Gesundheitswesen 2021; 83(08/09): 707
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1732142
Donnerstag 23.09.2021
Vorträge

Strengthening Occupational Health and Safety in Ghana – Joint Research Activities at the World’s Biggest E-Waste Recycling Site

A Kaifie
1   Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Deutschland
,
D Fischer
1   Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Deutschland
,
J Yang
1   Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Deutschland
,
F Seidu
2   GIZ Office Accra, Accra, Ghana
,
T Kraus
1   Institut für Arbeits-, Sozial- und Umweltmedizin, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Deutschland
,
J Fobil
3   Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
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    Purpose The import of hundreds of thousands of tons of e-waste to Ghana from industrialized countries, led to the development of a large scale informal e-waste sector in the capital Accra. The working conditions at the Agbogbloshie recycling site are strenuous and lack any kind of work safety. A joint cooperation project between the University of Ghana and RWTH Aachen University was initiated with the main goal to improve workerˋs health and safety at the recycling site. Besides the training of several ghanaian and german students, joint field activities were carried out in order to collect data to comprehensively assess the worker’s health status.

    Methods In 2019, the field acitivities included the biomontoring of inorganic arsenic species in the urine as well as a questionnaire-based collection of symptoms and diseases in e-waste workers (n = 84) in comparison to a control group from other branches, e.g. onion carrier or seller (n = 94).

    Results Regarding the inorganic arsenic burden, e-waste workers had higher median values for all arsenic species (As III, As V, MMA, DMA) compared to the control group. However, in more than 75% of all workers, e-waste worker as well as controls, the sum of inorganic arsenic species exceeded the acceptable risk which is associated with an additional cancer risk. Regarding work-related symptoms and diseases, e-waste workers suffered significantly more from back pain and work-related injuries. Drug abuse was more in common in e-waste workers in comparison to the control group. E-waste workers as well as controls had a notably high use of pain killers.

    Conclusions Overall, e-waste workers had not only a higher burden of inorganic arsenic. E-waste workers also had a higher prevalence of certain work-related symptoms and diseases. However, all workers would benefit from occupational health interventions to improve their health.


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    Publication History

    Article published online:
    02 September 2021

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