Alat Kebolehcapaian
HEALTH ADVISORY FOR WORKPLACES DURING HAZE
MINISTRY OF HEALTH, MALAYSIA
Introduction
Haze is a situation where there is pollution to the air by suspended particulate matter. The various determinants of air pollution are, Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Carbon Monoxide and PM10. The fine particulate matter or PM10 (particulate of size 10 micron and below) is the main concern as it may lead to adverse health conditions.
Haze is caused when sunlight encounters tiny pollution particles in the air. Some light is absorbed by particles while other light is scattered away before it reaches an observer. The more the pollutants, the more the absorption and scattering of light, which reduces the clarity and color of what we see. Air quality is determined by the Air Pollutant Index which is measured by the Department of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, stipulates that it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the safety, health and welfare of the employee. The employer is thus responsible to ensure that preventive measures are taken for employees who are performing their tasks during the haze.
Health Effects of Haze
Exposure to haze may cause a variety of adverse health effects. The small particles that cause haze are composed of microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. When inhaled, they can enter the bloodstream and get absorbed by underlying tissue, potentially interacting with other compounds and substances in the body, for example ‘bad’ cholesterol, to produce damaging effects such as inflammation.
Short-term adverse effects of exposure to haze:
These symptoms are usually mild and will subside if exposure to haze is limited by staying indoors. However, in susceptible individuals (e.g. diabetics, elderly) and those suffering from chronic disease, especially respiratory and heart disease (e.g. coronary artery disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), their condition may be worsened by haze and are more likely to experience more severe haze-related effects than healthy people.
Long-term effects of exposure to haze
A large number of particles in a haze are below 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Therefore these ultra small particles stay in the air longer and are easily carried over long distances, increasing their chances of being inhaled by animals and humans.
The long-term risks associated with exposure to fine particles:
General Measures at the Workplace
Identify outdoor work that may be reduced. Ensure the use of respirator for those with prolonged exposure. Those suffering from chronic illnesses, especially heart and respiratory diseases, should remain indoors.
Turn on the air conditioner if available. Ensure adequate ventilation in the closed room.
Fine particles can enter an air-conditioned building through the fresh air intake and by infiltration through openings and gaps.
An air purifier or air cleaning devices may be used to reduce the amount of air contaminants that may be circulating in the building.
Ensure there is sufficient supply of respirators for employees who have to work outdoors
Fit testing should be conducted for employees who need to use respirators
Susceptible employees should be reassigned to indoor tasks until the level of pollution is healthy
General Measures for the Workers
This helps the body to flush out toxins absorbed through the skin and lungs, and improve the immune system.
These promote fluid and nutrient loss from the body.
Personal Protection
A respirator is a protective device worn covering the nose and mouth and is used to reduce the wearer’s risk of inhaling hazardous airborne particles. The respirator filters small airborne particle which cause haze. The N95 respirator may be used to prevent exposure to the haze. (Refer Usage of Personal Protection During Haze at www.moh.gov.my)
Guidelines on Action to be Taken at The Workplace
|
Air Pollutant Index(API) Reading |
Health Effect Description |
Action to be taken at the workplace |
|
0-50 |
Good |
|
|
51-100 |
Moderate |
|
|
101-200 |
Unhealthy |
|
|
201-300 |
Very Unhealthy |
|
|
301-400 |
Hazardous |
|
|
400-500 |
Hazardous |
|
|
>500 |
Hazardous |
|
NASIHAT KESIHATAN KETIKA JEREBU
1. GOLONGAN ORANG YANG BERISIKO TINGGI SEMASA JEREBU
Keadaan jerebu yang berterusan akan mendatangkan kesan buruk kepada semua orang terutama yang berisiko tinggi seperti kanak-kanak, orang tua, wanita mengandung , pesakit jantung dan respiratori juga mereka yang sensitive kepada habuk, orang yang merokok termasuk mereka yang sentiasa bekerja di luar pejabat atau rumah.
