Guidelines for industrial hygiene practice by health inspectors in developing countries

ABSTRACT

Occupational health services in developing countries are not developed at the same rate of industrialization; in the meantime, the size of the occupational health problems is considerably underestimated. One of the major problems is the acute shortage of professional staff. The training and utilization of such personnel requires making maximum use of the relatively low skilled personnel, continuous training and career development, and optimal utilization of individuals with specialized training. The scope of health inspection should consider compliance with regulations, advising employers, encouraging employer-worker collaboration, prevention of diseases, promotion of workers health and safety, and promotion of environmental conditions for the comfort of the workers and consequent increasing job efficiency. The inspection services and routine surveys are directed towards implementing this in the workplaces in towns, as well as in the remote areas; while research is only undertaken for unique problems. The optimal development and operation of the health inspection program considers, first, investigating the actual needs and existing possibilities in the country, followed by creating favourable organizational climate wherein responsibilities are clearly defined and conflicts minimized between the concerned organizations, and creating liaison with concerned non-governmental agencies, particularly the educational institutions and the community health and safety organizations. The frequent use of external resources such as visiting experts and corresponding institution increases program effectiveness. Emphasis is placed on the education of employers and employees and on creating confidence between them and the inspectors. Simple appropriate methods for evaluation of workers exposures should be developed and used whenever possible. Equipment and facilities may be submitted at three levels of activity [a] recognision, [b] minimum evaluation, and [c] definitive evaluation. Operation manuals, including hazards inventory procedures, evaluation methods and control measures must be developed. The program should be subjected to continuous self-evaluation of all levels of operations