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Background: Gas-fired electric plants are equipped with heavy machines, which produce hazards including noise pollution. Exposure to high level of noise of above 85dB(A) is known to bring about Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). This study aimed to assess noise exposure level and reported prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss among workers in gas-fired electric plants., Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three gas-fired electric plants in Dar es Salaam (Plant A, Plant B and Plant C) from July to August 2017. A noise logging dosimeter was used to measure personal noise exposure level. A questionnaire was used to collect information on managerial factors, individual factors, socio-demographic factors and history of the participants. A short screening validated questionnaire was used to obtain noise exposure score. Frequency distribution, Chi-square test and Regression analyses were done using SPSS version 20. Results: One hundred and six participants were involved in the study. Noise exposure level among gas-fired electric plant workers was above 85dB(A), n = 37. The equivalent sound level (LAeq) measured over 8 hours was (98.6 ± 9.7) dB(A). The mean noise peak level was (139.5 ± 9.4) dB(A). Plant C had higher mean noise exposure level (TWA) of (96.9 ± 5.1) dB(A) compared to plant B 96.4 ± 3.7dB(A) and plant A 78.7 ± 11.9dB(A). Participants in both operation and maintenance had higher equivalent sound level (LAeq) measured over eight hours of 101.980 ± 3.6dB(A) compared to maintenance alone 98.5 ± 12.4dB (A) or operation 97.7 ± 8.8dB (A). Proportion of participants with reported hearing loss was 57(53.8%) where 44(41.5%) participants reported difficulty hearing people during conversations. Hearing protective devices (HPDs) were reported to be used by a majority, 101(95.3%)., Conclusion: Workers in gas-fired plants are exposed to high noise levels that could damage their hearing. Hearing conservation programs should be established and maintained in this work environment., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.)

Background: Working in a humid and hot environment creates challenges to occupational health and safety in tropical countries. Being in the region, Tanzania can experiences more than 30°C ambient temperature, which exposes miners to heat-related injury and illness., Objectives: This study was conducted to assess heat stress exposure and associated heat illness symptoms among gold mine workers in the Mara region., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 60 miners from four Similar Exposure Groups based on risk to extreme heat environment. The WBGT index was used to assess the heat load while the miners' physiological condition explained the heat strain indicator. Data was analyzed using SPSS 20. Chi-square was used to differentiate proportion of miners with heat illness symptoms in different categories. Pearson correlation was used to determine association between environmental measures and change in physiological conditions of the miners. Independent t-test and ANOVA were used to assess differences between numerical data among groups. A p < 0.05 at 95% confidence was considered to be statistically significant., Findings: The recorded average WBGT at the mining site was within the ACGIH TLV of 28.5°C, however, 78.4% of underground miners and 69.6% of open cut miners reported to have moderate heat illness. High body temperature and hot and dry skin were the most frequently reported heat illness symptoms. The mean core body temperatures of miners in open cut and underground were 38.4 ± 0.5°C and 37.3 ± 0.5°C respectively. Approximately 80% of miners in open cut indicated higher core body temperature above ISO 7933 threshold of 38.0°C for safety. The majority of workers under contract didn't drink water prior to work shift commencement., Conclusions: The occupational setting at the mining area presents the potential exposure to a thermal condition that can contribute to heat illness symptoms. Effective strategies must be implemented to enhance workers' safety., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.)

Introduction: Occupational health and safety is related with economic activities undertaken in the country. As the economic activities grow and expand, occupational injuries and diseases are more likely to increase among workers in different sectors of economy such as agriculture, mining, transport, and manufacture. This may result in high occupational health and safety services demand, which might be difficult to meet by developing countries that are prioritizing economic expansion without regard to their impact on occupational health and safety., Objective: To describe the status of occupational health and safety in Tanzania and outline the challenges in provision of occupational health services under the state of an expanding economy., Findings: Tanzania's economy is growing steadily, with growth being driven by communications, transport, financial intermediation, construction, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing. Along with this growth, hazards emanating from work in all sectors of the economy have increased and varied. The workers exposed to these hazards suffer from illness and injuries and yet they are not provided with adequate occupational health services. Services are scanty and limited to a few enterprises that can afford it. Existing laws and regulations are not comprehensive enough to cover the entire population. Implementation of legislation is weak and does not protect the workers., Conclusions: Most Tanzanians are not covered by the occupational health and safety law and do not access occupational health services. Thus an occupational health and safety services strategy, backed by legislations and provided with the necessary resources (competent experts, financial and technological resources), is a necessity in Tanzania. The existing legal provisions require major modifications to meet international requirements and standards. OHS regulations and legislations need refocusing, revision, and strengthening to cover all working population. Capacities should be improved through training and research to enable enforcement. Finally the facilities and resources should be made available for OHS services to match with the growing economy., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To compare total dust exposure, prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms, lung function, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among Tanzanian cement workers before (2002) and after (2010-2011) establishment of dust-control measures., Methods: Personal total dust-exposure measurements, questionnaire assessment for chronic respiratory symptoms, and spirometry were conducted in both examination periods., Results: Total dust exposure was lower in 2010-2011 than in 2002. The prevalence of most chronic respiratory symptoms and COPD was lower in 2010 than in 2002. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), percentage predicted FEV1, and percentage predicted forced vital capacity were higher among cement workers in 2010 than in 2002., Conclusions: There was reduced total dust exposure level, lower prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms and COPD, and higher lung function among cement workers in 2010 than in 2002.

