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Asian-Pacific NewsletterON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

Volume 13, number 3, November 2006

ERGO

NOMICS


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54

Volume 13, number 3, November 2006

Ergonomics

Published by theFinnish Institute of Occupational HealthTopeliuksenkatu 41 a AFI-00250 Helsinki, Finland

Guest Editor-in-ChiefSuvi Lehtinen

Guest EditorInkeri Haataja

Linguistic EditorSheryl Hinkkanen

Layout of the cover pagesTuula Solasaari-Pekki

The Editorial Board is listed (as of17 November 2006) on the back page.

This publication enjoys copyright underProtocol 2 of the Universal CopyrightConvention. Nevertheless, short excerpts ofthe articles may be reproduced withoutauthorization, on condition that the sourceis indicated. For rights of reproduction ortranslation, application should be made tothe Finnish Institute of OccupationalHealth, Office of International Affairs,Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FI-00250Helsinki, Finland.

The electronic version of the Asian-Pacific Newsletter on Occupational Healthand Safety on the Internet can be accessedat the following address:http://www.ttl.fi/Asian-PacificNewsletter

The issue 1/2007 of the Asian-Pacific News-letter deals with infectious diseases.

Photograph on the cover page:

International Labour Organisation/Maillard J.

Printed publication:ISSN 1237-0843On-line publication:ISSN 1458-5944

Finnish Institute of OccupationalHealth, 2006

Asian-PacificNewsletter onOccupationalHealth and Safety

Contents

The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contribu-tions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsementby the International Labour Office, the World Health Organization or the FinnishInstitute of Occupational Health of the opinios expressed in them.

Editorial 55Rabindra Nath Sen

New strategies for the prevention of 56musculoskeletal disorders in KoreaJungsun Park

Computer use among children and youths in 58Thailand: Health and social impacts

Sasitorn Taptagaporn, Suwannee Juthamaneepong,

Kanikar Buntoengjit

Epidemiological characteristics of musculoskeletal 62disorders in manufacturing industry in VietnamLe Tran Ngoan

How to improve occupational health, safety and 64environment by applying cleaner productionin industryPrajjwal Raut, Erkki Khknen

Sustainable workplace improvement through 68training and benchmarking

Shrinivas M. Shanbhag

Instructions for contributors 70

Congresses 71


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55 Asian-Pacific Newslett on Occup Health and Safety 2006;13:55

usculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) remain the most predominant work-related healthproblem. In Asia, with one of the highest industrial growth rates in the world,many companies are feeling the need to look at the ergonomic problems of MSD

and to devise solutions for them. Where productivity is the key factor it is, in addition tohealth benefits, also good business sense to do so in this competitive world.

There is good evidence of variations in the epidemiology of musculoskeletal diseaseamongst ethnic groups. Since Asians differ significantly in anthropometry from Cauca-sians, the results of MSD research conducted in the West, contained in the widely avail-able scientific literature, cannot be extrapolated easily. The problem is compounded bythe fact that the prevalence of MSDs in various occupations varies in different countriesof Asia. While one study showed low back pain as the commonest complaint of nurses inJapan, another study found the shoulder region to be the most commonly affected amongstnurses in South Korea. The findings of one of the articles in this Newsletter suggest that

low-back pain and clinical musculoskeletal disorders are an important occupational healthproblem in the manufacturing industry in Vietnam.

In Asia, in the past, ergonomics research on MSDs concentrated on traditional occu-pations in manufacturing industries, manual materials handling and agriculture. The ap-proach was based on studies of prevalence rates and accident rates and on finding low-cost solutions for them. Preventive programmes for mitigating work-related MSDs(WRMSDs) were not so popular or effective then. Since those days, the economies of the Asian countries have boomed andhave become more dependent on white-collar work and the information technology (IT) industry. The ubiquitous and phe-nomenal rise in the use of PCs in homes, offices, and schools has brought about a shift in the ergonomics of MSDs.

Moreover, people of Asia had traditionally been accustomed to quite different types of postures in their daily life than thoseof the Westerners. While in general Westerners have slept on soft mattresses and relied on the posture of sitting on chairs, thepopulation in many Asian countries has had the tradition of sleeping on hard surfaces and adopting the squatting posture. Even

the traditional standing postures of Westerners are different from the squatting postures of Asian womenfolk in kitchens.These contrasting lifestyles have led to different adaptative mechanisms for MSDs amongst Asian populations, as the work-force now shifts from familiarity with these traditional postures to the office environment with sitting postures of long duration.The article by Dr. Park in this issue of the Newsletter should be viewed against this background. That article emphasizes theimportance of adopting the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency worksite analysis and the MSD prevention pro-gramme.

With a paradigm shift in the economies of Asian countries, accompanied by government policies stressing the need to attaina knowledge society and a highly qualified workforce, the introduction of IT has taken place at a rapid pace in offices, homes,and even schools in most Asian countries. Following the widespread popularity of the Internet, many earlier studies carried oute.g. in Hong Kong and some Asian countries found an increased prevalence of MSDs among schoolchildren. One of the articlesin this Newsletter, Computer use among children and youths in Thailand, addresses such issues.

However, with an increasing number of ergonomic assessment tools for MSD, it has become imperative for all researches toadopt universal and comparable research methodologies so that the results of ergonomics research on MSDs can be comparedacross different countries in Asia. A cause for concern is that the high cost of ergonomic interventions for MSDs (many of whichare patented in the West) precludes their adoption by average Asians on a mass scale. Hence, with its both psychological andphysical components, ergonomic research on MSDs conducted in Asia should focus not only on the prevalence of MSDs butalso on low-cost preventive interventions, as well as the relevant alternative methods of relaxation techniques acceptable amongstmany Asian populations; for instance, the use of yoga, etc. These could be an integral part of such ergonomic interventionstrategies for an effective Asian workstyle in the near future.

Rabindra Nath Sen, Professor and ChairmanCentre of Excellence for Ergonomics (CE), Faculty of Management (FOM), Multimedia University (MMU)Persiaran Multimedia, Cyberjaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 63100, MALAYSIAE-mail: [email protected]

Changing trends and the future of ergonomics research on

musculoskeletal disorders in Asian developing countries

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56Asian-Pacific Newslett on Occup Health and Safety 2006;13:5657

ince 2000, the number of work-ers in Korea suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders

(MSD) caused by awkward workingposture or repetitive body movementshas been increasing dramatically in com-parison to the typical occupational dis-eases, such as pneumoconiosis andnoise-induced hearing loss (Figure 1).In 2003, a major social issue arose inKorea regarding the collective request,made by labour union groups, thatMSD be recognized as a work-relateddisease. Article 5 [Employers Duties]and Article 24 [Health Measures] of the

Industrial Safety and Health Act ofDecember 2002 and Rules regardingthe Industrial Health Standards (HealthStandards) of July 2003 were revised tomeet the current needs of changing oc-cupational diseases.

