Samad Jalilian; Sima Sabzalipour; Maryam Mohammadi Rouzbahani; Ebrahim Rajabzadeh Ghatrami; Leila Ibrahimy Ghavamabadi
Abstract
Background: Specific improvements in the risk assessment of chemicals have been recently considered by many national and international expert groups. This study aimed to identify the highest occupational exposure levels in Abadan Oil Refining Company, Iran, to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and ...
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Background: Specific improvements in the risk assessment of chemicals have been recently considered by many national and international expert groups. This study aimed to identify the highest occupational exposure levels in Abadan Oil Refining Company, Iran, to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) in 2020. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study carried out in several units (ten units) in Abadan Oil Refining Company. Air sampling and BTEX analysis were conducted according to NIOSH method number 1501. To determine the risk of exposure to BTEX pollutants, we used the method proposed by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health of Malaysia. Then, the hazard rate, exposure rate, and health risk level caused by exposure to chemicals were determined. Spss20 software was used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed the employees studied in this research were exposed to the pollutants of BTEX during their work. Comparing total BTEX concentrations with the recommended standard level showed that BTEX concentrations in Abadan Oil Refining Company Workers’ breathing zone were lower than the TLV-TWA recommended by ACGIH; also, the findings of this risk assessment study showed benzene had the highest risk ranking in seven operating units and a low risk ranking in three other units. Moreover, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene had a very low risk in all operating units. Conclusion: Corrective and preventive measures should be taken to eliminate or minimize the exposure rate due to the significant effects of benzene exposure.
Ehsan Bakhshi; Mojtaba Ahmadi; Reza Kalantari
Abstract
Background: Occupational health and safety is important for workers and their employers. Unfavorable safety climate can affect the workers' health and performance negatively. Job stress is a harmful pheromone in the industries that have been a concerning issue in recent years. This study aimed to determine ...
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Background: Occupational health and safety is important for workers and their employers. Unfavorable safety climate can affect the workers' health and performance negatively. Job stress is a harmful pheromone in the industries that have been a concerning issue in recent years. This study aimed to determine the safety climate and its effect on the workers' perceived stress in a tile industry in the west of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 135 employees working in a tile industry in the west of Iran in 2018. The data were collected using demographic characteristics, safety climate, and Cohen's perceived stress questionnaires. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and leaner regression test using SPSS version 22 software. Results: The mean (SD) of safety climate was 3.06±0.55 (out of 5) and that of perceived stress was 26 ±8.22 (out of 56). A significant inverse relationship was found between safety climate and perceived stress (r=-0.240, p-value= 0.005). Safety climate was not significantly correlated with demographic features and background factors (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the level of safety climate was moderate to high; besides, the unfavorable safety climate can be a risk factor for perceived stress. Given the inverse relationship between safety climate and perceived stress, improving the staff's safety level by engineering and managerial interventions can be useful in improving the workers' health.
fariba kiani; Ahmad Borjali; Kyomars Farahbakhsh; Noorali Farrokhi
Volume 3, Issue 2 , April 2015, , Pages 64-70
Abstract
Backgrounds: Situation awareness is an important factor in industrial accidents. Improving situation awareness may help to prevent occupational accidents. Determination of factors influencing situation awareness will help to plan and take measures for betterment of working condition and development of ...
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Backgrounds: Situation awareness is an important factor in industrial accidents. Improving situation awareness may help to prevent occupational accidents. Determination of factors influencing situation awareness will help to plan and take measures for betterment of working condition and development of a safer workplace. In this study, we examined the role of work overload and job stress in predicting work situation awareness among workers. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A sample consisting of 180 employees in National Petrochemical Company in 2014 was selected using stratified random sampling method; the participants filled out the questionnaires containing questions on demography characteristics, work situation awareness of Sneddon, Mearns & Flin (2013), work overload of Beehr, Walsh & Taber (1976), and job stress scale of Cohen and colleagues (1983).The data were analyzed by SPSS software using coefficient correlation and stepwise regression. Statistical differences were considered significant at P<0.001. Results: The results showed that there were internal correlation among work overload, job stress and work situation awareness. Also, the results of stepwise regression analysis revealed that work overload and job stress significantly predicted, respectively, almost 11% and 35% of variances of work situation awareness among workers. Conclusion: Work overload and job stress are two main factors for predicting work situation awareness. To improve workplace safety, interventional measures should focus on enhancing the situation awareness via workload and job stress reduction.