Objective: To study dust exposure and inflammatory reactions in the respiratory tract among coffee curing workers in Tanzania., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a Tanzanian coffee curing factory. Coffee workers (n = 15) were compared with unexposed controls (n = 18); all workers were nonsmokers. Exhaled nitric oxide was examined using an electrochemistry-based NIOX MINO device. Personal air samples were analyzed for total dust and endotoxins, using gravimetric analysis and the chromogenic Limulus amebocyte lysate endpoint assay, respectively., Results: Total dust levels ranged from 0.2 to 27.9 mg/m, and endotoxin levels ranged from 42 to 75,083 endotoxin units/m. Concentrations of exhaled nitric oxide, analyzed by linear regression and adjusted for age (β = 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.08 to 1.06; P = 0.02), was higher among coffee workers than among the control group., Conclusion: The results indicate a relationship between the coffee dust and signs of respiratory inflammation.

Background: Coffee processing causes organic dust exposure which may lead to development of respiratory symptoms. Previous studies have mainly focused on workers involved in roasting coffee in importing countries. This study was carried out to determine total dust exposure and respiratory health of workers in Tanzanian primary coffee-processing factories., Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 79 workers in two coffee factories, and among 73 control workers in a beverage factory. Personal samples of total dust (n = 45 from the coffee factories and n = 19 from the control factory) were collected throughout the working shift from the breathing zone of the workers. A questionnaire with modified questions from the American Thoracic Society questionnaire was used to assess chronic respiratory symptoms. Differences between groups were tested by using independent t-tests and Chi square tests. Poisson Regression Model was used to estimate prevalence ratio, adjusting for age, smoking, presence of previous lung diseases and years worked in dusty factories., Results: All participants were male. The coffee workers had a mean age of 40 years and were older than the controls (31 years). Personal total dust exposure in the coffee factories were significantly higher than in the control factory (geometric mean (GM) 1.23 mg/m3, geometric standard deviation (GSD) (0.8) vs. 0.21(2.4) mg/m3). Coffee workers had significantly higher prevalence than controls for cough with sputum (23% vs. 10%; Prevalence ratio (PR); 2.5, 95% CI 1.0-5.9) and chest tightness (27% vs. 13%; PR; 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.2). The prevalence of morning cough, cough with and without sputum for 4 days or more in a week was also higher among coffee workers than among controls. However, these differences were not statistically significant., Conclusion: Workers exposed to coffee dust reported more respiratory symptoms than did the controls. This might relate to their exposure to coffee dust. Interventions for reduction of dust levels and provision of respiratory protective equipment are recommended.

Background: Few studies of miners have been carried out in African countries; most are from South Africa, where the working conditions are assumed to be better than in the rest of Africa. Several studies have focused on respiratory disorders among miners, but development workers responsible for creating underground road ways have not been studied explicitly. This is the first study assessing the associations between exposure to dust and quartz and respiratory symptoms among coal mine workers in a manually operated coal mine in Tanzania, focusing on development workers, as they have the highest exposure to coal dust., Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 250 production workers from a coal mine. Interviews were performed using modified standardized questionnaires to elicit information on occupational history, demographics, smoking habits and acute and chronic respiratory symptoms. The relationships between current dust exposure as well as cumulative respirable dust and quartz and symptoms were studied by group comparisons as well as logistic regression., Results: Workers from the development group had the highest dust exposure, with arithmetic mean of 10.3 mg/m3 for current respirable dust and 1.268 mg/m3 for quartz. Analogous exposure results for mine workers were 0.66 mg/m3 and 0.03 mg/m3, respectively; and for other development workers were 0.88 mg/m3 and 0.10 mg/m3, respectively. The workers from the development section had significantly higher prevalence of the acute symptoms of dry cough (45.7%), breathlessness (34.8%) and blocked nose (23.9%). In addition, development workers had significantly more chronic symptoms of breathlessness (17.0%) than the mine workers (6.4%) and the other production workers (2.4%). The highest decile of cumulative exposure to respirable dust was significantly associated with cough (OR = 2.91, 95% CI 1.06, 7.97) as were cumulative exposure to quartz and cough (OR = 2.87, CI 1.05, 7.88), compared with the reference consisting of the group of workers with the lowest quartile of the respective cumulative exposure., Conclusion: The development workers in a coal mine had more acute and chronic respiratory symptoms than the mine and the other production workers. In addition, there was an association between high cumulative coal dust and respiratory symptoms.