COVID-19: unbalanced management of occupational risks—case of the analysis of the chemical risk related to the use of disinfectants in the dairy industry in Morocco

Moroccan employers have a strong responsibility for the safety and health of their employees in the workplace and for protecting them from the risk of COVID-19 and any occupational hazards, as required by Moroccan law. As a consequence, industries, including the agri-food sector, have put in place p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science and pollution research international 2022-01, Vol.29 (1), p.106-118
Main Authors: Rachidi, Hafida, Hamdaoui, Samir, Merimi, Imane, Bengourram, Jamae, Latrache, Hassan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agribusiness
Agricultural production
Antiseptics
Aquatic Pollution
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Bleaches
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Dairy industry
Dairying
Disinfectants
Disinfection
Disinfection & disinfectants
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecotoxicology
Employees
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Health
Environmental science
Food industry
Health problems
Health risks
Humans
Industrial safety
Materials and Sustainable Development
Morocco
Occupational Exposure
Occupational hazards
Occupational Health
Pandemics
Product safety
Risk analysis
Risk assessment
Risk management
Risk reduction
Safety
Safety measures
SARS-CoV-2
Viral diseases
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:Moroccan employers have a strong responsibility for the safety and health of their employees in the workplace and for protecting them from the risk of COVID-19 and any occupational hazards, as required by Moroccan law. As a consequence, industries, including the agri-food sector, have put in place preventive measures to deal with this pandemic on several fronts, including the use of hydroalcoholic products and bleach for personal and surface disinfection. These disinfection actions may eliminate or reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, but the increased use of these products by employees could lead to serious health problems and increase the occupational chemical risk in the event of uncontrolled exposure. In order to analyze this risk in the dairy industry in Morocco, we have launched a qualitative and quantitative study to identify and assess the severity of chemical risk to which its employees are exposed. This involves an analysis of the safety data sheets [MSDS] of the disinfectants used and a health and safety survey of the users of these products, particularly for hand disinfection. This analysis showed that this chemical risk is omnipresent and prevention measures are partially adopted. Indeed, the strengthening of health safety measures to combat COVID-19 has significantly increased this risk, resulting in a remarkable imbalance in the assessment and management of occupational risks in this industry. These results have led us to propose corrective and preventive measures against this risk to interested parties and to adopt an integrated management of food and occupational health risks in a single system. This is the use of the Risk Analysis—Critical Control Points (HACCP)-Tool for a First Risk Assessment by Activity Analysis (OPERA) approach, which we developed and proposed in a previous study, for a simplified management of chemical risk in the food industry, especially in small- and medium-sized enterprises.
ISSN:0944-1344
1614-7499
DOI:10.1007/s11356-021-13846-1