Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in Greenland

Birgitte Hamann Laustsen; Niels Erik Ebbehøj; Torben Sigsgaard; Kurt Rasmussen; Jakob Hjort Bønløkke

Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in Greenland

Birgitte Hamann Laustsen, Niels Erik Ebbehøj, Torben Sigsgaard, Kurt Rasmussen, Jakob Hjort Bønløkke

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

81 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The seafood industry is the largest industry in Greenland. Work-related diseases and accidents appear to constitute health risks in this sector. The aim was to describe the prevalence of work-related diseases and accidents among workers in the seafood industry in Greenland.

METHODS: Data from 311 workers included a questionnaire, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, blood samples, clinical examinations, personal inhalable dust samples and stationary dust measurements. Accident risk was evaluated by work site observations and safety walks. Statistical analyses included mean values and percentage distribution.

RESULTS: Exposure levels were highest in shrimp production; 16.1% were sensitised to snow crab, 10.1% to shrimp and 0.3% to fish; 5.2% had probable occupational asthma. Regarding accidents, the annual incidence rate per 100 workers was 10.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: Workers in the seafood industry in Greenland have a high prevalence of sensitisation to work-related allergens and occupational asthma closely related to high exposures to shrimp and snow crab allergens. The rate of severe workplace injuries was high. Preventive measures are required.

FUNDING: The Health Science Research Council; The Work Environment Council of Greenland; The Greenlandic Workers' Union; Greenland Business Association; Royal Greenland; Polar Seafood; The BANK of Greenland; The Danish Working Environment Research Fund.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Scientific Ethical Committee for Greenland (2015-11317); The Danish Data Protection Agency, the Central Denmark Region (2012-58-006).

Original language	English
Article number	A05210470
Journal	Danish Medical Journal
Volume	69
Issue number	2
ISSN	2245-1919
Publication status	Published - 20 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Keywords

Accidents
Animals
Greenland/epidemiology
Humans
Occupational Diseases/epidemiology
Occupational Exposure/adverse effects
Seafood
Workplace

Access to Document

Laustsen et al. (2022). Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in GreenlandFinal published version, 512 KBLicence: CC BY-NC 4.0

https://ugeskriftet.dk/dmj/work-environment-occupational-diseases-and-accidents-among-seafood-industry-workers-greenlandLicence: CC BY-NC 4.0

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3 Citations
1 PhD thesis

Occupational asthma and allergy in the Greenlandic fish processing industry
Laustsen, B. H., 2022, Aalborg Universitetsforlag. 143 p.
Research output: PhD thesis

Open Access
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98 Downloads (Pure)

Cite this

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title = "Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in Greenland",

abstract = "INTRODUCTION: The seafood industry is the largest industry in Greenland. Work-related diseases and accidents appear to constitute health risks in this sector. The aim was to describe the prevalence of work-related diseases and accidents among workers in the seafood industry in Greenland.METHODS: Data from 311 workers included a questionnaire, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, blood samples, clinical examinations, personal inhalable dust samples and stationary dust measurements. Accident risk was evaluated by work site observations and safety walks. Statistical analyses included mean values and percentage distribution.RESULTS: Exposure levels were highest in shrimp production; 16.1% were sensitised to snow crab, 10.1% to shrimp and 0.3% to fish; 5.2% had probable occupational asthma. Regarding accidents, the annual incidence rate per 100 workers was 10.3%.CONCLUSIONS: Workers in the seafood industry in Greenland have a high prevalence of sensitisation to work-related allergens and occupational asthma closely related to high exposures to shrimp and snow crab allergens. The rate of severe workplace injuries was high. Preventive measures are required.FUNDING: The Health Science Research Council; The Work Environment Council of Greenland; The Greenlandic Workers' Union; Greenland Business Association; Royal Greenland; Polar Seafood; The BANK of Greenland; The Danish Working Environment Research Fund.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Scientific Ethical Committee for Greenland (2015-11317); The Danish Data Protection Agency, the Central Denmark Region (2012-58-006).",

keywords = "Accidents, Animals, Greenland/epidemiology, Humans, Occupational Diseases/epidemiology, Occupational Exposure/adverse effects, Seafood, Workplace",

author = "Laustsen, {Birgitte Hamann} and Ebbeh{\o}j, {Niels Erik} and Torben Sigsgaard and Kurt Rasmussen and B{\o}nl{\o}kke, {Jakob Hjort}",

note = "Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

day = "20",

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T1 - Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in Greenland

