Assessing Workers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Safety Practices on the Prevalence of Occupational Hazards among Quarry Workers in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study assesses workers' knowledge, attitude, and safety practices regarding the prevalence of occupational hazards among quarry workers in Ogun State, Nigeria. The research aims to address the risk that these hazards pose to quarry industry workers and the paucity of research on them. A total of 180 structured questionnaires was randomly distributed to the workers from six selected quarry industries, with 162 completed questionnaires used for the analysis. The responses were summarized using measures of central tendency and variability, while relationships between variables and their significance were determined using Chi-square statistical tests. The sociodemographic characteristics show that permanent workers ranked highest under employment types, while smoking is the least favored activity among employees under social engagement, with 15 workers and approximately 67 employees having 5–10 years of working experiences. The level of knowledge among workers regarding occupational hazards tends to be insignificant, with a p-value of 0.551. At a p-value of 0.016, it was found that approximately 159 employees agreed with the attitude regarding the usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety training, which significantly differs across all job categories. Also, there is a significant difference (p-value = 0.000) in the safety practices for equipment use and a safe workplace environment across all job categories. The study concluded that to sustain good safety practices and improve on areas of safety issues in the study area, quarry operators need to adopt a safety culture that places a high priority on active learning and strict adherence to operating procedures.