Objective To understand the dust hazards in the calcium carbonate processing industry in Hezhou City, and to provide a scientific basis for formulating occupational disease prevention strategies, ensuring the health of workers, and promoting cleaner production in the industry.
Methods In accordance with the requirements of the "Working plan for occupational hazard factors monitoring in Guangxi workplaces in 2019", on-site surveys and measurement of occupational hazards in calcium carbonate processing enterprises were carried out in Hezhou City.
Results In 2019, a total of 73 calcium carbonate processing enterprises were surveyed, among whom most were small and micro enterprises; 68.5% enterprises organized the medical examinations and 70.5% workers received medical examinations. The level of occupational hazards in 47.9% enterprises was higher than national standards and the level of occupational hazards at 26.7% worksites was higher than standards. The classification of dust hazards at various workplaces were ranked as level 0 (52.1%), level Ⅰ (34.2%), and level Ⅱ (13.7%). The proportion of level Ⅱ (medium hazard) was high in granite production, in the limited liability companies or in the enterprises without suitable protection facilities(P < 0.05).
Conclusion The dust hazard in calcium carbonate processing industry in Hezhou City was high and the overall control of hazard was not satisfied. Attention should be paid to silicon dust hazards, and suitable protection facilities should be adopted to reduce workers' actual exposure level.
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