ABSTRACT
Background: A proper and adequate school environment is important for an effective learning process and for the maintenance of students' health, given that they spend a considerable amount of time at school. Safety preparedness in schools includes, for example, protection from biological, physical, and chemical risks and physical hazards associated with poor construction and maintenance practices. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate safety preparedness in girls' public schools in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: Seventeen girls' schools were randomly selected in the Eastern Province of KSA. A designed checklist was used for this study, composed of two main parts. The first part included general information about the school, while the second part was composed of 6 items with a total of 58 questions, evaluating the school's safety preparedness. Results: The safety preparedness in the studied schools ranged between 70 and 90%. Some safety practices were found to be adequately applied, others were poorly applied, and certain items were completely absent. Generally, some examined schools were not compliant several safety and emergency preparedness recommendations. Conclusion: Collaboration between the School Safety Committee and schools is essential to reach a satisfactory standard in terms of school safety. Therefore, it is recommended that the School Safety Committee engages with schools more actively, especially in terms of the preparation of a school safety management plan.
ABSTRACT
AIM OF THE STUDY: The complex hospital environment requires special attention to ensure a healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) to protect patients and healthcare workers against hospital-acquired infections and occupational diseases. Poor hospital IAQ may cause outbreaks of building-related illness such as headaches, fatigue, eye, and skin irritations, and other symptoms. The general objective for this study was to assess IAQ inside a large University hospital at Al-Khobar City in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different locations representing areas where most activities and tasks are performed were selected as sampling points for air pollutants in the selected hospital. In addition, several factors were studied to determine those that were most likely to affect the IAQ levels. The temperature and relative percent humidity of different air pollutants were measured simultaneously at each location. RESULTS: The outdoor levels of all air pollutant levels, except volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were higher than the indoor levels which meant that the IAQ inside healthcare facilities (HCFs) were greatly affected by outdoor sources, particularly traffic. The highest levels of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and those less than 10 microns (PM10) inside the selected hospital were found at locations that are characterized with m4ore human activity. CONCLUSIONS: Levels of particulate matter (both PM10 and TSP) were higher than the Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). The highest concentrations of the fungal species recorded were Cladosporium and Penicillium. Education of occupants of HCF on IAQ is critical. They must be informed about the sources and effects of contaminants and the proper operation of the ventilation system.
ABSTRACT
The bread-making industry involves a combination of hazardous exposures. A biochemical and environmental study was conducted on manual and semi-automatic bakeries. The aim of this study was to investigate different biochemical changes and environmental factors among bakery workers. Blood samples were collected from 25 exposed workers and 25 age and sex matched control subjects, determination of circulating IgE (immunoglobulin E), carbonic anhydrase and catalase enzyme were analyzed in the blood Environmental measurements (respirable dust, total suspended particulate TSP). Heat stress, noise and relative humidity were analyzed in manual and semi automatic bakeries. A significant increase in the level of IgE catalase and carbonic anhydrase were significantly higher among exposed workers in comparison with control group either in manual and semi-automatic bakeries Environmental factors were significantly higher especially in manual bakeries Where higher contaminates and heat stress exposure than automatic ones due to nature of work type of fuel. age of oven etc and most of contaminants exceeded the TLV Attention should be paid to the health of the bakery workers and it has been recommended to completely mechanize manual bakeries.
