wet work in australian workplaces - presentation tessa keegel 2011
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Wet Work in
Australian
workplaces Dr Tessa Keegel
Miss Kristen Benke
A/Prof Rosemary Nixon
A/ Prof Tony LaMontagne
Prof Malcolm Sim
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Background
Wet work is one of the main exposures for occupational contact dermatitis (OCD)
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Background
Information regarding patterns of exposure to wet work is required by workers, unions, employers & policy-makers for the development of work health and safety policy
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Project summary
The Wet Work project will look at: 1. Wet work exposure
2. Diagnosed disease 3. Successful workers compensation claims
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Occupational contact dermatitis: wet work
exposure and disease pyramid.
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Study question
What are the patterns of exposure to wet work, occupational contact dermatitis, and accepted workers compensation claims amongst Australian workers?
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Methods
The first dataset has information about self-reported Australian wet work exposure data
The second dataset consists of de-identified diagnosed disease data from a Victorian dermatology clinic
The final dataset consists of de-identified Victorian Workers Compensation claims data
We will compare the patterns across
these three datasets
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Preliminary findings
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Study design &
sample
In 2008, Safe Work Australia conducted the National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance (NHEWS) study
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Wet work
exposure
Two separate outcomes:
1) frequency of hand washing at work
2) time spent with hands in liquids at work
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Wet work
exposure
Workers were also asked what types of liquids they were exposed to at work
Workers could nominate more than one liquid
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Wet work exposure
For hand washing:
Less than/=20 times= unexposed/ low
More than 20, less than/= 100 = high
More than 100 = v high
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Wet work
exposure
For duration of hands in liquids:
Less than 1 hr = low
1 hr up to 2 hrs = medium
More than 2 hrs = high
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Co-variates
Employment arrangements
Number of employees at workplace
Occupational skill level (5 levels)
Industrial sector
Self-reported chemical exp
Age group
Gender
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Results
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Overall the NHEWS survey had:
4500 Australian workers
Across 17 industries (5 priority)
42.3% response rate
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When asked to nominate the types of liquids:
Water 64%
Detergents, disinfectants, cleaning products
Oils, solvents, thinners, degreasers
Concrete/cement
Paint
Fuel, petrol, kerosene
Bodily fluids
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Handwashing
Overall, 9.8% (95% CI: 8.9-10.7%) washed their hands more than 20 times/day at work
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6.6
6.3
2.6
2.1
1.3
0.8
0.8
0.3
0.2
17.6
23.8
4.2
5.7
5.1
4.8
3.6
1.8
5.4
3.1
2.3
1.2
0 5 10 15 20 25
Accommodation, cafes & restaurants
Health & community services (956)
Mining (38)
Cultural, recreational & personal
Agriculture, forestry & fishing (317)
Wholesale & retail trade (237)
Manufacturing (714)
Transport & storage (391)
Construction (655)
Electricity/gas/water supply (37)
Education (320)
Property & business services (262)
Government administration & defence
Finance & insurance (94)
Communication services (50)
% workers exposed to hand-washing
Medium/High
Very high/UnsafeHandwashing
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Handwashing
Odds ratio (95% CI)
Gender Females
1.97 (1.49-2.61)
Number of emps at wrkplce Less than 5 (ref) -- 20 to 199 1.49 (1.05-2.11) 200 or more 1.44 (1.00-2.08)
Chemical Exposure High exposure
3.68 (2.91-4.66)
Occupational skill level
Level one (highest) (ref) --
Level five (lowest) 0.58 (0.37-0.92)
Industry Transport & storage (ref) --
Health & Comm service 6.02 (3.38-10.70)
Accommodation, cafes & restaurants
5.70 (2.71-12.02)
Observations 4309
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Hands in liquids
Overall, 7.3% (95% CI: 6.5-8.0%) hands in liquids more than 1 hr
4.5 % (95% CI: 3.9-5.1%) more than 2 hrs
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Hands in liquids
14.3
7.7
6.3
5
4.9