The Health Standards revised in July2003 notably include the new rule onprevention of health problems due to

physical workload. In support of MSDprevention, mandatory worksite analy-sis, either at three-year intervals or after

every facility change, is required of allbusinesses; this includes jobs with MSDrisk factors. The analysis will then befollowed by a prevention programme forbusinesses found to have a higher oc-currence of work-related MSD. Theconcept prevention programme refersto a systematic method used to evalu-ate, prevent and manage work-relatedMSD. The four elements of a typicalprevention programme are worksiteanalysis, hazard prevention and control,

medical management, and training andeducation.During preparatory work done in

Korea in July 2003 for formulating therule on MSD prevention, experts raisedtwo issues: the lack of specialists trainedin prevention of MSD at the workplace;and the lack of specific strategies for

improvement. In order to find a solu-tion to the problems raised, the KoreaOccupational Safety and Health Agen-

cy (KOSHA), a government-sponsoredorganization, formed a temporary MSDprevention department. Prior to enact-ment of the rule, scheduled to take placein June 2003, KOSHA quickly madethe KOSHA Codes; worksite analysisand the MSD prevention programme.The KOSHA Code is in no way a man-datory regulation, but rather a recom-mendation-type guideline helping busi-nesses to comply with the IndustrialSafety and Health Act.

KOSHA drew up the KOSHACodes and spread the idea widely.KOSHA also provided intensive edu-cation through various seminars onMSD prevention, held both within andoutside KOSHA, for managers of safe-ty and health from all businesses anddistributed one-page flyers on impor-tant MSD prevention-related informa-tion.

The MSD prevention rule of July2003 was enacted immediately, requir-ing all businesses having 11 jobs with

MSD risk factors listed in the Ministryof Labors Proclamation No. 2003-24to investigate risk factors within a spanof one year. Employers violating the ruleface a sentence of up to five years or afine of up to approximatelyWON50,000,000 (or 50,000 US dollars).Such consequences prompted businessesto seek the help of outside experts sothat risk factors would be investigatedwithin the deadline. Although the KO-SHA Code was made with simple and

easy worksite analysis guidelines, ena-bling workers (or non-specialists) toapply the code, the habitual dependenceon outside experts in industrial safety

New strategies for the

prevention of musculoskeletal

disorders in Korea

Jungsun Park, Republic of Korea

Figure 1. Compensated cases by different disease groups: 19962004

S


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and health issues led many businessesto entrust outside experts with the in-vestigation of risk factors for MSD pre-vention. Dependence of this type hasin many cases stunted the extension ofworksite analysis to the improvementphase; instead, the investigation ends upwith worksite analysis alone. On the flipside, such a compulsory execution of

regulations has negative aspects, as men-tioned above; and although it is too earlyto tell, the enactment of the new rule isproving to be effective in terms of gain-ing recognition, both by labour and bymanagement, on the importance ofMSD prevention activities throughstrict enforcement of worksite analysisand extensive publicity.

The initial recognition by both la-bour and management of the problemsrevealed by worksite analysis will result

in either cooperation or debate direct-ed towards resolution. Labour and man-agement possess the internal strength tosolve problems once they sincerely rec-

ognize them. Thus, the need to providea ready-made solution guided by expertsseems to be a faulty bias. Presenting theprinciples of prevention, providing goodeducational material, and introducingnew strategies in supporting preventionactivities through well-planned inter-vention studies should be the roles ofthe experts. MSD prevention is genu-

inely a field where the importance ofawareness and participation by labourand management must be emphasized.

Besides in Korea, there are increasingactivities of occupational health expertsthrough the Participatory Action-Orient-ed Approach (PAOAP); one example isWISE (Work Improvement in Small En-terprises). Approaches of this kind are inthe process of being integrated into MSDprevention. PAOAP is a useful methodfor MSD prevention. Therefore, one of

the main tasks facing us is to support thefast and wide spread of these approachesto businesses as well as to establish a foun-dation for the MSD prevention rule.

References

1. Ministry of Government Legislation. Indus-trial Safety and Health Act. http:// www.moleg.go.kr (August 21, 2006)

2. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agen-cy. The Guideline for Worksite Analysis forMSD hazards: KOSHA Code H-30-2003.2003

3. Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agen-cy. The Guideline for MSD Prevention Pro-

gram: KOSHA Code H-31-2003. 20034. Ministry of Labor. 2004 Industrial AccidentStatistics. 2005

Jungsun Park, MD, PhDDirectorDepartment of Safety Managementand Policy ResearchOccupational Safety and HealthResearch InstituteKorea Occupational Safety andHealth Agency (KOSHA)

Incheon, Republic of [email protected]

An exhibition on prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, held from July 3 to July 7, 2003 at the COEX during 36thOccupational Safety and Health Campaign Week by Ministry of Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA).


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Introduction

The impact of computer use on health

among children and youth has recentlyattracted public concern, especially asregards the social aspects involved, suchas game addiction, Internet use and lackof social interaction, which in turn in-fluence the behaviour and personalityof children and youths. Dealing withthis concern calls for a social networkcomprising students, parents, teachers,provincial coordinators, etc. to protectchildren and youths from abuse ofcomputer technology.

In the past, studies on health andcomputer use were limited to the work-ing population. A study of the Depart-ment of Health, Ministry of Public

Health reported that 92% of officeworkers raised concerns about visualimpacts while fewer concerns wereraised about musculoskeletal disorders(1). In January 2006, the Child WatchProject surveyed 120,000 children andyouth all over the country and found

that 67% of primary schools and 95%of intermediate schools had higher ratesof access to Internet use. However, 12%of primary school pupils and 39% ofintermediate school students had behav-iour of skipping class at least once a week(2).

Nowadays, computer use has be-come part of childrens study pro-gramme, leading sometimes to Internetchatting and game addiction. Eventhough concern has been raised, espe-cially among parents, teachers and rele-vant government and NGOs, the effortsare considered inadequate to solve theexisting problems. Children and youthsthemselves, rather than others, have to

participate in the surveillance pro-gramme because they understand thereal situation. Therefore, this study de-veloped health surveillance among stu-dents, the aim being to promote a learn-ing process and participation amongchildren and the adults concerned.

Moreover, the children and the adultsconcerned were given knowledge in andunderstanding of the impact of com-puter use on health.

Twelve provincial coordinators whoare active in civil society were selectedfor participation in all processes. Theother participants were student repre-sentatives (intermediate level, grades 711) and their teachers from schools inBangkok and 12 other schools from 12provinces all over the country.

Duration of the studyDecember 2004 April 2006

Computer use among children and youths in Thailand:

Health and social impacts

Sasitorn Taptagaporn, Suwannee

Juthamaneepong, Kanikar

Buntoengjit, Thailand

Figure 1. Meeting with participating parties students, teachers and provincial coordinators to explain theobjectives and to train them on health in computer use.

