Industrial emissions and health hazards among selected factory workers at Eleme , Nigeria

The objective of this study was to measure the levels of selected atmospheric contaminants and assess their possible association with the prevalence of several selfreported respiratory and dermal symptoms among workers in the refinery and petrochemical complexes at Eleme. PM10, lead (Pb) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined in the atmosphere at Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) and Eleme Petrochemical Complex Ltd (EPCL) and the pollution levels were related with the health hazards to the workers. The study was preliminary, descriptive and laboratory based. A high volume sampler with PM10 inlet was used to collect six air samples from three locations in each industry. Questionnaires were administered to 400 randomly selected subjects from the industries. Five year hospital data were obtained. The data were analysed for logistic regression using SPSS software. At PHRC, the highest PM10 level of 130.3 ± 3.32μg/m 3 was recorded at a location within the environment department. The highest Pb level (0.20 ± 0.03 mg/m) was recorded at the safety unit and the highest concentration of benzo (a) pyrene (1.63x10ng/m) was recorded at the maintenance section. At EPCL, the highest Pb level (0.16 ± 0.09 mg/m) was recorded at the polypropylene plant while the highest concentration of benzo (a) pyrene (1.61x10 ng/m) was recorded at the production unit. All the PAH levels observed in these locations were higher than the WHO limit of 1.0 x 10ng/m. Exposure to dust and smoke was found to be significantly associated with respiratory symptoms among 65 (65.7%) of PHRC and 52 (57.1%) of EPCL workers (P<0.05). Also eye and skin conditions were reported. Exposure to industrial emissions containing mixtures of compounds could present potent risk factors for the onset of dermal and respiratory disorders among the workers.