WOLLO UNIVERSITY

College of medicine and health science

Department of environmental health
4th year
Occupational health and safety group assignment
Group -2

Name ID NO
1. Ziyin Worku 3731/11
2. Keleb Takele 3594/11
3. Amanuel Seifu 3842/11
4. Misganaw Awoke 3631/11
5. Betelihem Mandefro 3509/11
6. Seada Ayalew 3659/11
7. Senait Nibret 3669/11
8.

Submitted to: Mistr. L.

Submission Date: May, 2022 G.C.

DESSIE, ETHIOPIA

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Contents
1. Introduction................................................................................................................................1
3. Anticipation of problem in marble industry.........................................................................3
3.1. Physical hazards.....................................................................................................................4
3.2. Chemical hazards:..................................................................................................................4
3.3. Ergonomic factors:.................................................................................................................4
3.4. Socioeconomic factors:..........................................................................................................4
4. Recognition of problem in marble industry..........................................................................4
4.1. The potential hazards due to workplace................................................................................4
4.2. The potential hazards related to people................................................................................5
4.3. The potential hazards due to management...........................................................................7
5. Evaluation of problem in marble industry............................................................................7
6. Control of problem in marble industry..................................................................................8
6.1. Strategies for OHS risks..........................................................................................................9
7. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................11

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 Marble factory

1. Introduction
Occupational safety covers the necessary work to be done in order to determine the
control measures for the identification of the hazards that may exist in the working place or
that may arise from the outside, the grading of the risks, and the factors and hazards that
cause these risks to turn into risk by analyzing. According to the rules and laws of
occupational health and safety legislation, it is necessary to carry out the risk analysis to
identify the sources or dangerous situations that may or may create hazards in the working
place. By evaluating the risks of working place, the planning of the activities for preventing
the working places risks and the monitoring of the applications need to be done.
Occupational health and safety studies have being aimed to ensure that the employees
work in a comfortable, safe and peaceful environment by protecting them from the negative
effects of the working place and from the work-borne diseases.
The establishing of occupational health and safety is closely related to various institutions
and organizations because of it effects social system. Employers and workers in the
workplace, drivers and pedestrians in the traffic, and all family members in the household are
involved in interaction with occupational health and safety. The occupational health and
safety should be taken into account by employers because of their material and spiritual
interests; by the workers as directly affected people, and by the governments because of their
responsibility to establish happy life and health of the citizens. For creating a productive
working system, the employer should spent money for organization and technique preventive
measures; the workers have to keep working system according to the rules of occupational
health and safety; the government must done necessary controls, establish institutions. As a
result of the combination of these, a productive and happy working system would be
established. There are three elements closely related to occupational health and safety for
employees.
 The protection of workers: It is main aim of the studies of occupational health
and safety. To protect the workers from the negative effects of the working place,
to provide comfortable and safety environment for work are the main aims. In
other words, the main purpose is to protect the workers against job accidents and
occupational diseases for providing spirit and body integrity.
 To establish the safety of production: To establish the safety of production in a
working place is economically important because of increase of productivity. The
protection of the workers will cause the decreasing of labor and workday losses
because of the decreasing of job accidents and occupational diseases. For this
reason, the production will keep in high level and the work efficiency will
increase related to safe environment in the working place.
 To establish the safety of management: By taking the preventive measures in
working place, the situations that can create danger like machine malfunctions
related to unsafety working conditions and job accidents, explosion and fire will
be eliminated