PhotobyEkachaiTippakdee


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Steps in implementation ofthe study

1. Build up a team from each province:two student representatives togetherwith their teacher and one provincialcoordinator.2. Explain the objectives of the project

to all the teams. Train them in the im-pacts of computer use on health and ina simple research methodology (Figures1 and 2).3. Meet with all the teams in order toset up: A common interest issue and the

scope of the project A questionnaire as a project tool An implementation process togeth-

er with a schedule4. Each team sets its own implementa-

tion plan and sends it to a project man-ager by e-mail. A common plan was asfollows: Obtain permission from the school

director Set up a working group in the school Disseminate knowledge on health

and computer use, for all studentsand staff alike

Interview randomized students fromgrades 711 by using the developedquestionnaire

Collect data, correct, check and in-

put data in the SPSS program de-signed for this purpose

Send all data to the project manag-er for overall analysis

5. Meet with all the teams again in or-der to present the results of the survey,to brainstorm for identifying appropri-ate solutions including how to set up ahealth surveillance programme amongchildren and youths in each province,and to draw conclusions about the les-sons learnt (Figures 3 and 4).

6. Conclusion and dissemination.

Results

Volunteers for this study were random-ly sampled from each selected school.They totalled 1,954 students from theBangkok Metropolitan Area and 12provinces from all parts of the country.As shown in Table 1, the volunteers were1,120 female students (57.3%) and 834male students (42.7%) studying at theintermediate level (grades 711).

Figure 2. Training in the SPSS program and input of project data.

Table 1. Distribution of all student volunteers by educational level.

Educational level Number Per cent

Grade 7 371 19

Grade 8 354 18

Grade 9 379 19

Grade 10 367 19

Grade 11 346 18

Vocational level/others 137 7Total 1,954 100

PhotosbyEkachaiTippakdee


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It was found that on average, all stu-dent volunteers used a computer on 3.4days per week, for 2.6 hours a day. Theshare of those who used a computer for12 hours without a break was 36.4%of all volunteers; it was 27.2% for morethan 2 hours without break. Most of

them (64.2%) used a computer at homelonger than at school, while 20.9% useda computer at school for a longer peri-od and 13.6% used a computer longerat Internet kiosks or game shops.

As to the objective of computer use,the answers were: educational purposes: 45% playing games: 30% chatting on the Internet: 17%.

Computer use at home

Use of the computer at home is not reg-ulated among 73% of the students sur-veyed. Moreover, 21% of all those sur-veyed have a computer in their bed-room. It is necessary to inform the par-ents not only of the risk of Internet usebut also about air pollution from print-ers, e.g. from carbon black. Concern-ing the students relationship with fam-ily members and interaction in the fam-ily, 11% responded that they were hap-pier to be with computer than talkingwith family members. 7% responded

that they had some problems with fam-ily members because they played com-puter for too long. Although the per-centage was not high, this concernshould not be neglected.

Children and youthactivities at school

Since almost all schools have a compu-ter club, we consider the computer clubsto be a student network that could beused to promote appropriate computer

use in addition to the providing an in-troduction to computer use and com-puter technology. Leisure time activi-ties at school were reported as follows:talking among one another, 47.6%;sport activities, 25.6%; and reading inlibraries, 16.4%. When asked whetherthey were aware of the law and regula-tion controlling game shops, 79.2%knew that game shops are off limits tochildren under 18 years of age. Howev-er, some students reported that the lawis not enforced.

Figure 3. Presentation by children following brainstorming on the practical solutionsfrom the childrens perspective.

Figure 4. Drawing conclusions about the lessons learnt and devising a plan for expand-ing and continuing the project among teachers and provincial coordinators.

Ph

otosbyEkachaiTippakdee


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61

important solution that should be start-ed at home, the Director of the Insti-tute of Child and Adolescence MentalHealth said. (3)

References

1. Taptagaporn S. Health Impact in Computer

Work. Fact Sheet on Occupational Health,Department of Health, 1998.

2. Yearly Children and Youth Situation onHealth and Education, Published in DailyNews Newspaper on 1314 January 2006.

3. Sornpaisarn B. Game addiction amongchildren.Games for adults to solve, Insti-tute of Child and Adolescence Mental Health,http://www.thaimental.com/article_htdocs/article_detail.asp?number=636

Dr. Sasitorn TaptagapornBureau of Occupational andEnvironmental DiseasesDepartment of Disease ControlMinistry of Public HealthTivanon Rd., Nonthaburi 11000Thailand

[email protected]

Suwannee JuthamaneepongFaculty of Public Health,

Thammasat University

Kanikar BuntoengjitNational Health Systems ReformOffice

Asian-Pacific Newslett on Occup Health and Safety 2006;13:5861

Health impacts fromcomputer use

Table 2 shows the symptoms duringcomputer use reported by the 1,954 stu-dents surveyed. The most frequentsymptoms were burning of the eyes(49%) and muscular pain (42%).

Statistical analysis showed that thosesymptoms were significantly related tothe duration of computer use ( =0.05). This means that the longer thecontinuous use of computer, the more

health effects. In other words, frequentbreaks could help prevent those symp-toms.

The students knowledge and atti-tudes concerning the health aspects ofcomputer use were found to be as fol-lows: 60.5% agreed that computer use

should not exceed 2 hours per day 70.7% agreed that there should be

a break every 4050 minutes ofcomputer use

87.8% agreed that a long durationof computer use could affect visualproblems

44.2% agreed that a long durationof computer use could affect musc-uloskeletal disorders while 43.6%was not sure

63.2% agreed that computer gameswith violence could cause childrento be violent

64.3% agreed that a computer couldradiate electromagnetic fields thataffect health

84.9% agreed that appropriate useof the Internet could increase knowl-edge and wisdom.

How to solve the problemsBrainstorming among all parties stu-dents, teachers, provincial coordinatorsand experts resulted in some recom-mendations. Raise public awareness on the im-

pacts of computer use on health. Train trainers (especially students)

on the health impacts of computeruse, including how to prevent andcontrol these impacts.

All parties in each province should

participate in problem identificationand prevention. They should havetheir own surveillance programmesto watch their children and youthsespecially as concerns skipping class-es and game addiction.

The involvement of game shops,Internet kiosks, student watchdogsand local authorities should bestrengthened, and existing regula-tions should be observed.In addition, all the participating par-

ties agreed that they would expand theirongoing projects to cover more schools,in order to prevent serious problems inthe future. Since some parents had mis-understood the situation, thinking thatspending most of the time with com-puters must be safer than playing out-doors, their children had unavoidablybecome game or computer addicts.Prevention of game addiction amongchildren means finding other activitiesthat give happiness and success, for in-stance, by replacing computer use with

sports, music, art or camping. Moreover,it is important to impose discipline andresponsibility on children; this is an

Table 2. Reported symptoms during computer use among 1,954 students(grade 711).

