Abstract

Workers involved in sewage collection, transport and treatment are exposed to different types of occupational health and safety hazards. The objective of this study was to assess the occupation health and safety awareness and practices of workers involved in wastewater management system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A cross sectional design was used to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the workers. The survey was conducted using mobile phones and the mWater surveyor platform to maintain social distancing due to COVID-19 and a total of fifty respondents were involved in the study. All respondents stated that they frequently wash hands at the workplace. However, due to lack of adequate facilities, 12 % of workers do not change their work costumes before having lunch and neither washes their costume nor takes a shower before leaving the workplace. Only few workers (96 %) use a facemask, goggle and apron. The workers are directly exposed to different hazards due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or reluctance to use PPE. The medical histories of the workers suggest that they have been exposed to various health problems due to exposure to hazards at the workplace. The findings of this study indicate that urgent action is needed to provide more PPE, showering facilities, and also to provide awareness and training on occupational health and safety to workers in order to prevent them from aforementioned hazards during wastewater collection, transport and treatment.

Keywords: Wastewater collection; Occupational Hazard; Knowledge and Practice; Personal Protective Equipment