Assessment of Occupational Chromium Exposure and Associated Factors Among Tannery Workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross- Sectional Study.
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Date
2024-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Chromium is not only released into the environment from natural sources but also
from industries. The pollutants generated in the tannery industry contain a high concentration of
chromium which directly affects human health. Long-term exposure and high concentrations of
chromium can cause respiratory challenges, cancer, skin damage, and birth defects. Despite this
fact, there is no study done that shows chromium exposure levels in the tannery in Ethiopia.
Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the level of chromium in hair samples and
associated factors among tannery workers in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study design was conducted to assess the hair
chromium level of the tannery workers compared to the bottled water factory workers from
November 2023 – June 2024 in Addis Ababa. A simple random sampling method was used to
identify a total of 112 study participants with tannery (n=56) and water (n=56) factory workers.
The hair samples' chromium levels were analyzed using a microwave plasma emission
spectrometer (MP-AES), and structured questionnaires were used to assess the associated factors
of hair chromium exposure levels. SPSS Version 26, independent t-test, chi-square, and linear
regression were used for analysis.
Results: The findings showed that the average hair chromium level of (11.2±10.0) mg/kg
among tannery workers was significantly (p<0.001) higher than the average hair chromium level
of (4.6±2.7) mg/kg among water factory workers. The linear regression analysis result also
observed that working duration in the year, working hours per day, and working sections were
statistically significant (p<0.05) relationships to hair chromium levels among tannery workers.
Conclusion: This study concluded that the tannery workers had higher significant hair chromium
levels as compared to the water factory workers. Consequently, overall, tannery workers had two
times higher mean chromium levels as compared to water factory workers. Hence the exposure
of chromium in tannery workers should draw much more attention shortly by conducting more
research and developing occupational exposure limit guidelines.
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Keywords
chromium level, associated factors, tannery workers, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia