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Love your eyes at work: A survey on awareness of eye protection among workers of a granite stone-cutting factory

2024; Medknow; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4103/jcor.jcor_137_23

2320-3900

Amit Mohan, Manju Gajraj, Indu Vishnoi,

Ocular and Laser Science Research

Dear Editor, India is well known worldwide for its wide variety of granites. Many granite-based processing units, including both large- and small-tiling plants, operate in Rajasthan. These units are mainly located in the Jalore and Sirohi districts of Rajasthan. An estimated 1500 registered block cutters are in operation in this area.[1,2] Granite industry workers are mainly involved in rock crushing, stone cutting, and polishing. These factors negatively impact ocular health, mostly in the form of physical injuries. Ocular injuries range from minor corneal abrasions to serious open/closed-globe injuries that result in blindness. Most of these ocular injuries are preventable and can be avoided by workers using protective eyewear.[3] In view of this occupational hazard in granite workers, we decided to distribute protective eyewear for granite industry workers on World Sight Day, 2023, with the help of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Sightsavers, India. Creating awareness about eye protection in the workplace for granite industry workers is very much aligned with the current theme of World Sight Day, that is, "Love your eyes at work." Before distributing the protective glasses, we conducted a short survey using a nonstructured questionnaire, regarding awareness of eye safety in the workplace. Moreover, we performed a retrospective analysis of eye injuries in the workplace, reported at our hospital, located in an industrial area among granite industry workers, between April 2022 and March 2023. The study protocol was approved by the institutional ethics committee. The local management of the Granite Association of Jalore district and the Marble Association of Abu Road of Sirohi district was informed. The managers of the industries/workplaces provided verbal permission. Informed consent was obtained from all the workers who participated in the study, and data were recorded confidentially. The nonstructured questionnaire included demographic data of participants (age, sex, and occupation), awareness of protective eyewear during work, use of protective eyeglasses at the workplace, history of eye injury during work, and history of foreign body falls during work. We collected data on ocular consultations for eye-related problems in granite workers due to workplace injuries. The numbers were recorded for all variables. A total of 234 patients completed the nonstructured questionnaire. The mean age was 30.69 + 6.61 years. All the workers (100%) were male and worked at either a granite/marble factory. Among the workers, 67.5% (n = 158) were aware of the need to wear protective glasses in the workplace. However, only 2 (0.85%) workers used protective glasses in their workplaces. Eighty-nine (38.03%) workers responded "yes" to ocular injury in the workplace, mostly in the form of ocular foreign bodies. None of the workers had sight-threatening ocular injuries in the workplace according to the questionnaire survey. On hospital data retrieval, 186 workers consulted for foreign body removal due to ocular injuries at the workplace: 29 workers had minor corneal abrasion, 9 had corneoscleral tears, 3 had lid lacerations, and 2 had traumatic cataracts. All these patients were injured in the workplace due to the lack of protective eyewear during work. Our short survey indicated that most workers were aware of the use of protective eyewear, although <1% used protective glasses. Protective eyewear, such as goggles and safety glasses, is strongly recommended when an eye hazard exists. It gives a safety shield for eye and prevents against eye hazards. Murthy mentioned that ocular injuries among industry workers in the workplace were a major concern.[4] Although protective eyeglasses are available for workers, their use is mostly ignored. There is an urgent need to educate workers on wearing safety goggles in workplaces to protect their eyes from occupational hazards. Hope our initiative for granite industry workers will be helpful and fulfill this year's theme of World Sight Day, "Love your eyes at work." This short survey highlights that factory workers should be educated to wear safety goggles and it should be made available for workers to prevent occupational eye hazards. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.