Health and Safety Risks Associated with Artisanal Fired Brick Manufacturing in Hwange Town, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Background: Most brick industries, especially in developing countries, have serious concern to occupational safety and health. Brick making has historically, been a sustainable response to housing demand. For thousands of years, clay has been in use in the construction industry and this goes back to the time of the Roman Empire. Different raw materials such as clay and coal were used in brick manufacturing industry and many products and by products were produced. Raw materials used in brick making produce particulate matter and other products that have detrimental effects to the health and safety of brick moulders. Methodology: The study assessed health and safety risks associated with artisanal fired brick manufacturing in a selected town, Zimbabwe. Exploratory case study was used and it incorporated both quantitative and qualitative research design. A total of 90 questionnaires were used to collect data from brick moulders in Hwange. Convenient sampling was used to sample respondents to participate in the research after obtaining consent. The data obtained from questionnaires was computed and analysed using SPSS. Results: The findings show that brick moulding is highly risky since most tasks performed involved manual handling, repetitive movements and exposure to coal dust. It was also observed that brick moulders perform their tasks for long hours and without protective clothing and or equipment thus exposing themselves to safety and health problems such as burns, cuts, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory infections and gastro-intestinal diseases. A Chi-square test result indicated that there is an association between time taken to perform tasks and nature of injuries and diseases experienced by brick moulders (p<0.05). Chi-square test result further revealed an association between use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the nature of injuries and diseases experienced by brick moulders. The research finding also indicated that brick moulders lack knowledge on occupational safety and health. Conclusion: The findings indicated that artisanal fired brick making is a labour intensive and risky industry. The findings revealed that most tasks performed by brick moulders involve manual handling, repetitive movements, coal dust and exposure to falls and excessive heat. The results also show that brick moulders are vulnerable to musculoskeletal disorders as shown by injuries such as back ache, muscle strain, painful neck, locking fingers. Although results indicated that majority of brick moulders are literate, the finding revealed that brick moulders lack knowledge on occupational safety and health. It was noted that brick moulders perform their tasks without any protective equipment and clothing and of the few moulders with protective clothing, it was observed that they were unable to use PPE properly resulting in its use being insignificant. Observations also revealed that brick moulders lack knowledge on proper lifting procedure. Lack of training was observed to be the chief factor contributing to a lack of knowledge by brick moulders on issues surrounding occupational safety and health.