Symptoms Number Per cent

Burning of the eyes 960 49

Eye irritation 705 36

Blurred vision 559 29Tearing of the eyes 504 26

Frequent blinking 683 35

Eye pain 641 33

Headache 783 40

Muscular pain 823 42

Easily angry and irritable 467 24


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Epidemiological characteristics of

musculoskeletal disorders

in manufacturing industry

in Vietnam

Introduction

Back and limb disorders as well as low-back pain (LBP) are among the mostimportant occupational health prob-lems in industrial countries. These dis-

orders cause considerable losses in pro-ductivity and high expenses arising fromshort-term and long-term disability anduse of health care services (1). Recently,industry has been rapidly developing inVietnam. However, there is a lack ofinformation on back and limb disordersas well as low-back pain in a country ofover 80 million people. The aim of thepresent study was to examine epidemi-ological characteristics of musculoskel-etal disorders in the manufacturing in-

dustry in Vietnam.

How the study was carriedout?

A mini-review was performed; data weredrawn from existing results on low-backpain that were published and filed atthe library of Hanoi Medical Universi-ty and from a summary of periodichealth examinations performed in eightfactories by the Ministry of Industry. Amanual search conducted at the libraryof Hanoi Medical University to findrelevant papers published from 1995 to2002 and at the Ministry of Industryto find summaries of the results of peri-

odic health examinations done from1998 to 2006 revealed one study (2) onlow-back pain among 2,270 personsdating from 1997 (a cross-sectionalstudy) and 18 reports of clinical musc-uloskeletal disorders in the summariesof the periodic health examinations car-ried out for 36,263 workers from 1998to 2006. Both the cross-sectional studyand 18 reports of the periodic healthexaminations were designed for all

workers who were employed at the se-lected factories at the time study.

Results

Out of 1,582 cases reported to be suf-fering from LBP at present and duringtheir lifetime, 1,088 cases were catego-rized as acute LBP (68.8%). Among thecases of acute LBP, 44.7% were of lowintensity of pain, 17.8% were mild in-tensity, 5.9% werehigh intensity, 0.2%were very high intensity, and 0.1% were

severe intensity. The prevalence rates oflow-back pain were 27% (Point) and53% (Lifetime) among workers; the re-spective prevalences among military per-sonnel were 24% and 31%. The rangedpoint prevalence of clinical muscu-loskeletal disorders among workers wasfound to range from 1.6 to 49.9%. Thehighest point prevalence rate was foundin a foundry, where the point prevalenceof was clinical musculoskeletal disorderswas 49.9%. A continuously increasingpoint prevalence rate of clinical muscu-loskeletal disorders was seen in anothercompany, rising from 7.3% (2000) to16.8% (2005).

Discussion

The point (27%) and lifetime (53%)prevalence rates were higher amongworkers than the respective rates of 24%and 31% among military personnel.This can be explained by workers ex-posure to industrial factors posing risksof LBP, while military personnel with12 years of service were not exposedto these risk factors (1).

Foundry workers are exposed toheavy physical or manual work, manu-al handling, twisting and banding, aswell as being exposed to particular Vi-etnamese risk factors (1). The highestpoint prevalence rate was found in thefoundry, where the point prevalence ratefor clinical musculoskeletal disorderswas 49.9%. At the company from 2000to 2005, the point prevalence rate ofclinical musculoskeletal disorders hadincreased from 7.3% to 16.8%.

LBP as well as musculoskeletal dis-

orders in the manufacturing industryare not investigated enough in Vietnam.Therefore, the present mini-review cer-tainly has limitations of obtained data;the data were not analysed and present-ed by sex, age, the years of work, workload, work posture, industrial hygiene,workers lifestyle and the rate of partic-ipation in the periodic health examina-tion for workers done by the Ministryof Industry.

Le Tran Ngoan, Vietnam


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Table 1. Periodic health examination to determine the prevalence rate (%) of muscu-loskeletal disorders (MSD)

Factory Time Number of MSD * Prevalence (%)workers of MSDexamined

A Aug. 2002 2,316 81 3.5Sept. 2003 2,242 100 4.5Nov. 2005 2,325 57 2.5

B Aug. 2002 1,149 94 8.2Nov. 2004 1,156 89 7.7

C Apr. 2005 189 7 3.7

D Dec. 2004 171 3 1.8Apr. 2005 820 27 3.3

E Sept. 2003 104 6 5.8

F Apr. 2005 801 13 1.6

G Jun. 2006 669 334 49.9

H 1998 3,464 383 11.11999 3,313 296 8.92000 3,486 255 7.32001 3,667 299 8.22002 3,799 314 8.32004 3,439 502 14.62005 3,153 530 16.8

* No information was available on the examination of low-back pain, on demo-graphic factors the age, sex, workplace, years of working or on the rate ofparticipation in this periodic health examination. MSD include arthritis, severeLBP and other related diseases.

Table 2. Prevalence rate (%) of low-back pain (LBP) among populations

Point prevalence Lifetime prevalencerate (%) rate (%)

Cases of % Cases of %LBP (N) LBP (N)

An Electricity Station 352 27.1 693 53.4(1,298 examined workers)

Military personnel 235 24.2 302 31.1(972 examined persons)

Table 3. Category of low-back pain

Low-back pain Less than 7 days 790 days Longer than 90 Total(Acute) (Sub acute) days (Chronic)

Pain level Cases (N) % Cases (N) % Cases (N) % Cases (N) %

Low intensity 708 65.1 93 24.4 16 14.2 817 51.6

Mild intensity 281 25.8 206 54.1 58 51.3 545 34.5

High intensity 93 8.5 73 19.2 35 31.0 201 12.7

Very high intensity 4 0.4 9 2.4 4 3.5 17 1.1

Severe intensity 2 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.0 2 0.1

Total 1,088 100 381 100 113 100 1,582 100

Conclusion

The present findings suggest that low-back pain and clinical musculoskeletaldisorders are an important occupation-al health problem in the manufactur-ing industry in Vietnam.

References1. Corbett MD. Epidemiology of work related

diseases. London: BMJ Publishing Group,1995.

2. Bieu LT. Investigating and examining of 2270subjects, include 972 soldiers and 1298 in-dustrial workers from some units in Hai Hungand Quang Ninh provinces. Annual MedicalResearch of doctoral training at the HanoiMedical University 1997, Hanoi city: 1638.

Le Tran Ngoan, M.D., Ph.D.Dept. of Occupational HealthHanoi Medical UniversityTon That Tung StreetHanoi City, Vietnam

E-mail: [email protected]


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Introduction

The Strengthening of EnvironmentalAdministration and Management at the

Local Level in Nepal (SEAM-N)project is a bilateral project of the Gov-ernment of Nepal and the Governmentof Finland that was officially started inNovember 2001 and will be complet-ed by December 2007 (1, 2). The com-pletion phase, making up the last twoyears of the project, is striving to en-sure sustainability, to achieve theprojects original, ambitious objectivesand to promote further improvementsafter the project has ended.

The project area covers the indus-trial corridor between the municipali-ties of Biratnagar and Dharan in EastNepal. The area is one of the most pol-luted areas in the country, due to bothurban and industrial discharges andemissions. The corridor has about 390industrial sites, of which 59 have beenidentified as major pollution sources.Because of rapid population growth,urbanization and industrialization, theMunicipalities as well as District andVillage Development Committees ofthe corridor are increasingly facingmost of the typical rural and urbanenvironmental problems. They are alsosuffering from significant industry-re-lated environmental impacts and lackof proper local and regional environ-mental management.

