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Bernard M.1, Rajarathnam S.2, Chenuka L.2, Tissera S.2, Silva S.N.3
1International Institute of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy, Welisara, Sri Lanka, 2International Institute of Health Sciences, Nursing, Welisara, Sri Lanka, 3International Institute of Health Sciences, Academic, Welisara, Sri Lanka
Background: Gem industry has traditionally been drawing a considerable amount of foreign revenue to Sri Lanka. In many districts where the industry is practiced, thousands of families are sustained through it. These mainly include the miners who still use traditional methods and means of Gem mining underground. These methods include digging mines both vertically and underground horizontally and the traditional methods of extracting gems from the gem-rich soil. These methods put them at various health risks. The mining itself can cause musculoskeletal issues, the conditions of the mines can cause respiratory and skin issues. However, the risks or the existence of the suspected conditions have not been scientifically assessed or validated.
Purpose: To assess cardiorespiratory diseases, skin diseases, musculoskeletal conditions and injuries caused due to work related and traumatic events that occurred during work.
Methods: A mixed method study was performed on Gem miners in Rathnapura and Pelmadulla areas of Sri Lanka. The quantitative part was a descriptive cross sectional study on 56 miners. The participants were selected using convenience sampling. Data collection involved an interviewer-administered questionnaire, clinical measurements, peak expiratory flow meter and the use of mobile apps for assessing oxygen saturation and environmental temperature. For the qualitative part, focused group discussions were used involving the miners.
Results: 44.6% of the respondents were aged 50 years and above while 17.9% stated 5 years of working experience. 53.6% of the respondents said that they occasionally follow safety protocols. 75% of the miners do not smoke. 76.8% of the respondents admitted that they had difficulty in breathing while in the mine and 25% felt faintish. 33.9% disclosed that they had body aches when working under the mine and 14.3% had skin irritations. 26.8 % of the respondents had experienced slips and falls inside the mine while 10.7% had fractures and dislocations. The mean peak expiratory flow rate was 246.70 per second. On average the oxygen saturation dropped by 3-4% when a non-mining individual climbed down a mine. The qualitative data indicated that the miners believed their bodies and their physical status has got adopted for this industry. However they failed to believe that certain physical diseases and disabilities they had were related to their industry. They were not very keen on disease prevention or seeking early treatment.
Conclusion(s): The traditional mining methods did seem to put the miners at risk of certain disease conditions like musculoskeletal issues. However their cardiorespiratory parameters seemed to be normal.
Implications: This research implies that though the miners are cardiorespiratorily adopted to their work environment, the poor techniques used in their industry puts them at risk of musculoskeletal issues. Therefore it is important to take preventive measures against these in order to ensure the sustainability of the industry.
Funding acknowledgements: Self funding research. The author would like to Acknowledge the assistance from International Institute of Health Sciences, Sri Lanka.
Topic: Occupational health & ergonomics
Ethics approval: Bioinquirer ethics review committee, Sri Lanka
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