AU - Laustsen, Birgitte Hamann

AU - Ebbehøj, Niels Erik

AU - Sigsgaard, Torben

AU - Rasmussen, Kurt

AU - Bønløkke, Jakob Hjort

N1 - Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

PY - 2022/1/20

Y1 - 2022/1/20

N2 - INTRODUCTION: The seafood industry is the largest industry in Greenland. Work-related diseases and accidents appear to constitute health risks in this sector. The aim was to describe the prevalence of work-related diseases and accidents among workers in the seafood industry in Greenland.METHODS: Data from 311 workers included a questionnaire, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, blood samples, clinical examinations, personal inhalable dust samples and stationary dust measurements. Accident risk was evaluated by work site observations and safety walks. Statistical analyses included mean values and percentage distribution.RESULTS: Exposure levels were highest in shrimp production; 16.1% were sensitised to snow crab, 10.1% to shrimp and 0.3% to fish; 5.2% had probable occupational asthma. Regarding accidents, the annual incidence rate per 100 workers was 10.3%.CONCLUSIONS: Workers in the seafood industry in Greenland have a high prevalence of sensitisation to work-related allergens and occupational asthma closely related to high exposures to shrimp and snow crab allergens. The rate of severe workplace injuries was high. Preventive measures are required.FUNDING: The Health Science Research Council; The Work Environment Council of Greenland; The Greenlandic Workers' Union; Greenland Business Association; Royal Greenland; Polar Seafood; The BANK of Greenland; The Danish Working Environment Research Fund.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Scientific Ethical Committee for Greenland (2015-11317); The Danish Data Protection Agency, the Central Denmark Region (2012-58-006).

AB - INTRODUCTION: The seafood industry is the largest industry in Greenland. Work-related diseases and accidents appear to constitute health risks in this sector. The aim was to describe the prevalence of work-related diseases and accidents among workers in the seafood industry in Greenland.METHODS: Data from 311 workers included a questionnaire, lung function measurements, skin prick tests, blood samples, clinical examinations, personal inhalable dust samples and stationary dust measurements. Accident risk was evaluated by work site observations and safety walks. Statistical analyses included mean values and percentage distribution.RESULTS: Exposure levels were highest in shrimp production; 16.1% were sensitised to snow crab, 10.1% to shrimp and 0.3% to fish; 5.2% had probable occupational asthma. Regarding accidents, the annual incidence rate per 100 workers was 10.3%.CONCLUSIONS: Workers in the seafood industry in Greenland have a high prevalence of sensitisation to work-related allergens and occupational asthma closely related to high exposures to shrimp and snow crab allergens. The rate of severe workplace injuries was high. Preventive measures are required.FUNDING: The Health Science Research Council; The Work Environment Council of Greenland; The Greenlandic Workers' Union; Greenland Business Association; Royal Greenland; Polar Seafood; The BANK of Greenland; The Danish Working Environment Research Fund.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Scientific Ethical Committee for Greenland (2015-11317); The Danish Data Protection Agency, the Central Denmark Region (2012-58-006).

KW - Accidents

KW - Animals

KW - Greenland/epidemiology

KW - Humans

KW - Occupational Diseases/epidemiology

KW - Occupational Exposure/adverse effects

KW - Seafood

KW - Workplace

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35088702

SN - 2245-1919

VL - 69

JO - Danish Medical Journal

JF - Danish Medical Journal

IS - 2

M1 - A05210470

ER -

Work environment, occupational diseases and accidents among seafood industry workers in Greenland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

AUB Link

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Research output

Occupational asthma and allergy in the Greenlandic fish processing industry

Cite this