Abstract:
The garment industry of Bangladesh has been the key export division and a main source of
foreign exchange for the last 25 years. Dyeing is an important unit in the textile industry.
But the occupation of dyeing worker carries a high risk for the development of
occupational skin disease. There are several factors which increase the risk of textile
workers for developing occupational skin disorders. Exposure to irritants and allergens
including textile dyes can cause skin disorder. A preponderance of younger, unskilled,
low-paid workers with low literacy levels, which make employee education/training
challenging. Poor regulation and work safety conditions in some textile factories can also
cause skin disorder. The aim of this project is to observe the prevalence of skin diseases in
dyeing department of garment industries of Bangladesh. In addition, it was aimed to
determine the health risk factors in the dyeing industries. Most of the dyeing workers are
poor and uneducated or with minimum literacy. So they don’t know which factors are
responsible for their skin disease. The average dyeing company has not been actually
found to care about the workers’ health. Therefore, in this study it was also aimed to find
out the responsible factors for causing skin diseases in the dyeing departments. The
information will be helpful in finding out the factors related to the skin disorder and
relevant safety procedures in garments department of textiles industries. A questionnaire
based survey was conducted in the dyeing department of garment industries in
Narayanganj district. A total of 130 people were surveyed in which 90 had skin disease.
The questionnaire was prepared according to Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire.
Five Dyeing industries were surveyed. From the survey it was found that the majority of
respondents had dry skin, dermatitis and hand eczema as well. Some respondents had
dandruff, allergic reaction, cellulites etc. From this study it was seen that working with the
chemicals or using gloves for a long duration of period were the main reasons behind their
skin disease. Here, it is very unfortunate to say that 100 percent respondents did not have
any safety training. There was no such official training facilities for them from the
company. So there is high risk of developing different types of skin disease like dermatitis,
eczema, allergic reaction etc.
Description:
This thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) in East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
