Accidents and Injuries in Workers of Iron and Steel Industry in West Bengal, India: Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors

This study estimates the prevalence and risk factors of accidents and injuries among iron and steel industry workers. A cross-sectional study ( = 505) was conducted from November 2019 to March 2020 in the Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO), Burnpur, West Bengal, India. The result shows that about 28% of workers experienced accidents and injuries in the last 12 months. The most frequent injuries reported were cuts from sharp objects (37.32%), followed by fractures and dislocation (30.28%) and burns (19.01%), upper head injury (23.24%) and arm/shoulder injury (14.08%). Non-technical education (adjusted odds ratio []: 2.52), higher exposure in risky and polluted areas (: 2.85), alcohol consumption (: 2.47), poor occupational health and safety knowledge (: 0.65) were significantly associated with work-related injuries. Occupational health and safety knowledge and usage of safety measures must be propagated and monitored to curb accidents and injuries among iron and steel industry workers in India.