The objective of the project is tohelp the local authorities and industri-al establishments in the project area toimprove their capacity for environmen-tal planning and management. The

project aims are directly to protect,enhance and sustain the quality of theenvironment and to provide healthier

and ecologically more diverse living andwork environments for the populationof the project area. In addition, it will

serve as an experiment in decentralizingenvironmental administration, in thecontext of Nepals on-going overall de-centralization process.

One of the immediate objectives ofthis project is to encourage the local in-dustries in the project area to practiseCleaner Production (CP) and Occupa-tional Health and Safety (OH&S) meas-ures in order to achieve economic andenvironmental benefits as well as health-ier environments. The project organized

a series of CP and OH&S awareness pro-grammes for industrial management,divided into two groups. The first tar-get group was top-level management; theprogramme tailored for them concen-trated basically on the philosophy of CPand highlighted its benefits so that theindustrial establishments would take partin the SEAM-N project. The other tar-get group was middle management; peo-ple who are involved in the enterprisesday-to-day work. Their programme wasorganized in a way that highlighted the

concepts of CP and OH&S, their meth-odology and the audit procedure.

So far, the project has implementedthe Cleaner Production and Occupa-tional Health intervention in seventeendifferent industrial plants. In addition,in few plants where the intervention wascarried out, the project has encouragedand supported the industrial enterprisesin development and implementation ofthe environmental management systemas per the ISO 14001 requirements. One

of these plants has recently acquired anISO 14001 certificate.

Legislation on occupationalhealth and safety

The concepts working conditions and

occupational health and safety of work-ers are quite new in Nepal, and only afew surveys on OH&S have been con-ducted in the country (3). The LabourAct and its subsidiary rules cover work-ing conditions, the welfare of workers,safety and health, and industrial settle-ments. The Act prescribes arrangementsfor sanitation and cleanliness, modernlavatories, disposal and destruction ofwaste, adequate ventilation and light-ing, and control of temperature, pro-

tection of dust, fumes and other impu-rities, overcrowding, drinking water andfire extinguishing. The Act is undergo-ing revision in the new political envi-ronment of Nepal.

The Ministry of Labour and Trans-portation is responsible for occupationalhealth, safety and working conditions.The OH&S provisions are enforced bythe factory inspector of the regional la-bour offices. However, the resources ofthe regional labour offices are limited.There are altogether nine factory inspec-tors in Nepal and only one factory in-spector in the project area.

It is assumed that many workershave contracted occupational injuriesand diseases, but reliable statistics arenot available because accidents and oc-cupational diseases are not properly re-ported. In addition, many workplacesstill lack basic welfare facilities such astoilets, a canteen, resting places andclean drinking water as well as occupa-tional heath services. Nepal has not yet

ratified the ILO Convention (No. 155)concerning Occupational Safety andHealth and the Working Environment.

How to improve occupational health,

safety and environment by applying

cleaner production in industry

Prajjwal Raut, Erkki Khknen


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The SEAM-N project strives to com-bine occupational health and safety andcleaner production with better produc-tivity in order to increase industrial es-tablishments interest in implementingthese activities.

Many projects have provided train-

ing for representatives of the ministriesand labour offices, but people at locallevels are not trained. We are lookingfor new possibilities to disseminate in-formation on OH&S and CP to thelocal people and factory workers. Onepermanent structure of Nepals publichealth system is Female CommunityHealth Volunteers, who have beenworking in the society for years. Tradi-tionally, they have provided the peopleat the local level with education aboutbasic hygiene, diarrhoea prevention,family planning, etc. Now the volun-teers are also being trained to dissemi-nate information on OH&S and to talkinitially about possible occupationaldiseases.

An industrial example:Better productivity betterwork environment

JBs. Industries Pvt. Ltd is a small-scalefruit processing industrial establish-ment. It is a family-owned factory with

a total number of 28 employees, ofwhom 8 are permanent and 20 are tem-porary employees. Three of the perma-nent employees are women. Temporaryemployees are hired on a contract basisfor seasonal production. Most of theseasonal employees are women. The to-tal number of working days in a year,calculated on the basis of one 8-hourshift a day, is about 300. The plantsmain products are fruit jam, pickles,juice, tomato ketchup and squash. An-

nual production totals about 360 met-ric tons.The annual raw material require-

ments for production ginger, garlic,onion, chilli, carrot, tomato, mango, or-ange, pineapple and other fruits and veg-etables are domestically available in thedifferent parts of the kingdom. The lev-el of technical know-how at the plant waslow, as only local technology had beenapplied to produce the desired products.Therefore, the CP audit identified tre-mendous opportunities, among others,

for improving production efficiency, sav-ing raw materials, cutting fuel consump-tion, enhancing product quality and forimproving the work environment.

Energy savings, highproduction efficiency and abetter work environment

These were achieved by addressing thefollowing issues that had been identi-fied during the energy audit. Restructuring the steam system by

incorporating a moisture separator,valves, etc. in the steam circuit inorder to reduce losses caused bycharging of a redundant pipeline

Recovering condensed and flashsteam that was going down thedrain

Installation of steam traps at steamdigesters and air vents in the pipe-lines

Cutting heat losses from un-insu-lated pipes, valves and flanges by in-sulating them

Stopping leaks from leaking valves,flange joints, etc. by carrying outmaintenance.After the implementation of these

energy-saving proposals, the followingbenefits were achieved. Production efficiency was increased

by 75%.

A 70% savings in fire wood wasachieved.

Emissions of greenhouse gas (CO2)

and other polluting gases were re-duced because less fuel was burned.

The lower air temperature in thework area meant a better work envi-ronment.

Installation of a conveyingsystem

Before the CP programme, the finalproduct was carried manually to the la-belling section (Figure 1a). The manualhandling meant a very high breakage ofbottled products as well as occupationalinjuries. The manual carrying also posedthe risk of the back pain and other mus-culoskeletal symptoms among the work-ers. In addition, bottled product break-age and the resulting cleaning of thefloor led to the generation of wastewa-ter high in organic pollutants.

A conveying system (Figure 1b) was

installed, and led to the following bene-fits. The workers physical load associ-ated with carrying the bottled productto the storage and labelling section de-

Figure 1a. Finalproducts were pre-viously carriedmanually to the la-belling section.

Figure 1b. The work-ers physical loadwas decreased byinstalling a conveyingsystem.

PhotosbyPrajjwalRaut


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creased. Bottle breakage and productloss was reduced by 95%. The pollu-tion load was cut by reducing the con-sumption of water for floor cleaning.The conveying system also reducedmanpower for carrying the product.

