Occupational Health Hazards of Ship Breaking Workers in Sitakunda, Bangladesh
Keywords:
Occupational Health Impact, Health Risks, Safety of Workerst, Low Paid Workers, Ship BreakingAbstract
Poor occupational health and safety at the expense of many lives and livelihoods that hinder economic growth in ship breaking industry of Bangladesh. Poor and unsafe working conditions are both causes and consequences of extreme poverty with life risk. Both reinforce each other negatively. The significance of occupational health and safety is particularly strong in countries like Bangladesh where it is not addressed or explored. The main problems mentioned by the workers are low wages, irregular wages, overtime, lack of medical facilities, dirty working environment, inadequate modern equipment, lack of recreation, lack of job security.41% workers job are contract type, 29% have no training facility, 53% not use safety equipment, 48% feel unsafe this job. The workers of this industry are exposed to an extremely risky and toxic working environment which makes them vulnerable to physical and psychological disorder as well as to accidental injury and deaths. Still, workers embrace these risks with very poor wages. So occupational health and safety in this industry of Bangladesh should be a higher priority in discussions of extreme poverty, its consequences and a sustainable development should be taken to minimize the impacts of ship breaking activities in coastal zone.