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Types of Occupational Hazards
An “occupational hazard” is any workplace condition that causes a risk to employee health.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the government organization in
charge of keeping workers safe, has defined six main categories of occupational hazards:
 Safety. This category includes any condition, substance, or object that can injure a
worker, like working from heights, spills on floors, machinery with moving parts,
confined spaces, steep stairs, or exposed electrical wiring.
 Chemical. There are many kinds of hazardous chemicals and toxins in different
workplaces, including environmental smoke, cleaning products, acids, pesticides,
carbon monoxide, and flammable liquids.
 Biological. In some settings, such as farms, zoos, hospitals or medical offices, or
veterinary clinics, workers can be exposed to biological health hazards like blood,
fungi, mold, viruses, animal droppings, and insect bites.
 Physical. These are hazards in the environment that can harm your body without
you actually touching it, like radiation, prolonged exposure to sunlight, extreme
high or low temperatures, and loud noise.
 Ergonomic. These hazards put strain on your body over a period of time. You may
just feel sore or cramped in the short term, but repeatedly sitting or standing in
awkward positions or completing the same movements over and over, across a
long period of time, can lead to long-term injury and illness.
 Work organization hazards. Workplace violence, discrimination, lack of respect,
sexual harassment, and other conditions are hazardous to mental, emotional, and
physical health.
Marble workers are occupationally exposed to intense environmental marble dust in their
workplace. The level of occupational health and safety management depends upon the scope
of the industry as it varies according to the functions and scale. Designing the occupational
health and safety management system for the small scale industries is more challenging due
to their limited resources and other constraints. The basic groundwork for the proper
implementation of occupational health and safety management system in any of the industry
is based on hazard identification process in relation to the overall system. The process not
only help to understand the severity of these hazards but also proper control measures can be
suggested accordingly
Marble has been commonly used in the sculpturing of statues, the construction of buildings
and monuments since the ancient times. It is a material used in tiles, countertops and indoor
flooring. The industry’s disposal of the marble powder material, consisting of very fine
powder, today constitutes one of the environmental problems around the world (Corinaldesi
et al., 2010). One of the major waste generating industries is the marble quarry and
production industry by which around 70% of this precious mineral resource is wasted in the
mining, processing, and polishing procedures. Around 40% of marble waste is generated
world widely during quarrying operations in the form of rock fragments and being dumped
either in nearby empty pits, roads, riverbeds, pasturelands, agricultural fields, or landfills
leading to wide spreading environmental pollution (Çelik, 1996; Akbulut and Gürer, 2003).
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most
commonly calcite or dolomite (Kearey, 2001). Workers who quarry, grind, polish and install
marble are exposed to the dust, which contains particles of calcium carbonate and silica.

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Prolonged exposure to respirable crystalline silica has long been known to cause one of the
oldest known industrial diseases, silicosis (Pilkington et al., 1996; Tjoe-Nij et al., 2003). In
addition to silicosis, respirable crystalline silica has been associated with autoimmune disease
(Parks et al., A1999), non-malignant renal disease (Steen land and Sanderson, 2001), cardiac
opestractive disease (COPD) (Hnizdo and Vallyathan, 2002) and lung cancer (IARC, 1997).
Health risks are associated with exposure to marble dust.
The manufacturing of marble involves cutting and finishing marble obtained from quarries,
where specific dimensional marble is prepared for various uses in specialized mills equipped
with saws, polishing machines, and others. Marble sawing equipment includes large circular
saws, where various types of diamond and other equipment are used for smoothing,
polishing, and edging the raw marble. The marble production process includes several steps.
Marble blocks are cut into smaller blocks in order to give them the desired smooth shape.
During the cutting process about 25% the original marble mass is lost in the form of dust.
Processing of marble results in the formation of marble dust, which is suspended in the air
and may then, is inhaled by the workers. Epidemiological studies indicates that workers
exposed to marble dust stand an increased risk of suffering from asthma symptoms, chronic
bronchitis, nasal inflammation and impairment of lung function (Camici et al., 1978 Angotzi
et al., 2005; Leikin et al., 2009). The affected workers were having body problems like
headache, backache and stressed due to under- payment. Individuals having papilloma have
faced problem at work like noise, dust or fumes and poor maintenance of equipment (Dagli et
al., 2008).

2. Objective:
 The main objective of this study is to evaluate health risk assessment that might
generate from marble manufactures.

