Exposure to wet work in working Australians.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Environmental Health
• Dermatology

Background:

• The Australian National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance (NHEWS) Survey 2008 aimed to reduce occupational disease by understanding workplace exposures.
• This descriptive study analyzed workplace exposures to inform prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess occupational and demographic factors associated with workers reporting exposure to wet work conditions.
• To identify specific worker groups with high exposure to wet work.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey involving 4500 workers using computer-assisted telephone interviews.
• Analysis of two wet work exposure outcomes: frequency of hand washing and duration of hand immersion in liquids.
• Calculation of odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess associations.

Main Results:

• 9.8% of workers reported washing hands over 20 times daily; 4.5% reported hand immersion in liquids for over 2 hours daily.
• Females were more likely to report frequent hand washing (OR 1.97).
• Workers in lower skill jobs had higher hand immersion exposure (OR 6.41).
• Workers reporting chemical skin exposure showed higher wet work exposure (OR 3.68 for hand washing, OR 4.09 for immersion).

Conclusions:

• Certain worker demographics and job types are associated with high wet work exposure.
• Distinct worker profiles exist for frequent hand washing versus prolonged hand immersion.
• A significant correlation was observed between wet work exposure and chemical exposure.