A Survey On Prevalence Of Skin Diseases In Dyeing Department Of Garment Industries In Narayanganj District

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.