3. Anticipation of problem in marble industry

 The first step in work safety studies is the identification of hazards arising from the
production process and the environment of working place. In order to identify the
hazardous situations causing job accidents, the working place, production technology,
production equipment, raw and auxiliary materials used in the work, source of energy,
the origin, quality and structure of hand tools should be examined carefully. The
dangerous situations arising from the production process and the nature of the work
should be identified and listed according to their importance and priority. Previous job
accident statistics should be examined to understand where, why and how job
accidents happened.
 After every single accident, the insecure conditions and actions should be identified,
assessed and the results recorded. The aim of accident analysis is to get the most
accurate and valid information about the causes and the way of accident. A correct
and accurate analysis is of great importance in terms of protection from other or
similar accidents

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3.1. Physical hazards:
 Polishing
 excessive noise
 vibration
 working on heights
 electrical hazards
 collisions
 radiation
 fire

3.2. Chemical hazards:

 dust particles
 calcium carbonate
 magnesium oxide
 silicon dioxide
 aluminum oxide

3.3. Ergonomic factors:

 workplace design
 uneven and slippery surfaces
 manual handling,

3.4. Socioeconomic factors:

 lack of headship, dedication and competency
 economic crisis

4. Recognition of problem in marble industry

4.1. The potential hazards due to workplace
 The potential physical hazards in the marble industry due to the workplace may
appear from the mechanical, structural and processing plant failures, heavy machinery
used for cutting and crushing especially unguarded machinery having exposed sharp
edges or blades; manual handling of heavy slabs, hazardous chemicals used for
polishing, excessive noise, dust particles, vibration, working on heights, electrical
hazards, collisions during way in or way out of vehicles and equipment such as cranes
and trucks to load the marble slabs.

 A serious occupational health hazard as well as an environmental issue is the dust

emissions. The workers are exposed to intolerable level of dust by operating various
machines and engaged in polishing of marble.
 Excessive marble dust generated due to the dry cutting of marble. The dust can spread
in the vicinity and have an effect on the health of the community. However, the
excessive use of water in wet processing is another environmental aspect. Similarly,
the water polluted with marble dust when discharged untreated, pollutes waterways.

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 Accidents or near misses like cuts and slips are more common at the workplace. The
workers perform their jobs in the workplace equipped with heavy machines.
 The work is divided into three main sections: cutting, polishing and finishing. Three
heavy machines subjected to cutting and polishing are equipped with a water jet
cutting system. It was observed that the workers operating the water jet cutting system
machines are only provided with the simple leather aprons to avoid water, while the
remaining workers, carrying out the slabs and finishing products which often require
manual cutting and polishing were without any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Excluded from the study is the management of the industry that had no direct contact
with the material (office workers).
 The ergonomic hazards including the workplace design, uneven and slippery surfaces
and manual handling issues also contribute to workplace hazards that are further
contributed by the poor decisions concerning the operational procedures of
equipments,
For example working without using PPE and failure to provide any protective
equipment, no safety signs displayed and emergency alarms are not installed.
It is observed that workers used to take unsafe shortcuts to increase their
output especially the workers on daily wages as their salaries based on their
performance. If the whole infrastructure is not designed appropriately the
workers are exposed to climatic conditions.
 The enforcement of regulations can affect the type of machinery installed and the
standard according to which the physical workplace has been designed. But the small
scale organizations do not follow these standards and not willing to comply with any
such legislation. As an economic crisis from the external environment apart from
other pressures also impacted the overall organization scenario like the choice of
equipment, advance mode machinery with less hazard potential, the rate of
maintenance and the capacity to acquire adequate protective equipment, high
electricity prices and fuel costs.

4.2. The potential hazards related to people

 These hazards are generally caused by the "people" themselves and also from the way
in which people behave and due to the interactions between people and the physical
workplace, administration or the outside environment. The impairments caused by the
people occurred due to the biological, psychological or socio-cultural factors. One of
the main reasons behind this is the illiteracy of the workers. Workers are usually
unaware of their basic rights of safe and healthy working conditions. Due to
inadequate resources and lack of awareness about use of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) also exacerbate the severity and frequency of hazards.

 There is a strong need to analyze the existing practices in marble industries and their
health effects on workers for the safety and better efficiency of workers. The workers
engaged in the handling of different products that are frequently used to produce
quartz surfaces in the marble industry are at the high risk of developing silicosis. It is
an interstitial pulmonary disease secondary to the inhalation of crystalline silica,
usually in the form of quartz.