Installation of a new

cooking kettle with a topcover agitator (an electricmixing device)

Before the CP programme, the workerscooked the tomato pulps in an openvessel and stirred the pulp with a wood-en utensil. This meant a high risk thatthe hot pulp mixture might spill on thebody. Pulp losses were high due to spill-age, which also led to the consumptionof water to clean the floor. In addition,there was a high risk of product con-tamination. After the CP programme,the plant procured new, covered cook-ing vessels fitted with a rotating agita-tor to cook the pulps. This eliminatedthe workers risk of injury from hot spill-age, minimized product loss in the formspillage, eliminated the water consump-tion for the cleaning, and eliminated therisk of product contamination. All theseimproved efficiency.

Figure 2b. The new, covered cooking ves-sel fitted with a rotating agitator (mixer)to cook the pulps.

Figure 2a. Tomato pulps were previ-ously cooked in an open vessel andstirred with a wooden utensil.

PhotobyPrajjwalRaut

PhotobyErkkiKhknen


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67

of the achievements and additional im-provements after the project has endedin 2007.

References

1. Kinnunen K. The Strengthening of Environ-mental Administration and Management at

the Local Level in Nepal. Look Nepal. Tour-ism, Culture & Environment magazine2001;5(14):334.

2. http://www.seam-n.com3. Vaidya SN. Occupational safety and health sit-

uation in Nepal. Lehtinen S. (editor) The na-tional and international responses. Proceed-ings of WHO/ICOH/ILO workshop, 24 Jan-uary 2005. Challenges to OccupationalHealth Services in the Regions, pages 3751.(ISBN 951-802-623-8)

Correspondence:Mr. Prajjwal Raut, ME,Environmental ExpertSEAM-N Project OfficePashupati Marg, Dharan - 13G.P.O. Box 13SunsariNepal

E-mail: [email protected]@yahoo.com

Dr. Erkki KhknenInternational Advisor


Asian-Pacific Newslett on Occup Health and Safety 2005;13:6467

A 500-litre mixing tank wasreplaced by a 1,500-litretank

Before the Cleaner Production Audit,the sugar syrup was prepared in a stain-less steel tank with a 500-litre capacity.It was then filtered and pumped into

another tank for the blending of squash.The process was of the batch type, andthe total batch number was ten. Beforepreparation of the next batch of syrup,the sugar syrup left in the pump pipe-line had to be cleaned for every batch.The audit documented a sugar loss of25 kg per day; the water consumptionfor total batch cleaning was 75 litres perday. The production of the squash wasfound to be 5,000 litres per 8 hours. Inaddition, it was also observed that there

was high process variability due to thebatch process, and that unnecessary la-bour was engaged in the work.

After the CP audit, the plant in-creased the size of the stainless steel tank(to 1,500 litres) for preparing the sugarsyrup and installed another stainlesssteel tank of 1,500 litres for the squashblending. These measures increased pro-duction efficiency. At present the pro-duction of squash is 9,000 litres per dayand the process is now semi-automat-ed. The sugar loss and water consump-

tion for cleaning have been reduced sub-stantially. The sugar loss is now only 2kg per day and the water consumptionfor cleaning is only 6 litres; further, theamount of labour needed for that pur-pose was reduced. In addition, the in-stallation of a more efficient pulpermachine for extracting the juice fromthe fruits decreased the amount of sol-id waste from 12,000 kg per year to2,500 kg per year.

Improved workenvironment

Before the Cleaner Production pro-gramme, the workplace was very hotdue to the lack of mechanical ventila-tion, the poor design of the processhouse, the exposed steam line, and thenon-recovery system of condensed andflash steam. After the CP options hadbeen implemented, all steam lines wererestructured, a mechanical exhaust fanand a ceiling fan were installed and anew window was constructed at theprocess house; as the result the temper-ature in the process house was lowered.Most workers benefited and the produc-

tion efficiency was increased. Moreover,the walls were painted and the environ-ment was cleaned.

Flooring the process housewith marble stone

Before the CP and OH&S programme,

the floor of the work area was rough andmuddy. In consequence, about 1,200litres of water per day were consumedfor cleaning and the slippery floor meanta high risk of injuries and accidents.After flooring with marble stone, theconsumption of water for cleaning proc-ess was cut to 400 litres per day and therisk of injury due to slipperiness waseliminated.

Finally

The SEAM-N project strives to com-

bine cleaner production, productivityand occupational health and safety inorder to create a better environment,including better working conditions.The project encourages industrial estab-lishments to take account of CP andOH&S by economic investments inthese.

The project has been disseminatinginformation on the best practices ofcleaner production and OH&S imple-mentation and their economic benefits

to improve the work environment.However, a number of factors have af-fected the promotion and adaptation ofcleaner production; examples are thesituation in the country, communica-tion problems, resistance to change, at-titudes and a lack of cleaner technolo-gy, as well as financing and regulatoryproblems.

Plans are for the project to create anenvironmental service centre in the lo-cal chamber to provide local industries

with technical and advisory services oncleaner production, occupational healthand safety, and environmental monitor-ing. In cooperation with BP KoiralaHospital, one of Nepals leading hospi-tals, efforts are being made through theproject to create a model occupationalhealth service unit in the project area.The aim is that the unit will be able inthe future to provide occupationalhealth services for the industries. BPKoirala Hospital and the project are alsotrying to strengthen the OH&S train-

ing of medical students and nurses.The project is now paying special at-

tention to supporting the sustainability


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he author worked as the Cor-porate Medical Advisor respon-sible for occupational health

and medical services at the RelianceGroup of Industries, the largest private-sector organization in India. The activ-ities of this business house span textiles,polyester, petrochemicals, exploration,refining and marketing of petroleumproducts. The group has six major man-ufacturing sites: the refinery at Jamna-gar; the petrochemicals and polyestersite at Hazira; the polyester fibre andyarn site at Patalganga; the petrochem-icals and fibre intermediates site at Bar-

oda; petrochemicals and polymers siteat Nagothane; and the petrochemicalsand polymers site at Gandhar. A typi-cal Reliance Site has 3,0004,000 em-ployees. The enterprise is progressive,safety conscious and has a corporatehealth, safety, environment policy. Thesites have also received ISO 9000 andISO 14000 certifications at all theselocations.

All the manufacturing sites have wellequipped medical centres managed byqualified medical professionals. The fo-

cus of health care was mainly curativeprior to 1997. A conscious decision wastaken by the management to change thefocus to preventive health. The follow-ing is an account of various measurestaken by the Occupational Health(OH) Department, the practical expe-riences and the outcomes of the effortsto create an enterprise-wide safe andhealthy working culture.

The working of this medical depart-ment was reviewed, and as a first step it

was decided to rename the medical cen-tres as Occupational Health Centres. Itwas also found that compliance with theannual medical examination was poor

and manual record-keeping was notconducive to analysis of health prob-lems. It was decided to address these is-

sues in earnest.

Annual medicalexamination compliance

The following steps were initiated toensure compliance with the annualmedical examination. Awareness was created amongst the

employees regarding the importanceof this examination. They were alsoassured of intervention for any med-ical issue.

A close follow-up by the OH centreof the employee attending the ex-amination.

Monitoring and review of compli-ance by the Apex ManagementCommittee.