4.1
3.1
2.7
2.6
2.3
2.1
1.2
1.2
1.1
9.9
4.5
7.4
3.5
2
2.3
1.3
5.3
2.7
2.5
0.9
0.8
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Accommodation, cafes & restaurants (91)
Health & community services (956)
Cultural, recreational & personal services (95)
Agriculture, forestry & fishing (317)
Manufacturing (714)
Construction (655)
Transport & storage (391)
Electricity/gas/water supply (37)
Mining (38)
Property & business services (262)
Wholesale & retail trade (237)
Education (320)
Government administration & defence (243)
Finance & insurance (94)
Communication services (50)
% workers exposed to hands in liquids
Medium
High
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Odds ratio (95% CI)
Occupational skill level Level one (highest) --
Level two 2.03 (1.07-3.88)
Level three 4.07 (2.37-7.00)
Level four 2.40 (1.48-3.89)
Level five (lowest) 6.41 (3.78-10.88)
Industry Transport & storage (ref)
--
Health & community services
2.92 (1.46-5.84)
Accommodation, cafes & restaurants
2.97 (1.24-7.15)
Chemical exposure High exposure
4.09 (2.92-5.74)
Observations 4337
Hands in liquids
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This study is one of the first to suggest differences in the profiles for:
frequency of hand washing and hands immersed in liquids
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Exposure to chemicals & exposure to wet work was highly correlated:
3 and a half times for hand washing
Four times for immersion of hands in liquids
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Preliminary findings
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Study design &
sample
Compensation Research Database Victorian workers compensation data from 1986-2009
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Results
14, 709 unique claims, from 13,980 workers
Includes 729 repeat claims
Many more males than females, 76% vs 24%
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Employer segment
Females Males Government 17 % 11%
Large 40% 25%
Medium 33% 50%
Small 10% 14%
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Selected
occupations
Meat processing 524
Poultry processing 27
Smallgoods 52
Seafood 3
Printing 62
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Selected
occupations Motor vehicle manufacturing 354
Automotive repair 166
Construction 781
Plumbing 75
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Selected
occupations
Psych hospitals 95
Dental services 55
Ambulance 215
Building and industrial cleaners 77
Hospitals 760
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Selected
occupations
Aged care 204
Other res care 50
Other social assistance 145
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Discussion
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Policy implications
Success of the German policy Technical standards1 and Technical Rules 530 Hairdressing2
1. BAuA German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Technical standard for hazardous substances: Skin damage from work in wet environments (TRGS 531: wet work). Translation jointly prepared by NIOSH and BAuA,1996. Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/skin/recommendations.html (last accessed 08 April 2011)
2. Dickel H, Kuss O, Schmidt A, Diepgen TL. Impact of preventive strategies on trend of occupational skin
disease in hairdressers: population based register study. BMJ 2002 15 June 2002:324:1422-3.
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Annual incidence ( 95% confidence intervals) of hairdressers with
a stated occupational skin disease 1990-1999. From BMJ 2002;
324:1422-1423 (Dickel et al. 2002)
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Questions
1. Is wet work an issue for your members?
2. Do employers think wet work is a potential OHS problem?
3. What liquids are workers exposed to in the workplace?
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Questions
4. Do your members have access to MSDS in the workplace?
5. Are your members consulted before new liquids are used in the workplace?
6. Are there any workplace interventions for wet work that you would like to see in your workplace?
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Questions
7. What sort of policy interventions for wet work would you like to see in your workplace?
8. Are your members involved in
OHS decision making?
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Safe Work Australia, Dr Fleur Champion de Crespigny, Prof Thomas Diepgen, Prof Tove Agner, Ms Stella Gwini
NHMRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship to TGK (#540114)
Keegel T, Nixon R, LaMontagne AD. Exposure to wet work in working Australians. Accepted for publication 2/8/2011 Contact Dermatitis
Acknowledgements &
publications details
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