Occupational Lead Exposure among Petrol Station Workers in Sana’a City, Yemen: Awareness and Self-Reported Symptoms

Background: This study assessed the awareness of occupational lead exposure risks, self-reported lead poisoning symptoms and work practices and using personal protective equipment among petrol station workers in Sana'a city, Yemen.
Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 172 petrol station workers in nine districts of Sana'a between January and May 2017. Data about demographic characteristics, awareness of the lead exposure risks, self-reported lead poisoning symptoms and work practices and use of personal protective equipment were collected. Inclusion criteria were workers who gave informed consent to participate, were aged 18-60 years and had been working for ≥6 months. The data were then analyzed using appropriate statistical tests.
Results: The majority of workers were aware of the adverse health effects of leaded petrol (61.0%) and that lead is an environmental pollutant (60.5%). However, personal protective equipment was poorly used. Workers with secondary education and above had better practices than those with primary education. Approximately 76.2% of workers had poor knowledge of lead risks, and 13.4% of them had good practices. The most common self-reported symptoms were neurological, including fatigue (68.0%), concentration difficulties (61.6%), joint pain (58.1%) and headache (55.2%).
Conclusions: Petrol station workers in Sana’a realize the exposure to lead risks because leaded petrol is the fuel type used in the country. Although the majority of workers perceived such adverse health effects, use of personal protective equipment was poor among most of them. The level of workers’ education seems to influence their practices of using personal protective equipment.