Introduction of importance in theAnnual Performance Appraisal of theemployee and the plant manager.The above steps helped in increas-

ing compliance and by year 2000, allmanufacturing sites started reporting100 per cent compliance with the an-

nual medical examinations.

Computerization ofmedical records

The project to computerize medicalrecords was initiated simultaneously.Comprehensive software was developedand introduced as a pilot project at theJamnagar site. The software was refinedand later implemented at all manufac-turing sites.

The software helped the OH centre

in the following ways: Monitoring the health of individu-

al employees Analysing problems within departments

Identifying susceptible groups Revealing trends in the incidence of

disease

Introduction of targeted interven-tions.The data from the above analysis

helped the OH physicians to plan in-terventions either at the individual orgroup level. The interventions were inthe form of lectures, workshops, exhi-bitions and demonstrations to targetvarious chronic lifestyle issues such ashypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc. Twomajor interventions that were imple-mented are given below as examples.

The Health, Safety and Environ-ment (HSE) Department was very hap-py with the progress made in the fieldof occupational health and decided togive a further thrust to the initiative. Abrain-storming session was heldamongst all HSE chiefs and chief med-ical officers of all sites. The outcome ofthis session brought out two major is-sues pertaining to occupational health.

All of the participants agreed thatemployees at every level did not con-sider health as a priority, the major rea-

son being that all of them lacked aware-ness regarding the occupational healthhazards and their effect on the humanbody. The meeting recommended thata pilot project be undertaken in at leastone plant at every site. The main objectwas to bring about a positive change andcontinual improvement in occupation-al health practices at the enterprise, lead-ing to improved quality of work life. Itwas decided that a few employees in aplant would receive training in occupa-

tional hazards and ways and means totackle them. These employees were thenexpected to train the other employeesin their plant and to carry out projects

Sustainable workplace

improvement through training

and benchmarking

Shrinivas M. Shanbhag, India

T


17/20


to manage occupational safety andhealth (OSH) problems through plan-ning and implementing innovativemeasures to prevent, correct or reducethe impact of unhealthy work practic-es, thereby leading to improvement inthe workplace and to reduction and pre-

vention of work-related diseases andinjuries. The project was named ProjectCASH Change Agents for Safety &Health, and the team members are re-ferred to as change agents.

Identification of priorities &preparation of training plan

Planning and organizing the trainingworkshop was a very time-consumingbut exciting experience. It includedbudgeting, selection of venue, organiz-ing logistics, identifying and determin-ing the availability of faculty members,and communication with participantsand their superiors.

This work was preceded by a studyof the relevant literature, including theWHO and JILAF publications Edu-cational handbook for health person-nel, by J.-J. Guilbert and Positive Pro-gramme - Trainers Manual for Occu-pational Safety and Health, by K. Kogi& T. Kawakami, both of which wereuseful for planning the training pro-

gramme. The training manual, Work-place, Safety and Working Conditions,published by the Swedish Joint Indus-trial Safety Council, was the core train-ing material issued to all participants.There were also lectures by experts ofnational repute. Topics included mod-ern trends in occupational health man-agement; noise; visual display units;heat; ergonomics; human factors inOSH, and training methodology. Spe-cial guidelines were given on imple-

menting work environment improve-ment measures.

Training of selected changeagents

Forty hours of training was planned forthe CASH agents. The first part wasconducted in February 2003 in Mum-bai. The next part of the training wasconducted at the Jamnagar Refinery sitein June 2003 as a residential workshopcomprising lectures, discussion, syndi-cate discussions, workplace audits along

with presentation of observations, andreading of the course manual.

Twenty-eight participants attendedthe workshop, an average of four par-

ticipants from each of the seven sites.For the syndicate discussions, workplacevisits and training manual discussions,the participants were divided intogroups of six. Each group had an occu-pational health physician acting as co-ordinator/facilitator. On the last day of

the workshop, all team leaders present-ed their workplace improvement andtraining plans for employees in theCASH area. The President of the Groupmanufacturing plant reviewed thesepresentations.

Validation of training

The project coordinator validated thetraining during follow-up visits to allsites, through interaction and witness-ing the application of learning at theworkplace. The visits were also used torevise the learning gained during thetraining workshop at Jamnagar, to re-motivate CASH agents, to review theprogress of activities at ground level, tooffer suggestions for improvements andto interact with workers in the projectarea.

The change agents were also givendata regarding international standardsas a benchmark for their various projectsaiming to bring about workplace im-provement. The company also set up a

competition amongst the various sitesand awarded a trophy named after thefounder chairman to the best project.The engineers taking up occupationalhealth projects were also given due im-portance in their annual appraisals.

Results

The above initiative resulted in variousprojects which were taken up by thechange agents. These projects madesignificant improvements in the areas of

noise, heat, dust, chemical exposuresand ergonomics. The management waspleased with the achievements and de-cided to expand the project. Over thepast three years. this project has beensuccessfully implemented at all the sites.The project has created a change in theOHS culture across all sites of the com-pany.

The above experiences are clear in-dicators that creating awareness and em-powering the operating personnel arekey factors in implementing any pro-

grammes related to occupational health.Training and benchmarking have gonea long way in achieving the above. Topmanagement commitment makes a

major contribution to initiating thechange. The line managers and work-ers become committed to the pro-grammes once they are convinced andhave seen the results of implementingworkplace improvements with regard tocontrolling occupational hazards.

The Reliance experience also provesthat occupational health pays for itselfand does not require additional invest-ments for controlling workplace envi-ronments. Various interventions de-scribed in this article prove that theimplementation of such innovation,interventions and projects is a win-winprospect and makes good business sense.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the manage-ment of Reliance Industries Ltd., to allemployees participating in various oc-cupational health initiatives, and to theoccupational health teams at all partic-ipating sites, as well as to the NationalInstitute for Working Life, Sweden forconceptual and training inputs. Thanksare also due to the occupational healthphysicians of all Reliance sites, especiallyDr. Shyam R. Pingle, who was the co-ordinator for the CASH project, themajor initiative undertaken by the com-pany for changing the health, safety and

environment culture across all manu-facturing sites.

Dr. Shrinivas M. ShanbhagReliance Industries Ltd.Reliance Centre19 Walchand Hirachand MargBallard EstateMumbai 400038India

E-mail:[email protected]

Dr. Shanbhag gave thispresentation at the Asian and LatinAmerican Session on OccupationalHealth and Safety of theICOH2006 Congress in Milan,Italy in June 2006.


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Instructions for contributors

Themes

The themes of the Newsletters to bepublished in 2007 will be:1/2007 Infectious diseases

(manuscripts by 15 February)2/2007 Migrant workers

(manuscripts by 15 June)3/2007 Agriculture

(manuscripts by 17 September)

Manuscripts addressing the abovethemes, as well as other topics in the

field of occupational health and safe-ty are welcome. If you are planningto submit a manuscript, kindly con-tact the Editorial Office in advance.

he purpose of the Asian-PacificNewsletter on OccupationalHealth and Safety is to offer a

forum for the Asian occupational healthand safety experts to describe the prac-tical work that is being done in theircountries. The Newsletter is not a sci-entific, peer-reviewed journal.

