Working environment and health among tunnel construction workers working in Central Region from 2001 to 2003

ABSTRACT

A study of working environment and health on 600 tunnel construction workers working in Central Region from 2001 to 2003 showed that the working environment at the construction site was severely polluted with more than 60% of measured experiment samples were higher than the standard level. The deeper the tunnel is, the more severe the pollution is. The temperature, humidity, toxic gases (CO, CO2, and NO2), noise and dust tend to increase. The circulation speed of air, illumination power and level of O2 tend to decrease. The health of workers had a decrease tendency in the three year period. The common diseases are tooth, jaw and face diseases, ear, nose and throat diseases, circulation disease, eye diseases and eye related problems. The rate of work related accident reduced, mortality rate was 0.99%; the main causes leading to accidents at work were rock fall, fall, and mechanical devices; in work related accidents, the rate of soft tissue injury was high