmers in Anuradhapura, etc.
The urgent need, she says, is more emphasis on capacity building, development of standards and guidelines, setting up of accreditation bodies and technology transfer at national level; technically-qualified hygienists, surveillance systems, rewarding and awarding systems, sophisticated equipment and laboratories and information sharing at institutional level; and awareness and self-commitment at industrial level.
What worries conference moderator Dr. Panduka Wijeyaratne most is the ‘informal’ sector comprising micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). For, his organisation — Tropical & Environmental Disease & Health Associates (TEDHA) Pvt. Ltd. – working with NIOSH has already looked at preliminary information with regard to these MSMEs in the northern districts of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Mannar.
Reiterating that the ‘informal’ sector contributes over 60% of employment, he underscores that inadequate information on occupational hazards is the major obstacle in effectively preventing occupational diseases and deaths in the country.
“Around 4,000 accidents are being reported yearly and 600,000 workdays are estimated to be lost due to accidents each year,” he says, quoting the International Labour Organisation.
Dr. Wijeyaratne says, “The ‘hazards’ could come in different forms such as unguarded belts and pulleys, unsafe machinery, tools, electrical fittings and oils. There could also be exposure to dust, noise, radiation, heavy metals and biological hazards.”
While occupational diseases are work-related diseases, occupational hazards, according to him, include:
Physical hazards – from noise, vibration, fire, poor sanitation, radiation and extreme temperatures.
Chemical hazards – from liquids, solids, gases, fumes, vapour and dust.
Ergonomic hazards – from the workplace environment and the equipment used.
Biological hazards – from vector-borne infections, parasites, venomous arthropod (insect, spider and crustacean) attacks and snake-bites.
Psychosocial hazards – from fatigue, anxiety, stress, general loss of interest in work, long working hours and less sleep.
The MSMEs include rice, coconut fibre and timber mills; machine, printing and carpentry shops; cycle and car repair places; bakeries; laundries; service stations; power-looms; iron works; foundries; and metal crushing places.