Wet Work in

Australian

workplaces Dr Tessa Keegel

Miss Kristen Benke

A/Prof Rosemary Nixon

A/ Prof Tony LaMontagne

Prof Malcolm Sim

Background

Wet work is one of the main exposures for occupational contact dermatitis (OCD)

Background

Information regarding patterns of exposure to wet work is required by workers, unions, employers & policy-makers for the development of work health and safety policy

Project summary

The Wet Work project will look at: 1. Wet work exposure

2. Diagnosed disease 3. Successful workers compensation claims

Occupational contact dermatitis: wet work

exposure and disease pyramid.

Study question

What are the patterns of exposure to wet work, occupational contact dermatitis, and accepted workers compensation claims amongst Australian workers?

Methods

The first dataset has information about self-reported Australian wet work exposure data

The second dataset consists of de-identified diagnosed disease data from a Victorian dermatology clinic

The final dataset consists of de-identified Victorian Workers Compensation claims data

We will compare the patterns across

these three datasets

Preliminary findings

Study design &

sample

In 2008, Safe Work Australia conducted the National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance (NHEWS) study

Wet work

exposure

Two separate outcomes:

1) frequency of hand washing at work

2) time spent with hands in liquids at work

Wet work

exposure

Workers were also asked what types of liquids they were exposed to at work

Workers could nominate more than one liquid

Wet work exposure

For hand washing:

Less than/=20 times= unexposed/ low

More than 20, less than/= 100 = high

More than 100 = v high

Wet work

exposure

For duration of hands in liquids:

Less than 1 hr = low

1 hr up to 2 hrs = medium

More than 2 hrs = high

Co-variates

Employment arrangements

Number of employees at workplace

Occupational skill level (5 levels)

Industrial sector

Self-reported chemical exp

Age group

Gender

Results

Overall the NHEWS survey had:

4500 Australian workers

Across 17 industries (5 priority)

42.3% response rate

When asked to nominate the types of liquids:

Water 64%

Detergents, disinfectants, cleaning products

Oils, solvents, thinners, degreasers

Concrete/cement

Paint

Fuel, petrol, kerosene

Bodily fluids

Handwashing

Overall, 9.8% (95% CI: 8.9-10.7%) washed their hands more than 20 times/day at work

6.6

6.3

2.6

2.1

1.3

0.8

0.8

0.3

0.2

17.6

23.8

4.2

5.7

5.1

4.8

3.6

1.8

5.4

3.1

2.3

1.2

0 5 10 15 20 25

Accommodation, cafes & restaurants

Health & community services (956)

Mining (38)

Cultural, recreational & personal

Agriculture, forestry & fishing (317)

Wholesale & retail trade (237)

Manufacturing (714)

Transport & storage (391)

Construction (655)

Electricity/gas/water supply (37)

Education (320)

Property & business services (262)

Government administration & defence

Finance & insurance (94)

Communication services (50)

% workers exposed to hand-washing

Medium/High

Very high/UnsafeHandwashing

Handwashing

Odds ratio (95% CI)

Gender Females

1.97 (1.49-2.61)

Number of emps at wrkplce Less than 5 (ref) -- 20 to 199 1.49 (1.05-2.11) 200 or more 1.44 (1.00-2.08)

Chemical Exposure High exposure

3.68 (2.91-4.66)

Occupational skill level

Level one (highest) (ref) --

Level five (lowest) 0.58 (0.37-0.92)

Industry Transport & storage (ref) --

Health & Comm service 6.02 (3.38-10.70)

Accommodation, cafes & restaurants

5.70 (2.71-12.02)

Observations 4309

Hands in liquids

Overall, 7.3% (95% CI: 6.5-8.0%) hands in liquids more than 1 hr

4.5 % (95% CI: 3.9-5.1%) more than 2 hrs

Hands in liquids

14.3

7.7

6.3

5

4.9

4.1

3.1

2.7

2.6

2.3

2.1

1.2

1.2

1.1

9.9

4.5

7.4

3.5

2

2.3

1.3

5.3

2.7

2.5

0.9

0.8

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Accommodation, cafes & restaurants (91)

Health & community services (956)

Cultural, recreational & personal services (95)

Agriculture, forestry & fishing (317)

Manufacturing (714)

Construction (655)

Transport & storage (391)

Electricity/gas/water supply (37)

Mining (38)

Property & business services (262)

Wholesale & retail trade (237)

Education (320)

Government administration & defence (243)

Finance & insurance (94)

Communication services (50)

% workers exposed to hands in liquids

Medium

High

Odds ratio (95% CI)

Occupational skill level Level one (highest) --

Level two 2.03 (1.07-3.88)

Level three 4.07 (2.37-7.00)

Level four 2.40 (1.48-3.89)

Level five (lowest) 6.41 (3.78-10.88)

Industry Transport & storage (ref)

--

Health & community services

2.92 (1.46-5.84)

Accommodation, cafes & restaurants

2.97 (1.24-7.15)

Chemical exposure High exposure

4.09 (2.92-5.74)

Observations 4337

Hands in liquids

This study is one of the first to suggest differences in the profiles for:

frequency of hand washing and hands immersed in liquids

Exposure to chemicals & exposure to wet work was highly correlated:

3 and a half times for hand washing

Four times for immersion of hands in liquids

Preliminary findings

Study design &

sample

Compensation Research Database Victorian workers compensation data from 1986-2009

Results

14, 709 unique claims, from 13,980 workers

Includes 729 repeat claims

Many more males than females, 76% vs 24%

Employer segment

Females Males Government 17 % 11%

Large 40% 25%

Medium 33% 50%

Small 10% 14%

Selected

occupations

Meat processing 524

Poultry processing 27

Smallgoods 52

Seafood 3

Printing 62

Selected

occupations Motor vehicle manufacturing 354

Automotive repair 166

Construction 781

Plumbing 75

Selected

occupations

Psych hospitals 95

Dental services 55

Ambulance 215

Building and industrial cleaners 77

Hospitals 760

Selected

occupations

Aged care 204

Other res care 50

Other social assistance 145

Discussion

Policy implications

Success of the German policy Technical standards1 and Technical Rules 530 Hairdressing2

1. BAuA German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Technical standard for hazardous substances: Skin damage from work in wet environments (TRGS 531: wet work). Translation jointly prepared by NIOSH and BAuA,1996. Available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/skin/recommendations.html (last accessed 08 April 2011)

2. Dickel H, Kuss O, Schmidt A, Diepgen TL. Impact of preventive strategies on trend of occupational skin

disease in hairdressers: population based register study. BMJ 2002 15 June 2002:324:1422-3.

Annual incidence ( 95% confidence intervals) of hairdressers with

a stated occupational skin disease 1990-1999. From BMJ 2002;

324:1422-1423 (Dickel et al. 2002)

Questions

1. Is wet work an issue for your members?

2. Do employers think wet work is a potential OHS problem?

3. What liquids are workers exposed to in the workplace?

Questions

4. Do your members have access to MSDS in the workplace?

5. Are your members consulted before new liquids are used in the workplace?

6. Are there any workplace interventions for wet work that you would like to see in your workplace?

Questions

7. What sort of policy interventions for wet work would you like to see in your workplace?

8. Are your members involved in

OHS decision making?

Safe Work Australia, Dr Fleur Champion de Crespigny, Prof Thomas Diepgen, Prof Tove Agner, Ms Stella Gwini

NHMRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship to TGK (#540114)

Keegel T, Nixon R, LaMontagne AD. Exposure to wet work in working Australians. Accepted for publication 2/8/2011 Contact Dermatitis

Acknowledgements &

publications details