Table 1
Coordinates of mapped out areas.
| Description | X (Longitude) | Y (Latitude) |
|---|---|---|
| BIF | –0.22478 | 5.553944 |
| FA | –0.22653 | 5.552306 |
| MWE | –0.22447 | 5.553111 |
| NCP | –0.225 | 5.553778 |
| NEW | –0.22642 | 5.554167 |
| SCP | –0.22669 | 5.551056 |
| SCWB | –0.22522 | 5.551528 |
| SE | –0.22731 | 5.550583 |
| SWE | –0.224 | 5.552472 |
| WB | –0.22397 | 5.553278 |
| WBE | –0.21667 | 5.553278 |
Figure 1
Spatial distribution of e-waste processing activities at Agbogbloshie.
Table 2
Demographic characteristics of study subjects.
| Characteristic | Activity space | P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collecting | Sorting | Dismantling | Burning | Total | ||
| Age | P = 0.010 | |||||
| <20 | 3 (8.6) | 1 (6.3) | 7 (18.0) | 9 (40.9) | 20 (17.9) | |
| 20–29 | 22 (62.9) | 7 (43.8) | 23 (59.0) | 11 (50.0) | 63 (56.3) | |
| 30 – 39 | 8 (22.9) | 6 (37.5) | 8 (20.5) | 0 (0.0) | 22 (19.6) | |
| 40+ | 2 (5.7) | 2 (12.5) | 1 (2.6) | 2 (9.1) | 7 (6.3) | |
| Mean (SD) | 26.1 (6.8) | 28.1 (7.6) | 24.5 (6.1) | 22.1 (9.9) | 25.3 (7.5) | |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Unmarried | 16 (45.7) | 6 (37.5) | 18 (46.2) | 10 (45.5) | 50 (44.6) | |
| Married | 19 (54.3) | 10 (62.5) | 21 (53.9) | 12 (54.6) | 62 (55.4) | |
| Highest education | P = 0.314 | |||||
| None | 16 (45.7) | 8 (50.0) | 11 (28.2) | 4 (18.2) | 39 (34.8) | |
| Primary | 9 (25.7) | 4 (25.0) | 13 (33.3) | 10 (45.5) | 36 (32.1) | |
| Junior High | 3 (8.6) | 0 (0.0) | 6 (15.4) | 4 (18.2) | 13 (11.6) | |
| Secondary | 7 (20.0) | 4 (25.0) | 8 (20.51) | 3 (13.6) | 22 (19.6) | |
| Region | ||||||
| Northern | 33 (94.3) | 14 (87.5) | 33 (84.6) | 20 (90.9) | 100 (89.3) | |
| Others | 2 (7.1) | 2 (12.5) | 6 (15.4) | 2 (9.1) | 12 (10.7) | |
| Ethnic group | ||||||
| Dagomba | 33 (94.3) | 14 (87.5) | 27 (69.2) | 15 (68.2) | 89 (79.5) | |
| others | 2 (5.7) | 2 (12.5) | 11 (28.2) | 7 (31.8) | 22 (19.6) | |
| Length of work | P = 0.497 | |||||
| 6–12 months | 4 (11.4) | 1 (6.25) | 4 (10.3) | 4 (18.2) | 13 (11.6) | |
| 1–5 years | 13 (37.1) | 4 (25.0) | 11 (28.2) | 10 (45.5) | 38 (33.9) | |
| >5 | 17 (48.6) | 11 (68.8) | 24 (61.5) | 8 (36.4) | 60 (53.6) | |
| Daily working hours | ||||||
| 5–10 hours | 9 (25.7) | 3 (18.8) | 9 (23.8) | 5 (22.7) | 26 (23.2) | |
| 11–15 hours | 24 (68.6) | 12 (75.0) | 30 (76.9) | 16 (72.7) | 82 (73.2) | |
[i] Fischer’s exact p-value was used due to low cell count, below 5.
Table 3
Injury experience among e-waste worker groups.
| Characteristic Assessed | Activity space | Statistic P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collectors | Sorters | Dismantlers | Burners | Total | ||
| Injuriesb | ||||||
| Cuts | 30 (85.7) | 13 (81.3) | 37 (94.9) | 20 (90.9) | 100 (96.2) | 0.799 |
| Lacerations | 10 (26.3) | 5 (31.3) | 29 (74.4) | 12 (54.5) | 56 (46.6) | 0.208 |
| Abrasions | 1 (2.8) | 3 (18.9) | 15 (38.5) | 3 (13.6) | 22 (16.3) | 0.038 |
| Total no. of cases | 35 (100.0) | 16 (100.0) | 39 (100.0) | 22 (100.0) | 112 (100.0) | |
[i] b Multiple responses allowed for various injuries and skin conditions. Fischer’s exact p-value was used due to low cell count, below 5.
