Journal of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences (JEAS). Farooq et al., 2020. Volume 22(4): 8-15
Open Access – Research Article
Status of Silicosis and Health Effects among Industrial Workers of Faisalabad District, Pakistan
Saba Farooq 1,2, Rab Nawaz 1,*, Iqra Nasim 1, Muhammad Atif Irshad 1,2
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan
2 Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abstract: Silicosis is a disease of much concern almost in every corner of the world, due to its severe and prolonged bad effects on human health. A questionnaire-based research study was conducted in silica-related industries in district Faisalabad for assessing the status of silicosis and possible health effects among workers. The study comprised of two different types of questionnaires for getting the response from workers. The first questionnaire consisted of questions regarding general details of the workers, working history, smoking history, symptoms of lung-related diseases, and their treatment. It was used for workers of the crushing, grinding, and brick kiln industries of Faisalabad. Fifty workers from industries were interviewed for this purpose. For the second questionnaire, St. George Respiratory questionnaire approach was used. It was used to interview thirty patients from private and government hospitals in Faisalabad. The results of this study were analyzed using the method described in the St. George Respiratory questionnaire manual. The results of the first experiment revealed that the crushing industry had the maximum number of people suffering from silicosis as well as other lung-related diseases. The lung-related diseases specifically silicosis was found among workers (44-68%) of crushing, grinding and brick kiln industries in district Faisalabad. A significant number of workers showed the symptoms of shortness of breathing. Moreover, the maximum number of silicosis patients was found in the grinding industry. The results of second questionnaire represented that the patients with lung-related diseases had lower visual symptoms of the disease and more negative expression of the proposed activity component of the study. Furthermore, the internal consistency and validity of the data was high. In conclusion, the crushing industry had the maximum number of people suffering from silicosis.
Keywords: Silicosis; Health Effects; Industrial Workers; Pollution: Respiratory Diseases.
*Corresponding author: Rab Nawaz: rab.nawaz@envs.uol.edu.pk
Cite this article as:
Farooq, S., R. Nawaz, I. Nasim and M.A. Irshad. 2020. Status of silicosis and health effects among industrial workers of Faisalabad District, Pakistan. Journal of Environmental & Agricultural Sciences. 22(4): 8-15. [Abstract] [View Full-Text] [Citations]
Copyright © Farooq et al., 2020. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original author and source are appropriately cited and credited.
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