Journal of Health and Safety at Work

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Introduction: Workers employed in outdoor occupations such as farm working, especially during rice harvest, are exposed to hot and humid environments that put them at risk for different kinds of heat-related disorders or heat stress. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility to heat-related disorders and prevention methods among a group of agriculture workers in one of the northern cities in Iran.

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Method and Materials: This study is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study which was done among 340 agricultures workers in a city (Sorkhrood) in Mazandaran province. The samples were collected from 42 villages using two stage cluster-randomized sampling method. The data were collected by means of tailor-made data collection sheet and analyzed using descriptive statistical indexes and Chi- square test, and p<0.05 was considered as significant.

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Results: The findings indicated that the mean values of age and years of experience were 42.8 and 26 years, respectively. Almost half of the agriculture workers were overweight or obese, 34% illiterate, and 15% encountered chronic illnesses. Ninety five percent of the workers were not informed about prehydration in hot environment and none of them know about the consumption of electrolytes. According to Chi-square test result, there were no significant differences between the prevalence of headache as one of the early signs of heat –related disorders and other related factors.

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Conclusion: According to the results, agriculture workers based on their age distribution, education, body mass index, health knowledge, drug use and incidence of chronic diseases, are very vulnerable to heat-related disorders. Therefore, training on recognizing the early signs and doing control measures as essential element in heat stress prevention should be seriously considered.

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Introduction: Agriculture is one of the oldest jobs in the world and almost 7-2 billion people all over the world are working in this field. In the field of agriculture workers may be always in danger, due exposure to various chemical and physical factors. Despite the dramatic technological developments in agricultural science, this field is still among one of the most dangerous workplaces in the world.

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Material and Method: This study is conducted in the suger cone industry. It is about agricultural machines and their major role in noise production. In order to identify the dominant- source index model was proposed.

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Result: All the agricultural machines were classified and the main characteristics of each group such as type of the machines, their number, the number of operators, and existence of cabin, were determined. Also operator's annual exposure to noise was measured according to the international standards. The data was analyzed with the proposed model formula, and the noise – source indices were calculated.

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Conclusion: The results show that the suger cane reaper poster case I H7000 has the highest noise- production index among all other agricultural equipments. So the suger cane reaper was identified as the main source of sound production in the agricultural industry. This machine in usually being used in harvesting the suger can farms. After identifying this device as the main source of sound in the suger can farming industry, a sound – controlling method was proposed in order to reduce the operator exposure in the caloin. First a fall, the noise frequently of the inside and outside of the cabin was analyzed in case the engine speed was 2100 rpm. After identifying the dominant frequency, the capacity of cabin sound reduction was determined with the usage of cabin transferring reduction index the proposed control method was based on increasing the absorption of the cabin. The results shows that the  Sound pressure level indices in the dominant frequencies of 125, 250, 500, 1000, 1000.2, 90.3 were respectively 100.2,90.3, 86.6,83.6 but after performing the control method the numbers were reduced to 82.1,75.2,80.5,80.2 in the other hand. Sound pressure level in frequencies of 8000, 4000, 2000 was below the permutable limit and does not cause significant dangers. So there will be no need for further reduction in noise levels.

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Introduction: The development and implementation of effective safety educational program for minimizing hazards in a farm, is the most important activity that can be done to improve safety level there. This program, however, requires to needs assessment process. So, the present study was designed to analyze of the educational needs of farmers in the field of agricultural occupational health.
Material and Methods: This quantitative study was conducted with a survey method. Statistical population consisted of farmers in Mahidasht County, Kermanshah Province, Iran (N =213), where 140 farmers was selected as sample by simple random sampling method and base on Krejcie & Morgan table. Research instrument was research made questionnaire that its validity confirmed by a panel of experts and the reliability was confirmed through a pilot study and calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. SPSS/16 software was used for data analysis.
Results: Findings showed that educations in the field of occupational health were done neither sufficient nor according to the principles. Educational needs identified in the area included exposure to noise, exposure to dust, ergonomic issues, compliance with hygiene and protection principles in spraying, individual protection in working with tractors and other machinery.
Conclusion: Dangers of farming in one hand and the lack of appropriate education and  the farmers’ dissatisfaction in the other hand, has highlighted the necessity of implementing correct eductional programs according to needs assessment principles in Mahidasht County. In this regard, considering the knowledge and occupational health behaviors of the studied farmers, they need to receive education in most areas of health, among which, environmental hazards (sun and noise, dust on farms), ergonomic issues, proper and safe use of chemical input and adherence to safety principles in working with agricultural machinery are considered priorities.