Original Article 173 http://www.jhr.cphs.chula.ac.th J Health Res  vol.27 no.3 June 2013 DETERMINING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RISKS AT A ROOFING CEMENT PROCESSING FACTORY IN SOUTHERN THAILAND Phayong Thepaksorn 1, 2 , Sathirakorn Pongpanich 2 , Robert S. Chapman 2 , Wattasit Siriwong 2 1 Sirindhorn College of Public Health, Trang 9200, Thailand 2 College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to examine occupational health risks and hazards including dust, heat, noise, light and chemical hazards in the roofing fiber cement processing industry in the South of Thailand. A walk-through survey was conducted. Environmental and personal dust sampling was conducted in 2 homogenous exposure groups (HEG 1 and HEG 2 ). The records of physical exams and previous environmental sampling were also reviewed. The concentration of the total dust exposure was higher for the workers in depalleting and skid (0.72 ± 0.30 mg/m 3 ) and painting and spraying (0.67 ± 0.35 mg/m 3 ). The respirable dust levels were higher for the workers in painting and spraying (1.18 ± 0.87 mg/m 3 ). Noise levels at mixing and pulping were higher than occupational exposure limit OELs. Temperatures were high at racking and curing department (32-34ºC) and de-palleting and skid (32-33ºC). Chemical hazards were detected, including HCl (0.051± 0.004 ppm) at racking and curing, Cr (III) (0.002 ± 0.001 mg/m 3 ), Fe 2 O 3 (0.019 ± 0.025 mg/m 3 ) and MEK (0.034 ppm) at painting and spraying. Over half of HEG 2 employees rarely and never wore masks (58%) whereas 44% of HEG 1 employees wore masks. Findings suggested that the workers' health would benefit by increased use of personal protective equipment, such as masks and ear plugs, and by education and training programs to promote adequate health-related precautions. Keywords: Cement dust, worker risk, roofing material, risk assessment, walks-though survey INTRODUCTION Several studies have been conducted related to cement dust exposure [1-12]. Epidemiological studies revealed that workers exposed to cement dust have an increased risk of acute pulmonary dysfunction and chronic respiratory symptoms [1-6, 8-11]. Cement dust can cause health risks by skin and eye contact, or inhalation, depending on duration and level of exposure and individual sensitivity [8, 9]. Cement factory workers are exposed to various occupational health hazards in the different departments. There are several processes in cement production that lead to airborne dust exposure among the workers. A review of studies has indicated that cement workers might be exposed to dust levels ranging 11–230 mg/ m 3 for total dust and 2–46 mg/ m 3 for respirable dust [1]. The chemical hazards arise from high airborne concentrations, chemicals could occur through either inhalation, dermal or ingestion and through contaminated hands. These toxic chemicals may * Correspondence to: Sathirakorn Pongpanich E-mail: sathirakorn.p@chula.ac.th have acute or chronic effects on the workers [13]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous studies relating specifically to roofing fiber cement factory workers. In the roofing fiber cement industry, cement dust is generated in several processes, including mixing and pouring, racking and curing, and de-palleting and skid [14]. In Thailand, there are 3,873 manufacturing establishments related to cement tile, roofing materials, and related products with 69,300 employees (Thailand Industrial Standards (TIS) code 57(1), 57(3), 58(1), and 67(3)) [14]. The export fiber cement is 1.3 billion tons per year, approximately 10 billion baht (30.01฿ = 1$). As this part, 70 % of roofing fiber cement without asbestos is being produced from two main companies in Thailand [15]. This study was part of a larger health risk assessment on respiratory symptoms and patterns of pulmonary impairment in the roofing fiber cement industry. The main objective of this study is to investigate occupational cement dust exposure and assess the health hazards in the roofing fiber cement processing industry with implications for