OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES AND RELATED HEALTH EFFECTS AMONG CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

Background: A significant number of people are working in construction activities and have different types of health problems relating to their work and workplace environment. Methods: A questionnaire - based survey was conducted on the construction workers of Maraki campus, Gondar University, in February 2005. Results: This study showed that the workers were suffering from shoulder- aches, back pains, skin related diseases, problems in the eyes, breathing and noise irritations. The percentage of workers with different health problems varied. Conclusions: Awareness among workers regarding dangers and risks at work place, use of personal protective equipments, and good personal hygiene practice to minimize unnecessary exposure to worksite contaminants were found to be important to decrease the magnitude of the problems and improve the health status of workers. Keywords: occupational exposures, construction workers, work related diseases.