Table 4
Skin conditions among the different worker-category/activity space.
| Characteristic Assessed | Activity space | Statistic P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collectors | Sorters | Dismantlers | Burners | Total | ||
| Skin conditionsb | ||||||
| Rashes | 27 (96.4) | 14 (87.5) | 39 (100.0) | 19 (90.5) | 99 (93.6) | 0.275 |
| Scars | 3 (10.7) | 3 (8.5) | 4 (10.5) | 6 (28.6) | 16 (14.6) | 0.201 |
| Skin peeling | 0 | 0 | 3 (7.9) | 1 (4.8) | 4 (3.9) | 0.368 |
| Cumulative no. of cases | 35 (100.0) | 16 (100.0) | 39 (100.0) | 22 (100.0) | 112 (100.0) | |
| Burns | <0.001 | |||||
| No | 30 (93.8) | 14 (93.3) | 31 (88.6) | 5 (22.7) | 80 (76.9) | |
| Yes | 2 (6.3) | 1 (6.7) | 4 (11.4) | 17 (77.3) | 24 (23.1) | |
| Cumulative burns | 32 (100.0) | 15 (100.0) | 35 (100.0) | 22 (100.0) | 104 (100.0) | |
| Mean Scar #s/person | 35 | 16 | 36 | 22 | 112 | |
| Number Mean | 17.0 | 21.4 | 30.6 | 27.0 | 24.3 | |
| Stand. dev | 9.8 | 10.5 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 12.3 | |
| P50 | 16 | 23 | 32 | 30 | 25.5 | |
| IQR | 15 | 14.5 | 13 | 10 | 18 | |
[i] b Multiple responses allowed for various injuries and skin conditions. Fischer’s exact p-value was used due to low cell count, below 5. Stand dev – standard deviation, P50 – 50th Percentile, IQR-Intra Quartile Range.
Table 5
Association between injury levels and worker-characteristics.
| Characteristic | Injuries | Total no. of cases | P-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuts | Lacerations | Abrasions | |||
| Age | 0.250 | ||||
| <20 | 14 (77.8) | 4 (22.2) | 2 (11.1) | 18 | |
| 20–29 | 46 (80.7) | 12 (21.1) | 5 (8.8) | 57 | |
| 30–39 | 14 (82.4) | 4 (23.5) | 2 (11.8) | 17 | |
| 40+ | 2 (33.3) | 2 (33.3) | 2 (33.3) | 6 | |
| Marital status | 0.114 | ||||
| Unmarried | 36 (81.8) | 6 (13.6) | 2 (4.6) | 44 | |
| Married | 40 (74,1) | 16 (29.6) | 9 (16.7) | 54 | |
| Length of work | 0.901 | ||||
| 6–12 months | 10 (83.3) | 2 (16.7) | 2 (16.7) | 12 | |
| 1–5 years | 25 (75.8) | 7 (21.2) | 3 (9.1) | 33 | |
| >5 | 40 (77.3) | 13 (25.0) | 6 (11.5) | 52 | |
| Daily working/hours | 0.416 | ||||
| 5–10 hours | 15 (71.4) | 5 (23.8) | 1 (4.8) | 21 | |
| 11–15 hours | 59 (80.8) | 15 (20.6) | 9 (12.3) | 73 | |
Table 6
Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure across activity spaces.
| Characteristic | Activity space | P-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collecting | Sorting | Dismantling | Burning | Total | ||
| Blood pressure | ||||||
| Mean systolic Hg | 123.1 ±11.3 | 120.7 ± 11.7 | 121.7 ± 12.8 | 119.7 ± 3.9 | 121.6 ± 12.3 | 0.773 |
| Mean diastolic Hg | 72.8 ± 8.7 | 73.1 ± 10.5 | 74.1 ± 8.7 | 72.4 ± 9.5 | 73.2 ± 9.0 | 0.887 |
| Hypertension | 0.315 | |||||
| Normotensive | 29 (82.9) | 16 (100.0) | 36 (92.3) | 20 (90.9) | 101 (90.2) | |
| Hypertensive | 6 (17.1) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (7.7) | 2 (9.1) | 11 (9.8) | |
| Total | 35 (100.0) | 16 (100.0) | 39 (100.0) | 22 (100.0) | 112 (100.0) | |
[i] ANOVA used to test for association.