All welders were males with a mean age of 35.7 ± 8.4 years. The illiteracy rate was 7.6%.
Overall, 257 (77.9%) of the welders were aware of one or more workplace hazards. This was positively
influenced by educational attainment, age, nature of training and work experience. Of the 330
respondents, 282 (85.3%) had experienced one or more work-related accidents in the preceding year.
The most common injuries sustained were cut/injuries to the hands and fingers (38.0%), back/waist
pain (19%), arc eye injuries/foreign bodies (17.0%), burns (14.0%), hearing impairment (7.0%), fractures
(4.0%) and amputation (1.0%). Only 113 (34.2%) welders used one or more types of protective device
with eye goggles (60.9%), hand gloves (50.3%) and boots (34.5%) being more frequently used. Regular
use of safety device, shorter working hours and increasing experience were protective of occupational
accidents.