2. NASIHAT KESIHATAN SECARA UMUM UNTUK MENCEGAH PENYAKIT AKIBAT JEREBU
3. LANGKAH-LANGKAH PENCEGAHAN DAN KAWALAN KESIHATAN YANG PERLU DIPATUHI SEMASA JEREBU
|
Bacaan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) |
Status | Tahap Pencemaran | Langkah-langkah pencegahan dan kawalan Kesihatan |
|
0-50 |
Baik |
Tahap pencemaran rendah dan tidak membahayakan kesihatan umum |
|
|
51-100 |
Sederhana |
Tahap pencemaran sederhana dan lazimnya tidak membahayakan kesihatan umum |
|
|
101-200 |
Tidak sihat |
Tahap pencemaran boleh menjejaskan kesihatan golongan berisiko tinggi. |
|
|
201-300 |
Sangat tidak menyihatkan |
Tahap pencemaran tinggi yang menjejaskan kesihatan orang ramai dan boleh memburukkan gejala yang dialami oleh mereka yang berisiko tinggi |
|
|
301-400 |
Berbahaya |
Pencemaran yang sangat tinggi dan membahayakan kesihatan. |
|
|
401-500 |
Berbahaya |
Pencemaran yang sangat tinggi dan membahayakan kesihatan. |
|
|
500 ke atas |
Darurat |
Pencemaran yang terlalu tinggi dan sangat membahayakan kesihatan. |
|
Lampiran-lampiran:
langkah pencegahan semasa jerebu 2013.pdf (188.5 KB / 570 Muat turun)
Apakah Jerebu?
Jerebu ialah satu fenomena yang disebabkan oleh kewujudan banyak partikel-partikel kecil yang tidak boleh dilihat oleh mata kasar dan terapung-apung di udara. Partikel-partikel ini mungkin berasal secara semula jadi ataupun kesan sampingan daripada aktiviti manusia. Apabila partikel-partikel ini wujud dalam kuantiti yang banyak dan berkelompok ianya boleh menyekat pancaran cahaya matahari ke bumi. Oleh yang demikian keadaan ini mengurangkan jarak pandangan mata kasar.
Punca - Punca Jerebu
Punca utama jerebu adalah akibat daripada :
HINDARI DARIPADA PERBUATAN YANG BOLEH MENYEBABKAN JEREBU.
Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU)
IPU diperolehi daripada pengukuran habuk yang halus (10 mikron ke bawah) dan beberapa jenis gas yang boleh menjejaskan kesihatan iaitu karbon monoksida, sulfur dioksida, nitrogen dioksida dan ozon. IPU digunakan sebagai panduan untuk mengetahui kualiti udara dan kesannya terhadap kesihatan seperti berikut :-
| NILAI IPU | STATUS |
|---|---|
| 0 - 50 | Baik |
| 51 - 100 | Sederhana |
| 101 - 200 | Tidak Sihat |
| 201 - 300 | Sangat Tidak Sihat |
| 301 - 500 | Berbahaya |
Anda perlu mengikuti perkembangan semasa melalui media massa (akhbar, televisyen dan radio) untuk mengetahui tahap jerebu semasa di tempat anda supaya dapat mengambil langkah - Iangkah pencegahan.
JEREBU MENGANCAM KESIHATAN ANDA
Keadaan jerebu yang berterusan akan mendatangkan kesan yang buruk kepada semua orang terutama golongan yang berisiko tinggi iaitu :-
Apakah Tanda dan Gejala Kesan Jerebu Kepada Kesihatan
Kesan-kesan yang akan dialami setelah terdedah secara berterusan kepada jerebu termasuklah:
Dapatkan rawatan dan nasihat doktor di klinik berhampiran sekiranya anda mempunyai tanda-tanda dan gejala tersebut.
CEGAHLAH PENYAKIT AKIBAT JEREBU. IKUTI NASIHAT BERIKUT:-
USAGE OF PERSONAL PROTECTION DURING HAZE
Personal Protection
Personal protection is required when going outdoors during a haze. The appropriate protection is a device that prevents the inhaling of airborne particles causing the haze. The various protections commonly used are the surgical face mask and the respirator.
Airborne particles causing haze may be as small as 2.5 microns. The use of the surgical mask will not prevent one from inhaling the small airborne particles. Therefore the recommended protection is the use of the respirator.
Use of Respirators
A respirator is a protective device worn covering the nose and mouth and is used to reduce the wearer’s risk of inhaling hazardous airborne particles. Respirators work better than surgical masks as they seal better and restrict more polluted air from entering the nose and mouth. They also come with the right filter to remove fine particles found in a haze. The N95 respirator may be used as protection during the haze. The respirator filters the small airborne particles and can reduce exposure to the haze. The N95 mask is effective only if used correctly.
The use of N95 masks increases effort in breathing. For some people, the use of N95 mask may cause discomfort breathing, tiredness or headache. This may be due to the mask causing increased resistance to breathing, and a reduction in the volume of air breathed. For most people this is not serious however in precautions must be taken in certain categories of people.
