ORIGINAL ARTICLE The Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Problems and Risk Factors Among Women Assembly Workers in the Semiconductor Industry A Chandrasakaran, MSc*, HL Chee, PhD*, KG Rampal, PhD**, G L E Tan, PhD*** 'Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, **Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, ***School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang Introduction In Malaysia, the electronics industry is the main contributor to the growth of the manufacturing sector, which produces Malaysia's major exports. Within the category of electronics, the semiconductor industry is the leading sub-sector. The two major processes in the semiconductor industry are wafer fabrication and semiconductor assembly. In this country, the wafer fabrication factories do not have the entire line of processes but only wafer preparation, polishing, inspection and packing. The semiconductor assembly factories, however have the entire line of processes which are divided into three main sections, front of line (FOL), middle of line (MOL), and end of line (EOL). In some of the factories, diode and component or parts assembly is also carried out. The women workers who work in the assembly lines in the semiconductor industry are exposed to various types of occupational hazards, including ergonomic hazards such as static work, sedentary postures, prolonged standing, repetitive movements and awkward postures. In one local electronics factory, for example, the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal problems was found to be between 3% and 30% in various body sites'. The observed risk factors were awkward seated postures, stooping frequently, highly repetitive movements, intermittent bending, constant walking and vibration. In another local study in two electronics factOries, more than 40% of the workers reported musculoskeletal problems in the neck and back'. A study at an electronics factory manufacturing disk· drives in Singapore reported that 44.8% out of 141 workers had complaints of body pain This article was accepted: 28 March 2003 Corresponding Author: Chee Heng Leng, Asia Research Institute, Level 4, Shaw Foundation Bldg. (AS7) 5, Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Med J Malaysia Vol 58 No 5 December 2003 657