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The author is responsible for the accu-racy and completeness of his bibliogra-phy. The references cited should be list-ed in the order in which they appear,numbered consecutively, and referred toin the text by the number in parenthe-ses. The reference list should contain

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References to periodicals should in-clude the authors, title, name of peri-odical, year, volume, and pages. Thosefor books should include authors oreditors, title, publisher, city and year;those for a section of a book should con-tain the authors, title, editors, book ti-

tle, publisher, city, year and inclusivepages.

Examples of typical referenceentries:1. Anonymous. Benign asbestos pleural effusions. Lan-

cet 1988;1:11456.2. Breslow NE, Day NE. Statistical methods in cancer

research; vol II (The design and analysis of cohortstudies.) Lyon: International Agency for Research onCancer, 1987. (IARC Scientific publications: no 82).

3. Doll R Sir. Effects of exposure to vinyl chloride: anassessment of the evidence. Scand J Work EnvironHealth 1988;14:6178.

4. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Overall

evaluations of carcinogenicity: an updating of IARCmonographs, volumes 142. Lyon: InternationalAgency for Research on Cancer, 1987. (IARC mono-graphs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to hu-mans; suppl 7).

T5. Kalimo R. Psychosocial factors of work. African

Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety1993;3:6062.

6. Karvonen M, Mikheev MI, ed. Epidemiology of oc-cupational health. Copenhagen: World Health Organ-ization, 1986. (WHO Regional Publications, Euro-pean Series; no 20).

7. Kogi K, Phoon W, Thurman JE. Low-cost ways ofimproving working conditions: 100 examples fromAsia. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1988.

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be transferred to the Finnish Instituteof Occupational Health. The first au-thor is responsible for ensuring thecopyright also on behalf of his/her co-authors.The affiliation of all authorsneeds to be indicated.

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International Conferenceon Healthy Air Better Work 2007

Helsinki, Finland2931 May 2007

WorkAir 2007 is the first internationalconference in which the quality of in-door air and the environment of occu-pational settings is the main focus. It isdesigned for professionals who operatein workplaces which are either planning

indoor environment improvements orstruggling with the problems. Its aim isto provide them with practical knowl-edge and tools for IEQ (indoor envi-ronment quality) problems. The Con-ference also highlights the newest andmost advanced information on work-places IEQ, and addresses special issuessuch as the reduction of occupationalexposure to environmental tobaccosmoke.

The scientific programme will con-sist of keynote lectures, and free oral andposter presentation. In addition, a spe-cial NIVA (Nordic Institute for Ad-vanced Training in OccupationalHealth) Workshop will be arranged asa parallel session on 29 May 2007.

Main topics

Identification and management ofindoor environment problems atworkplaces

Good practices for solving indoor en-vironment problems at workplaces

Design and management of a goodindoor environment at workplaces

Work performance, productivityand indoor air

Well-being and indoor environmentat workplaces.

Abstracts

The deadline for abstract submissionis 15 February 2007. Instructions forabstract submission will be found on theconference homepage at www.ttl.fi/ workair2007 or in the Second An-nouncement, which can be orderedfrom the WorkAir Secretariat.

Organizers

The conference is organized by theFinnish Institute of Occupational

Health (FIOH) and the Finnish Minis-try of Social Affairs and Health, in col-laboration with the Finnish Society ofIndoor Air Quality and Climate.

The conference is sponsored by theFinnish Work Environment Fund.

More information on the conferencecan be found on the internet atwww.ttl.fi/workair2007.

Contact information

WorkAir 2007 SecretariatFinnish Institute of Occupational

HealthMs. Solveig BorgTopeliuksenkatu 41 a AFI-00250 Helsinki, FinlandE-mail: [email protected]/workair2007

Congresses

WWCS 2007International Conferenceon Computing Systems forHuman Benefits

Stockholm, Sweden2124 May 2007

Themes

Healthy and efficient work with com-puting systems Health and well-being Working conditions and demands in

relation to human physical, psycho-social and cognitive abilities, limi-tations, and needs

Working-life oriented rehabilitationof health among computing systemusers

Utility and validity of present normsand standards

Supervision and labour inspections today and improvements for thefuture

Computing systems for mobile and

non-mobile work Mobile systems: advantages and dis-

advantages Wireless networks and telecommu-

nication work at any time and anyplace

Long-term sedentary workComputing systems for everyone andin specific areas Employment and computing sys-

tems Applications for work at home, in

school, health care, the media, etc. Applications for the ageing workeror the disabled at work

Specific gender aspects Healthy and efficient computing

systems for all

Organizers

Swedish National Institute for WorkingLife, Swedish Agency for InnovationSystems

Conference Secretariat

WWCS 2007, NIWLSE-11391 Stockholm, SwedenE-mail: [email protected]


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Ruhul Quddus

Deputy Chief (Medical)

Department of Inspection for Factories and

Establishments

4, Rajuk Avenue

Dhaka-1000

BANGLADESH

Chimi Dorji

Licencing/Monitoring

Industries Division

Ministry of Trade and Industry

Thimphu

BHUTAN

LIU Qiang

Deputy Division Chief

Bureau of Work Safety

State Economic and Trade Commission

26 Xuanwumen Xi Da Jie

Xuanwu District

Beijing 100053

PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

LEUNG Chun-ho

Deputy Chief Occupational Safety Officer

Development Unit

Occupational Safety and Health Branch

Labour Department

25/F, Western Harbour Centre

181 Connaught Road West

HONG KONG

K. Chandramouli

Joint Secretary

Ministry of Labour

Room No. 115

Shram Shakti Bhawan

Rafi Marg

New Delhi-110001

INDIA

Tsoggerel Enkhtaivan

Chief of Inspection Agency

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare

Labour and Social Welfare Inspection Agency

National ILO/CIS Centre

Ulaanbaatar 210648

Baga Toirog 10

MONGOLIA

Lee Hock Siang

Head, International Collaboration

OSH Specialist Department

Occupational Safety and Health Division

Ministry of Manpower

18 Havelock Road, # 03-02

Singapore 059764

SINGAPORE

John Foteliwale

Deputy Commissioner of Labour (Ag)

Labour Division

P.O. Box G26

Honiara

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Nguyen An Luong

Director

National Institute of Labour Protection

1 Yet Kieu Str.

Hanoi

VIETNAM

Gabor Sandi

Head, CIS

International Occupational Safety and

Health Information Centre

International Labour Office

CH-1211 Geneva 22

SWITZERLAND

Gerry Eijkemans, Scientist

Occupational and Environmental

Health Programme

World Health Organization

20, Avenue Appia

CH-1211 Geneva 27

SWITZERLAND

Jorma Rantanen

President of ICOH

c/o Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A

FI-00250 Helsinki

FINLAND

Harri Vainio

Director General

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Topeliuksenkatu 41 a AFI-00250 Helsinki

FINLAND

Editorial Board

as of 17 November 2006

asian pacific newsletter 200603

Documents