Precautions to Using the Respirator
N95 mask is not suitable for pregnant women and children. Persons with chronic lung or heart conditions who feel uncomfortable when wearing the N95 masks should stop doing so and consult a doctor before carrying on.
Facial hair, like a beard or mustache, can affect the respirator's ability to protect as it comes between the wearer’s face and the respirator's seal. It can also get into the respirator's valves can allow contaminated air to leak into the respirator face piece. Long hair may also get between the respirator seal and wearer’s face allowing contaminated air to leak into the respirator.
Using the Respirator
1. Respirator must be worn correctly for effective protection
2. Respiratory fit testing must be performed to ensure the correct usage of the
respirator.
Introduction
Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic ash, dust, sand and snow. Sources for haze particles include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, and wildfires.
Haze often occurs when dust and smoke particles accumulate in relatively dry air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and other pollutants they concentrate and form a usually low-hanging shroud that impairs visibilityand may become a respiratory health threat. Industrial pollution can result in dense haze, which is also known assmog.
For these reasons, sunrise and sunset colors appear subdued on hazy days, and stars may be obscured at night. In some cases, attenuation by haze is so great that, toward sunset, the sun disappears altogether before reaching the horizon.
The main pollutant of concern to health during a smoke haze is the fine particulate matter or PM10 (particulate size of 10 micron and below). The health effect depends on the severity of the smoke haze as described by the PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) reading. At PSI > 100, the air quality is deemed UNHEALTHY.
The air quality in Malaysia is reported as the API or Air Pollutant Index. Four of the index's pollutant components (i.e., carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) are reported in ppmv but PM10 particulate matter is reported in μg/m3.
Pathophysiology of smoking and respiratory defence mechanism
The innate defense system of the lung includes the apparatus for producing and clearing mucous, the epithelial cell barrier and infiltrating inflammatory immune cells.
Chronic stimulation of this system by the tobacco-smoking habit results in both increased production and decreased clearance of mucous from the airway’s lumen, causing disruption of the tight junctions that form the epithelial barrier and infiltration of the damaged tissue by polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes as well as natural killer cells and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and B-cell lymphocytes. The adaptive immune response requires antigen presentation primarily by dendritic cells and the organization of the lymphocytes into follicles with germinal centres.
This type of response is rarely found in healthy non-smokers but has been documented in about 5 percent of peripheral lung units of smokers with normal lung function, increasing to about 20 to 30 percent of airways in the later stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Resultant effect of both smokers and haze
The persistent innate and adaptive immune inflammatory response present in the lungs of all long-term smokers appears to be amplified in those smokers who develop severe COPD. Cigarette smoke when inhaled directly or second-hand smoke exposure comprising more than 7,000 chemicals; whereby hundreds of these are hazardous and at least 69 are known to cause cancer, provides an extraordinary strong dose of free radicals to the lung coupled with an exacerbation of a synergistic effect due to the particulate pollutant components (i.e., carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) from the haze which is rapidly absorbed by cells in the body and produce disease causing cellular changes. This also initiates processes of oxidative injury that involve multiple cell types and the entire lung.
Local inflammation results and markers of inflammation becomes higher, both in smokers and in persons with COPD, than are those in non-smokers. Oxidative stress unfavourably tips the protease-antiprotease balance toward protease, leading to tissue damage and COPD.
The tobacco smoke, which comprises an aerosol (a mixture of solid and liquid particles) and gases, has thousands of chemical components, including many well-characterized toxins and carcinogens (International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC] 2004). Many of these components are in the gaseous phase and others are components of the particles coupled with the particulate pollutant components (i.e., carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) from the haze. With this involuntary inhalation resultant effect have the potential to injure the airways and alveoli.
The size of particles in the smoke inhaled directly from a cigarette (mainstream smoke) has been studied and indicates that the mass median aerodynamic diameter of particles is 0.3 to 0.4 micrometers (μm) (Martonen 1992; Bernstein 2004). Particles of this size penetrate to and are deposited in the deep lung. This is eventually coupled with the inhalation of particulate pollutant components which measures the particulate size of 10 micron and below) in the smoky haze.
This resultant effect of exposure both to cigarette smoke and the inhalation of particulate pollutant components from the haze would result in an obstructive ventilatory defect with a decreased FEV1 / FVC; restrictive ventilatory defect resulting in a decreased TLC; abnormal uptake of gas by Hgb across alveolar capillary membrane and disorders with airway dysequilibration (emphysema). The substantial volume of air inhaled daily by an adult which amounts to 10,000 litres per day together with the harmful impurities (arising both from cigarette smoke and haze) results in deterioration of the pulmonary function capabilities of an individual.
