Magnitude of occupational exposure to bagasse dust and associated factors among Metehara Sugarcane Factory workers, east Shoa, Ethiopia

Background Occupational exposure to bagasse dust is known to pose direct and indirect costs to workers. However, the paucity of information on the extent of occupational exposure to sugarcane workers in Ethiopia is a challenge. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the magnitude of occupational exposure to bagasse dust and associated factors. Study area and period The study was conducted at Metehara Sugarcane Factory from February 15–May 15, 2017. Study design A cross-sectional study design was employed among 552 participants. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. In addition, the DustTrak™ Aerosol Monitor, CELL-880, brand name Casella, was used to measure exposure. Then, the data were entered and cleaned using Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Finally, the crude odds ratio (COR) and adjusted OR (AOR), together with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were computed. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant in this study. Results Lack of labor inspections and safety audits, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), absence of job rotation, absence of ventilation, weekly working hours and job dissatisfaction were significantly associated, with AOR = 6.12 (2.52, 7.48), 7.17 (4.05, 8.87), 1.96 (1.27, 3.02), 3.63 (2.28, 5.78), 5.9 (3.64, 9.56), 6.34 (3.79, 10.62) and 2.19 (1.05, 4.57), respectively. Conclusions Lack of safety audits and labor inspections, lack of PPE, absence of job rotation, absence of ventilation and current job dissatisfaction were found to be predictors of occupational exposure to bagasse dust. Hence, the identified factors should be considered to minimize exposure of sugarcane factory workers to bagasse dust.