The Research Study of Health Risk Management of Laboratory Workplaces for Policy-Driven Approach to Prevention and Control of Occupational and Environmental Diseases Caused by Toxic Chemicals

Main Article Content

Nalinee Sripaung
Patpida Siripongpokin
Satit Namwicha

Abstract

According to many potential health hazards in laboratory workplaces, the research study was aimed to study the health risk management for driving policy on occupational and environmental diseases caused by toxic chemicals from laboratory workplaces. The research was carried out by three phases. Phase I (2008 - 2011) studied the health risk factors by health risk assessment accompanied with the in-depth interview in five kinds of specific sampling laboratories in both government organization and non-government organization, locating in 10 provinces of Thailand, for the baseline data. Phase II (2012 – 2016) and Phase III (2017 – 2019) conducted to the comparison of the secondary data about policy of the four mains-involved ministries and relevant research studies. The obtained data were analyzed and interpreted by the descriptive statistic. The results showed that 80 percent of laboratory workplaces had no any occupational health and safety, and waste management. The 100 percent of laboratory workplaces had no health examination by risk factors on the same standard. In addition, the 100 percent of policies of the four mains-involved ministries had no focusing on the same standards in both health examination by risk factors and the waste management to the surrounding community. Besides, there was no regulation of the mentioned issues on the government laboratory. Therefore, the policies for standard criteria of health examination by risk factor for laboratory workers and waste management for environment of surrounding community should be driven by the cooperation mechanism among the four mains-involved ministries.

Article Details

How to Cite
Sripaung, N. ., Siripongpokin, P. ., & Namwicha, S. . (2020). The Research Study of Health Risk Management of Laboratory Workplaces for Policy-Driven Approach to Prevention and Control of Occupational and Environmental Diseases Caused by Toxic Chemicals. Thai Journal of Toxicology, 35(1), 63–85. retrieved from https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ThaiJToxicol/article/view/245025
Section
Research Articles
Author Biographies

Nalinee Sripaung

Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. 
E-mail: 5nsripaung@gmail.com

Patpida Siripongpokin

Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

Satit Namwicha

Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

References

ILO. Description of national OSH regulatory framework, LEGOSH. In: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH): Thailand 2014. Geneva: ILO, 2014. Available at https://www.ilo.org/ dyn/legosh/en/f?p=14100:1100:0::NO::P1100_ISO_CODE3,P1100_SUBCODE_CODE,P1100_YEAR:THA, accessed May 5, 2017.

Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). The Second national economic and social development plan (2017-2021). Bangkok: NESDB, 2017. Available at: https://www.nesdc.go.th/ewt

_w3c/ewt_dl_link.php?filename=develop_issue&nid=3777, accessed May 5, 2017.(in Thai)

Occupational Safety and Health Bureau. 2. OSH Policy, Guidelines and Work Plans. In: National Profile on Occupational Safety and Health of Thailand 2012. Bangkok: Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. Ministry of Labour, 2012.

WHO. Workers’ health: global plan of action: Sixtieth World Health Assembly: WHA60.26 Agenda item 12.13. 23. Geneva: WHO, 2007.

WHO. Safety in health-care laboratories. In: Health Laboratory Technology Unit. Geneva: WHO, 1997. Available at: https://apps. who.int/iris/handle/10665/63993, accessed May 20, 2019].

Nascimento EDS, Alfredo TF. Chemical waste risk reduction and environmental impact generated by laboratory activities in research and teaching institutions. Braz J Pharm Sci 2010; 46(2): 187-98.

Wiwanitkit V. Ethical concerns on the use of laboratory waste. J Med Assoc Thai 2007; 90(6): 1259-60.

Hackling M. The status of school science laboratory technicians in Australian secondary schools. Research report. Western Australia: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Education Research Institute. School of Education, Edith Cowan University, 2009. Available at https://asta.edu.au/generic/file-widget/ download/id/354, accessed Aug 1, 2017.

International Organization for Standardization. Friendship among equals: recollections from ISO's first fifty years. Geneva. ILO, 1997.

Kusum M, Silva P. Quality standards in health laboratories implementation in Thailand: a novel approach. India: WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, 2005. Available at https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/205732, accessed May 5, 2019.

Sithisarankul P, Santiyanont R, Wongpinairat C, et al. Situation analysis of occupational and environmental health laboratory accreditation in Thailand. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 2002; 33(2): 400-9.

Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). The Tenth national economic and social development plan (2007-2011). Bangkok: Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Office of the Prime Minister, 2017. (in Thai)

Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). The eleventh national economic and social development plan (2012-2016). Bangkok: Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Office of the Prime Minister, 2017.

Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). The twelfth national economic and social development plan (2017-2021). Bangkok: Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board, Office of the Prime Minister, 2017.

Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Public Health Act, B.E. 2535 (A.D. 1992). Nonthaburi: MOPH, 1992. Available at: http://laws.anamai.moph.go.th/ewtadmin/ewt/laws/main.php?filename=1HLaws2016, accessed May 5, 2019.

