Assessment of health risks of waste pickers: case of a Vientiane landfill, Lao PDR | |
| Author | Kongngeun Chantakeo |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-14-06 |
| Subject(s) | Refuse and refuse disposal--Laos Health risk assessment--Laos |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-14-06 |
| Abstract | Assessment of health risks of waste pickers at the “32 km” Landfill of Vientiane, Lao PDR was carried out. This involved studying various related published literature, as well as development and administration of a questionnaire to 101 waste pickers located at “32 km” landfill near Vientiane city, field investigations and interviews were also carried out. The descriptive statistical method was used to analyze the data obtained during the field work. The major finding of this work was the facts that were a growing number of formal educated waste pickers. This was not the case in previous studies by other scholars globally. Inadequate housing too close to the landfill was found to be one of the major factors affecting the health status of waste pickers in this study. Other issues affecting waste pickers health were found to be as follows: long hours of work; very low perception and poor attitude to safety issues, inadequate hygiene behavior (none was found to wash their hands before eating) during working hours; poor quality of drinking water during working hours and lack of adequate personal protective equipment. From the study the occupational injuries faced by the workers were found to include: headaches, injuries, irritated skin, low back pain, muscle soreness, fatigue, and stomach ache, insect bit and joint pain. On the issues of occupational health diseases the following were found to be common in the study area, namely: common cold, cough, diarrhea, rashes, and dysentery, and conjunctivitis, shortness of breath, hepatitis, parasitic infections and dengue fever. In other to propose solutions to the numerous problems faced by waste pickers in the study area the following recommendations were put forward: relevant government agencies should develop a programme of action that would provide safety, health and hygiene education to waste pickers and encouragement of waste pickers to get health insurance schemes that will enable them to afford adequate and appropriate healthcare services. |
| Year | 2014 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin, Oleg V.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Annachhatre, Ajit P.;Vilas Nitivattannon; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2014 |