1.1 Introduction
Occupational accident is an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence, arising out of or in connection with work which results in one or more workers incurring a personal, disease or death. As occupational accidents are to be considered travel, transport or road traffic accidents in which workers are injured and which arise out of or in the course of work, i.e. while engaged in an economic activity, or at work, or carrying on the business of the employer. Environmental health and occupational health and safety have long been established subfields of public health research, policy, and practice (Frumkin 2010). Today, the environmental health field is largely concerned with a human-made (anthropogenic) environment brought about by urbanization, the extraction of natural resources, industrial manufacture, the physical separation of home and workplace, and the transportation systems needed to support this mode of economy and pattern of living. Economic development alters the natural environment and sometimes harms ecosystems in terms of the humanly useful services they provide, their diversity, and their resilience.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Over the past decade, encouraging trends have been observed in many parts of the world showing a decrease in the annual number of occupational injury claims, while occupational diseases have been shown to be on the rise and can now be considered as the main cause of death at work. While preventive actions to mitigate the risks have been shown to be effective in many situations, one must acknowledge the fact that isolated actions that are taken in reaction to a hazardous situation may not always be the most efficient to prevent its recurrence. It appears that preventive actions that are taken within the workplace need to rely on much broader perspectives to ensure that their effects will be most susceptible to be permanent or long- lasting in providing a healthier and safer environment for the workers.
Occupational injury is any personal injury, physical damage to body tissues or death from an occupational accident. Occupational injuries are responsible for more lost time from work, productivity, and working years of life than any other health conditions. Injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the workers. Thousands of people are killed annually in industrial accidents, and the number of disabling injuries is also staggering figure. Many workers suffered job related injuries that resulted in lost work time, medical treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to an- other job. Today injuries continue to claim the lives, damage the physical and psychological well-being and consume the resources of workers and their families. The overall human, social, and financial toll of traumatic occupational injury is enormous, rivaling the burden imposed by such health treats as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
As occupational accidents are to be considered an accident occurring on the habitual route, in either direction, between the place of work or work related training and the workers principal or secondary residence, the place where the worker usually takes his or her meals, or the place where he or she usually receives his or her remuneration, which results in death or personal injury.
In today’s world, the concept of sustainability is attracting considerable attention as many governments have integrated it in their economic development strategies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sustainable development is defined as a strategy to “meet the needs of the present world population without causing adverse effect on health and on the environment, and without depleting or endangering the global resource base, hence without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. Sustainable development relies on several principles for framing its actions, many of which can clearly be applied to occupational health and safety. These principles include the necessity for attention to be given to the health and quality of life of people, to the prevention of known risks and to the application of precaution when there is uncertainty with regard to the risks. It may thus be considered that occupational health and safety (OHS) and prevention of injuries and diseases are issues of concern with regard to sustainability.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Environmental Safety and the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the environmental and occupational public health raise public issues that involve public perception, a couple of the thorniest ethical problems concern the concept of acceptable risk and criteria for risk management and risk reduction. Environmental risks to the public’s health can be managed (or prevented) in multiple ways. Lack of access to safe drinking water is a serious public health problem affecting many developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa only has coverage with safe drinking water sources for 61 % of its population, a stark contrast with regions such as Latin America, northern Africa, and most of Asia, which have all achieved greater than 90% coverage (World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2012).
The problem is global and institutional, which is to say, fundamentally political and economic. The public health response needs to involve not only specific protections and rules or laws aimed at individual decisions and behaviors, such as toxic dumping in a particular site, or the point source pollution of a river, but also the institutional and systemic governance that alters the structure of power and wealth, and the process by which decisions and policies are made. The perennial debate between an approach aimed at individual behavior and one aimed at structural change is endemic to both environmental health and occupational health and safety.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Environmental Safety and the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the relationship between environmental safety and occupational accidents;
- To examine the preventive measures needed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases;
- To identify the causes of occupational accidents at Delta Sparkling Beverages; and
- To examine the challenges associated with environmental safety and the prevention of occupational accidents.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the relationship between environmental safety and occupational accidents?
- What are the preventive measures needed to prevent occupational accidents and diseases?
- What are the causes of occupational accidents at Delta Sparkling Beverages?
- What are the challenges associated with environmental safety and the prevention of occupational accidents?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There are no significant challenges associated with environmental safety and the prevention of occupational accidents at Delta Sparkling Beverages
- H1: There are significant challenges associated with environmental safety and the prevention of occupational accidents at Delta Sparkling Beverages
1.7 Significance of Study
The findings will be of great benefit to the public health workers to ensure ways of protecting the environment from hazards emanating from the work environment. The outcome will expose the lingering factors that affect group effectiveness and how those challenges can be tackled.
This study will be of immense benefit to researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Environmental Safety and the Prevention of Occupational Accidents and Diseases.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms
Occupational Health: It is the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well being of workers in all occupations.
Occupational Safety: It is a state of being free from harm, injuring, death, loss, damage and pollution.
Productivity: It is ratio or proportion of output of the commodity to the input of the factor of production.
