Occupational Health and Safety Practices among Stone Crushing and Quarrying Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study from Poonch District of J&K India

Occupational health is one of the unheeded public health concerns throughout the developing nations. Present study was conducted in the Poonch district of J&K, India, to assess the status of occupational health and safety practices among the workers engaged in the stone-crushing and quarrying sector. To obtain data, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 160 workers randomly selected from the stone-crushing units operating in the area. Regardless of age or work experience, the survey found that the majority of the workers suffer from a wide range of occupational health concerns, with respiratory ailments (74.38%) accounting for the majority of these followed by skin-related issues (63.75%), hearing problems (61.25%), headaches (52.5%), chest pain (44.38%), eye problems (41.25%), backache, fatigue (40%), and minor injuries (8.75%) respectively. Poor working conditions and the practice of not wearing safety devices during working hours are likely to be the causes of these health issues. Moreover, there was a lack of appropriate PPEs to protect employees at various working sites. The study recommended that appropriate health care and safety measures must be developed and implemented in this sector along with training for workers to minimize occupational hazards during working hours.