ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT (OHSE) OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES (SMCMES) IN ENUGU METROPOLIS NIGERIA

BACKGROUND: There is increasing emphasis on safety and health at workplaces since work-related injuries and ill health can ruin lives and affect businesses. The study was aimed at assessing occupational health, safety and environment practices among the Small and Medium scale Chemical Manufacturing Enterprises (SMCME) in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria. METHOD: A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 382 respondents randomly selected from SMCMEs in Enugu metropolis. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess the nature of work processes, environmental conditions and prevalence of workplace chemical injury/disease in the last 12 months. RESULTS: Most of the respondents operated both manual and mechanical (77%) process in their work activities. The workplace hazards observed were chemical hazards (33%), ergonomic hazards (21%), mechanical hazards (15%), physical hazards (14%) and psychosocial hazards (14%). Some common health problems were hand injury (12%) and respiratory tract infection (10%) and overall annual prevalence rate was 338 injuries/diseases per 1000 workers. CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION: Workers in SMCME ar exposed to hazards due to their poor nature of work process. There is therefore high prevalence rate of preventable work related injuries/diseases. Employers should focus on training and installing safer work environment and government should enforce the practice of OHSE in SMCME.