Titre du document / Document title

Hazards associated with the boat building industry in New Zealand : an OSH audit

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

RUTTENBERG David ⁽¹⁾ ; DRYSON Evan ⁽²⁾ ; WALLS Chris ⁽²⁾ ; CURRAN Nicky ⁽²⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ New Zealand Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Auckland, NOUVELLE-ZELANDE
⁽²⁾ New Zealand Department of Labour, Auckland, NOUVELLE-ZELANDE

Résumé / Abstract

Aim. To randomly audit the boat building industry in New Zealand to assess the occupational health status and level of knowledge of employees. Methods. A survey was conducted using a nurse and inspector administered questionnaire. 151 workers from 120 randomly selected firms participated in the survey. Results. 31.5% respondents thought they had had some sort of work related health problem since working in that job. 22% reported wheezing during the last twelve months. 14-16% met criteria for occupational causation, and 4% met a measure of severe wheezing related to work. 25.6% of workers had dermatitis. Only a quarter of these met criteria for occupational causation. No respondents reported symptoms suggestive of chronic solvent neurotoxicity. Solvents and epoxy resins comprised the majority of chemicals with which there was contact. Observation suggested little use of Material Safety Data Sheets as a source of knowledge about toxicity of the chemicals used. Although 94.3% reported wearing gloves, this did not correlate with numbers reporting dermatitis suggesting non-complicance or glove failure. Conclusion. New Zealand boat builders and their employees remain at risk for occupational health problems by virtue of their employment.

Revue / Journal Title

New Zealand medical journal   ISSN 0028-8446 

Source / Source

2001, vol. 114, n^o1132, pp. 225-226 (16 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, NOUVELLE-ZELANDE  (1900-2002) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Worker ; Construction industry ; Boat ; Questionnaire ; Occupational medicine ; Epidemiology ; New Zealand ; Randomization ; Human ; Oceania ; Public health ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Travailleur ; Industrie construction ; Bateau ; Questionnaire ; Médecine travail ; Epidémiologie ; Nouvelle Zélande ; Randomisation ; Homme ; Océanie ; Santé publique ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Trabajador ; Industria construcción ; Buque ; Cuestionario ; Medicina ocupacional ; Epidemiología ; Nueva Zelandia ; Aleatorización ; Hombre ; Oceania ; Salud pública ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 15384, 35400009832099.0040