A causal conclusion on smoking and deterioration of pulmonary function capabilities with exposure to haze
This infers a causal conclusion of a deterioratory effect between smoking and all major respiratory symptoms among adults, including coughing, phlegm, wheezing, dyspnoea, breathlessness among children of school age, poor asthma control amongst adults and children of school age, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for both active smoking and involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke during haze.
A Serious Notation From The Ministry of Health Malaysia
Stop smoking immediately in haze environments in order to sustain your pulmonary function capabilities healthily.
Pemakanan yang sihat adalah penting semasa musim berjerebu untuk mempertahankan sistem imunisasi badan dan menjauhkan diri kita dari mendapat pelbagai penyakit yang ada kaitan dengan jerebu .
Air adalah satu keperluan bagi setiap individu. Air diperlukan di dalam badan sebagai pelarut makanan, garam mineral dan vitamin. Air juga diperlukan untuk mengawal suhu badan dan melancarkan peredaran darah.Air penting untuk meningkatkan kadar metabolisma tubuh dan kadar pembakaran lemak .Minum air kosong pada masa tertentu akan membantu meningkatkan kadar metabolisma badan. Semasa musim berjerebu, cuaca sekeliling yang kering dan panas akan meningkatkan keperluan tubuh terhadap cecair. Ini adalah penting untuk menyeimbangi agar suhu badan tidak terus meningkat.
Kita perlu kekal aktif untuk mengekalkan kesihatan tubuh badan dan bagi mengelakkan pelbagai penyakit. Kita disarankan berjalan 10 ribu langkah sehari atau melakukan aktiviti fizikal sederhana seperti berjalan laju, berkebun atau berbasikal selama 150 minit seminggu. Pada lazimnya, aktiviti fizikal adalah dilakukan di luar rumah. Keadaan berjerebu sekarang menyebabkan kita menyekat aktiviti luar rumah kerana semua kegiatan luar perlu dielakkan jika Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) melebihi 100 bagi mengelakkan masalah-masalah kesihatan yang berkaitan dengan menyedut dan terdedah kepada udara berjerebu yang tercemar. Ini secara tidak langsung boleh mengurangkan aktiviti fizikal kita. Ia tidak semestinya begitu! Berikut adalah tips bagaimana untuk meningkatkan aktiviti fizikal kita walaupun keadaan berjerebu:
Jangan lupa minum air yang mencukupi iaitu 2 liter sehari dan tidak merokok ketika keadaan berjerebu. Pemasangan penghawa dingin dan alat penapis udara adalah digalakkan. Aktiviti fizikal diluar boleh diteruskan jika IPU kurang daripada 100. Walaubagaimanapun, bagi mereka yang menghidap asma atau sedang mengalami batuk selsema dan irritasi kulit, mereka disarankan supaya mengelakkan diri dari keluar dari rumah dan bangunan sehingga IPU mencapai kurang dari 50. Diharap tips diatas dapat membantu kita untuk kekal aktif dan sihat walaupun dalam keadaan berjerebu
Selain daripada warga emas dan kanak-kanak, para penghidap penyakit kronik juga adalah golongan berisiko untuk mengalami kesan buruk akibat terdedah kepada udara yang berjerebu. Jerebu mengandungi partikel yang sangat kecil yang boleh membawa bahan toksik yang dapat masuk ke dalam peparu dan diserap ke dalam darah.1
Penghidap penyakit kronik terutamanya penghidap asma (lelah), penghidap obstruksi persafasan kronik, penghidap penyakit jantung, diabetes (kencing manis) dan darah tinggi perlu mengelakkan diri daripada keluar dari rumah sehinggalah tahap Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) kurang daripada 100.
Kajian menunjukkan terdapat peningkatan serangan asma, peningkatan jangkitan pernafasan, pengurangan fungsi peparu, peningkatan kejadian susah nafas, batuk-batuk dan iritasi mata semasa keadaan berjerebu2. Ada juga bukti yang mengaitkan peningkatan serangan jantung akibat terdedah dengan udara berjerebu.3 Oleh itu adalah penting bagi penghidap penyakit-penyakit kronik yang berkenaan untuk mengelakkan diri daripada terdedah dengan jerebu bagi mengelakkan keadaan kesihatan mereka menjadi lebih teruk. Berikut adalah langkah-langkah berjaga-jaga yang boleh diambil oleh penghidap penyakit kronik:
Diharap langkah-langkah diatas dapat membantu para pesakit kronik untuk menghadapi keadaan berjerebu ini.
Rujukan