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 Chronic silicosis is the most frequent clinical form and it is related with exposures of
at least 10 years. Limestone although consists predominantly of calcium carbonate,
but varying proportions of impurities including magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide and
aluminum oxide makes this industry hazardous. Silicosis has been reported in six out
of 11 limestone miners, who have been exposed to different types of quartz surfaces
without any personal protective equipment.
 No proper dust extraction system is installed and most of the work is done under
shelter that is nearly permanently open. It is essential to take extreme care in using
adequate respiratory protection measures when handling such materials, especially in
the polishing of the products.
 Workers who are employed in cutting, grinding and polishing marble for various
purposes experience several other health related issues like eye, skin and respiratory
problems. They are exposed to several health risks. For example, solar radiation
heightens by the reflection from the furnished white marble effect the workers
eyesight. These may cause temporary blindness with major risk of accidents, photo
conjunctivitis and photo keratitis, dermatitis. Macroclimatic conditions also influence
the working of employees due to heat stress in summer and cold in winter.
 Scleroderma: Marble dust is abrasive and causes irritation to the skin.
Stonemasons who have long-term exposure to marble dust have a high risk of
developing scleroderma. This is a rare and progressive disease that involves
the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissue. It results from
the overproduction and accumulation of collagen in the body tissues. Exposure
to silica, which is a component found in marble dust, is one risk factor for
developing scleroderma.
 Eye Irritation: Grinding and polishing marble releases small particles of stone
and dust into the air. Exposure to the eyes with airborne marble dust causes
irritation because of the abrasiveness of the product. Recommended first-aid
measures include flushing the eyes with water thoroughly for 15 minutes,
gently lifting the eyelids and rinsing under the eyelids and avoid scrubbing or
rubbing the eyes. Seek medical attention if irritation and discomfort persist.
Wearing eye protection may decrease risk of eye irritation when working with
marble

 Other health risks are associated with certain physical occupational hazards like
deafening industrial noise resulting in the hearing loss is the most common problem,
whole body vibration along with prolonged standing causes nausea and hypertension,
excessive dust with variable marble content induces the asthma and intense muscle
strain with back stress as work is highly physical. They usually suffer from
continuous headaches and especially the respiratory problems. Skin becomes rough
and hard as they didn't use gloves for handling the slabs.
 There are major risks of body part loss during the loading and cutting of heavy slabs.
There is a need for improvement in cutting and polishing machines for the safety of
marble industry workers. However, in Pakistan unsafe physical working conditions
and exposure to dust particles due to non compliance of Occupational safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) rules is a cause behind the existing health and safety

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 issues which remain unreported. These techniques are employed with limited
knowledge of quarrying with major consequences to worker's health & safety.

4.3. The potential hazards due to management

 Due to the lack of headship, dedication and competency, hazards generated from
within management. The management failure to notify the workers with their legal
obligations or keep updated of modifications in the system also expose workers to
greater risk of hazards. The culture of the organization may also contribute to hazards
occurring like, if reporting of incidents is not encouraged. The management strategies
and methodology can be influenced by the external environment where opponent
relationships developed between the local regulatory authority and the organization
which may hold down the readiness to file the workplace hazards and the consultation
process. Instability within the workforce and too much flux (downsizing) also
increases the chances of hazards.

5. Evaluation of problem in marble industry

 Accidents experience statistics from the past also provide useful information. It
includes first aid records and medical leaves. Specific guidelines for occupational
health and safety provided for IEE/EIA of Marble units in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KPK), covers some of the areas like dust, wastewater, and PPE as main risk factors
for workers in marble units and also suggest mitigation options as provided in
Table 1. Accidents in terms of injury
Hazards Associated risk Significance

Slips/trips/falls Fall/slip of worker due to The data shows that slips,

imbalance, uneven and trips and falls are the most
slippery surface. common source of minor and
major injuries reported.

Manual Muscle stress, back strains, These occurred due to

handling cuts, injury to joints. loading and transferring of
heavy marble slabs.

Machinery/hand Loss of body part, minor and Statically these occurred

tools major cuts are associated mostly for the all dangerous
with the cutting and parts of the machinery should
polishing of marble. be guarded and workers
should be provided with PPE.

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Table 2. Impact assessment and mitigation options
Potential impacts Mitigation measures

Dusts Dust contaminant enclosures should be provided.

Workers should be provided with the respirators.
Proper ventilation system.

