Health profile of workers in a ship building and repair industry

BACKGROUND: The modern ship building industry, which encompasses the ship yards and marine equipment manufacturing, is an important and strategic industry. The various activities in modern ship building, maintenance, and repair have to be carried out at heights, or in closed confined spaces along with the added risk of exposure to chemicals and metal fumes. These activities expose the workers to various health hazards. AIMS: This study was carried out with an aim to assess the health profile of workers in the ship building industry and to assess the occupational health issues related to ship building. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It was a cross-sectional study carried out on 100 randomly selected workers in a ship building yard in Mumbai, and their health profile was studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The workers were enquired for history of co-morbidities, addictions and personal protective equipment use, health-related complaints, and were examined systemically as well as for bedside tests for hearing and detailed systemic examination as per the history or co-morbidity. RESULTS: The important observations were those of prevalence of addictions (69%), irregular use of personal protective equipments (PPEs) among 50% of paint workers, presence of hypertension (20%), overweight (53%), osteoarthritis (10%), hearing loss (25%), and poor self-care. CONCLUSIONS: Health education to the workers regarding occupational hazards and lifestyle diseases along with more emphasis on the use of PPEs with regular health examination needs reinforcement.