Social Security Office (SSO). Workmen’s Compensation Act ,B.E. 2537 (A.D.1994). Nonthaburi: SSO, Ministry of Labour, 1994. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex

/docs/ELECTRONIC/46852/91104/F-194461 2989/THA46852%20%20Eng.pdf, accessed May 5, 2019.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE). Promotion and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act, B.E. 2535 (A.D. 1992). Bangkok: MNRE, 1992. Available at http://infofile.pcd.go.th/law/NEQA1992eng.pdf?CFID=2074557&CFTOKEN=23033107, accessed Jan 20, 2020.

Department of Industrial Works. Factory Act B.E. 2535 (1992). Bangkok: Ministry of Industry, 1992. Available at http://web.krisdika.go.th/data//document/ext809/809898_ 0001.pdf, accessed Apr 20, 2019.

Ministry of Labour (MOL). Labour Protection Act Issue 4, B.E. 2553 (A.D.2010). Bangkok:MOL, 2010. Available at https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_ lang=en&p_ isn=89336, accessed Jan 5, 2020.

Ministry of Labour (MOL). Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Act,B.E. 2554 (A.D. 2011). Bangkok: MOL, 2011. Available at http://legal.labour.go.th/2018/images/law

/Safety2554/safety54eng.pdf, accessed Apr 20, 2019.

Ministry of Labour (MOL). Ministrial Regulation on the Prescribing of Criteria and Method of Conducting Health Checkup of Employees and Forwarding the Results of Health Check up to Labour Inspector, B.E. 2547(A.D. 2004). Bangkok: MOL. Available at https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/

MONOGRAPH/96400/113906/F417775404/THA 96400% 20Eng.pdf, accessed Apr 20, 2019.

Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. Notification of Occupational Diseases and work related diseases, B.E. 2550 (A.D. 2007). In: National Profile on Occupational Safety and Health of Thailand. Bangkok: Ministry of Labour, 2007. Available at: https:// www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/ groups/ public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro bangkok/documents/policy

/wcms_192111.pdf, accessed Apr 20, 2019.

Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), Notification of Ministry of Labour: specification hazardous chemical substances which the employer shall arrange medical checkup for employee, B.E. 2552 (2009). Bangkok: IEAT, 2009. Available at https://www.ieat.go.th /handbook/Program_

IEAT/pages/en/Department/MOL.html, accessed Apr 20, 2019.

Environmental Impact Assessment Division. Notification of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on projects, undertakings, or operations required to provide an environmental impact assessment report and rules, procedure, and conditions in providing an environmental impact assessment report (No. 2), B.E. 2561 (2018). Bangkok: Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), 2018.

Available at: http://www.onep.go.th/eia/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Eialaweng.pdf, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

Environmental Impact Assessment Division. Notification of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on projects, undertakings, or operations which may seriously impact natural resources, environmental quality, health, sanitation, life quality of people in a community that are required to provide an environmental impact assessment report and rules, procedure, and conditions in providing an environmental impact assessment report. B.E. 2561 (2018). Bangkok: Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), 2018. Available at http://www.onep.go.th/ eia/wp-content/ uploads/2019/04/ laweng EHIA.pdf, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

Strategy and Planning Division. Public Health Statistics B.E. 2559 (A.D. 2016). Nonthaburi: Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health. Available at http://bps.moph.go.th/new_bps/sites/default/files/health_ strategy 2559.pdf, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

National Statistical Office. Summary of the labor force survey in Thailand. Bangkok: Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, 2016. Available at http://web.nso.go.th/en/survey/lfs/lfs_main.htm, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

Pollution Control Department. Summary of Pollution Situation of Thailand, B.E. 2561 (A.D. 2018). Bangkok: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 2018. Available at http://www.pcd.go.th/file/Thailand%20Poll

ution%20Report%202018_Thai.pdf, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

Department of Industrial Works. Factorial Statistics B.E. 2551 – 2560. (A.D. 2008 – 2017). Bangkok: Ministry of Industry, 2017. Available at https:// www.diw.go.th/hawk/ content.php?mode=spss61, accessed Apr 5, 2019.

Office of Workmen’s Compensation Fund. Diagnostic criteria of occupational diseases commemorative edition on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King’s 80th birthday 5 December 2007. Nonthaburi: Social Security Office (SSO), Ministry of Labour, 2007.

The Thai Industrial Standardization Institute (TISI). Guidelines in physical Examination for chemical and physical occupational health risk factors in workplace TIS 2547-2555, B.E. 2555 (2013). Bangkok: TISI. Available at http://www.sec.psu.ac.th/th/file/safety/safety12.pdf, accessed Sep 20, 2019. (in Thai)

Sripaung N, Thongkamsuk T, Yapun S, et al. Notification of Department of Disease Control: Recommendation of Thai Biological Exposure Indices (Issue I). Bangkok: Department of Disease Control: Ovit –Thailand Ltd Press; 2015. (in Thai)

Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases. Healthy, Safety, Happy Workplaces. Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases. Nonthaburi: Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, 2019. Available at: http://envocc.ddc.moph.go.th/, accessed Sep 20, 2020.

Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases. Manual of risk assessment of health-care in hospital B.E.2550 (A.D. 2007). Bangkok: The Agriculture Co-operative Federation of Thailand Ltd Press. 2007. (in Thai)

Bureau of Laboratory Quality Standards. Annual Report B.E. 2561 (A.D. 2018). Nonthaburi: Department of Medical Science. 2561. (In Thai)

Pollution Control Department. Pollution Solution at Map ta Phut area: Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers: PRTR. Bangkok: Pollution Control Department, 2018. Available at http://www.pcd.go.th/Info_serv/ pol_ maptapoot_ wastePRTR.html, accessed Sep 20, 2019. (In Thai)

Thailand Environment Institute (TEI). Project of promotion of pollutant release transfer register (PRTR) (in Rayong, Samuthprakarn). Bangkok: TEI, 2017. Available at http://www.tei.or.th/trainingprtr/about.html, accessed Sep 20, 2019.

Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI). TISI in Brief Bangkok: TISI, 2015. Available at https:// www.tisi.go. th/tisiinbrief, accessed Sep 20, 2019.

Regional Office for South – East Asia and Ministry of Public Health. Human Resources for health country profile Thailand. Nonthaburi: Ministry of Public Health, 2010. Available at http://ihppthaigov.net/DB/ publication/ attachresearch/293/chapter1.pdf, accessed Sep 20, 2019.

Human Resources for Health Research and Development Office (HRDO). Executive summary: Policy recommendation for human resources on health in the next 10 years (B.E. 2560 – 2569). Nonthaburi: HRDO, 2019. Available at: https:// 248652 - 897248-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpath dns.com/wp-content/uploads /2019/05, accessed Dec 20, 2019. (in Thai)

Bureau of Epidemiology. The answer for the question of International Health Regulations (IHR). Bangkok: The Agricultural Co-operative Federation of Thailand, Ltd. Press, 2014.

International Programme on Chemical Safety. The Fourth National Strategic Plan on Chemicals Management (2012-2021). Nonthaburi: Technical and Planning Division, Food and Drug Administration, 2017. Available at: http://thaiipcs. fda. moph.go.th/eng/PDFfile/block/%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%99%204%20%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A4%E0%B8%A9.pdf, accessed Dec 20, 2019.

Meyoutam C, Sithisarankul P, Occupational safety and health of clinical laboratories. Chula Med J 2018; 62 (5). 773 – 84.

Kanthaorn W, Songthap A, Factors affecting preventive health risk behaviors from working among medical laboratory workers at tertiary in lower northern Thailand. J Med Health Sci 2018; 25 (1). 23 – 7.

Pollution Control Department (PCD). Report of emergency/important situation of pollution and environment: statistics of chemicals incident (January – December B.E. 2555 (A.D. 2012). Bangkok: PCD, 2012. Available at http://gendb.pcd.go.th/hers/statall.asp?txtKeyword=2555, accessed Dec 20, 2019.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Fact Sheet. Laboratory Safety Ergonomics for the prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders. Washington, DC: OSHA, 2011. Available at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/laboratory/OSHAfactsheet-laboratory-safety-ergonomics.pdf, accessed Dec 20, 2019.

Chemical Information Management Unit. Statistics of chemicals incident (January B.E. 2549 – June B.E. 2555) and analytical data. Bangkok: Science and Technology Postgraduate Education and Research Development Office (PERDO), Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Chulalongkorn University, 2017. Available at http://www.chemtrack.org/doc/f646.pdf, accessed Dec 20, 2019. (In Thai)

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Laboratory Incidents January 2001–July 2018: CSB News Release. WA: U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2018. Available at https:// www.csb.gov/assets/1/17/csb_laboratory_incident_data.pdf? 16376, accessed Dec 20, 2019.

Michael C. Lab Safety: Terrifying statistics. Massachusetts: Laboratory Safety Institute, 2019. Available at https://www.labsafety.org/lab-safety terrifying -statistics, accessed Jan 5, 2020.

Ménard AD, Trant JF.A review and critique of academic lab safety research. Nature Chemistry 2020; 12:17–25. Available at https://www. nature.com/articles/ s41557-019-0375-x#article-info, accessed Apr 20, 2020.

Gopalaswami N, Han Z. Analysis of laboratory incident database. JLPPI 2020; 64: March 2020, 104027. Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jlp.2019. 104027: 104027, accessed Apr 20, 2020.

Chantaro S. Safety Management in Laboratory following ESPRel. In: Knowledge summary of safety research laboratory project; 8 February B.E. 2560 (A.D. 2017). Pathumthani: Thammasat University Rangsit Campus, 2017. Available at https:// pharm.tu.ac.th/uploads/pharm/pdf/km/60_4.pdf, accessed Apr 20, 2020. (in Thai).

Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Control of Occupational Diseases and Environmental Diseases Act, B.E. 2562 (A.D. 2019). Nonthaburi: MOPH 2019.Available at: https://ddc.moph.go.th/uploads/files/8420191010020910.PDF, accessed May 5, 2019. (in Thai)

Department of Science Service (DSS). Responsibilities: Bureau of Laboratory Accreditation. DSS, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, 2015.Available at http://www.dss.go.th/eng/

index.php/ departments/a/bla, accessed Apr 20, 2020.