Noise Noise well should be built. Workers should be

provided with the ear muffs.

Waste water Liquid effluent should be treated by

sedimentation or coagulation process before
discharge.
Occupational safety Workers should be provided with PPE.

6. Control of problem in marble industry

After making risk evaluation, some regulations are observed with respect to the occupational
health and safety laws in the considered company. Thanks to the proposed regulations,
besides satisfaction of law’s necessities it is also forecasted that number of work accident will
be decreased. Mentioned regulations are as follows:
 It should be not close front of fire extinguishers.
 It should be put warning signs in slippery ground areas and it should supplied non-slip
footwear to the employees. Furthermore, it should checked whether they obey or not
this rule.
 All electric panels in the factory area should be closed and these panels can be used
by only authorized personnel.
 Grounding should be control regularly and conformity of occupational health and
safety laws must be satisfied.
 When water is used in cutting operation of marble blocks in the gang saw or ST
machine, in this working areas no electrical cable should be located.
 In factory areas, cranes and forklifts should regularly be controlled. Also, these
vehicles should used only authorized personnel and warning lights with sound should
be used which shows cranes and forklifts are used.
 In factory areas, cranes and forklifts should be used with respect to their capacity
limits.
 When machines are worked in factory areas, all the protective equipment should be
activated.
 When cutting machines are working, employees should not enter into the marble
areas.
 All chemicals' material safety information which is used in the factory areas should be
hang on to visible areas.

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  Employees are exposed to risk of compression between marble blocks
 It is necessary that the distance between the machines has sufficient space. So that, it
does not hinder the employees.
 Block stacking areas must be rearranged due to prevent danger for employees.
 On rough floors, materials should not be transported and carried out work.
Furthermore, these areas need to be arranged as soon as possible.
 The water should be discharged quickly that coming from the machine and be put
warning signs in visible areas.
 Employees who do not make the job professionally, have no job orientation training
and not receive health and safety education will not be employed.

6.1. Strategies for OHS risks

The hazard outline of an organization help to devise the prevention and control strategies that
needs to be applied in the system for the safe working. For dealing with the associated
hazards three main approaches can be used: safe workplace, safe working behaviours and
safety management. A summary of some of the options available within each strategy has
been provided in Table. As the table shows that there should be balance between strategic
elements and avoidance of lack of direction and focus while managing the key OHS hazards.
Table 3. OHS Management system components
safe workplace Training, defining job description, provision of PPE,
ergonomic assessment, Guarding of machines, electrical
safety, nose reduction by proper maintenance, of
machinery, emergency preparedness, accident/incident
reporting, monitoring and evaluation.

Safe worker Programs for increasing awareness about the potential

hazards associated with the job and their right for safe and
healthy workplace, defined job description, use of PPE,
employee support programs, training, behavior
modification, health inspection, emergency preparedness
and response, communication and reporting of hazards, etc.
Safe system Pre-employment screening, provision of PPE, training and
job description, health facility and administrative controls.

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 7. Conclusion
An effective safety program with provision of all safety equipment and trainings will reduce
the chances of personal injury/disease/death and help to improve workers productivity. It will
help the workers to work in effective and safe workplaces with less chance to property
damage. The Occupational Health and Safety management plan of an industry makes the
management responsible for the good health and safety of its workers. In general, the
employers must provide its workers with workplace conditions according to the applicable
standards that should be free from the hazards that are supposed to cause severe injury. The
workers on their behalf are also responsible for their safety and health. Workers should be
aware of their rights and responsibilities. They are obliged to understand and follow the
guidelines that reduce the chances of hazards. If they did not follow the suggestive measures
they will be exposed to the health and safety accidents and losses. OHS Management System
in the marble industries if properly implemented will help to identify the hazards at earlier.
Thus, preventive measures can be adopted which reduces the occupational risks to the
workers and optimize the overall coordination of prevention measures by utilizing an
integrated approach as compared to the traditional options of control; elimination,
substitution, administrative controls, isolation and personal protective equipment. It is much
more important to handle the OHS issues in an appropriate manner along their identification
on a broader, organizational context. Solutions need to be devised for the occupational health
and safety issues and their results should be assessed timely so that modifications can be done
according to the situation for the best results to be gained.

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