Incidence of Occupational Health Hazards and Safety Culture at Tema Oil Refinery (Tor) In Ghana: Exploring the Symbiotic Relationship (Published)
This study examined a symbiotic relationship between Occupational health hazards and safety culture at Tema oil refinery in Ghana. The study employed both exploratory and descriptive research designs. Convenient sampling technique and structured questionnaires were deployed to elicit information from 186 participants. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study discovered that employees are continuously been exposed to chemical substances – the incessant exposure to hazardous chemical poses health complications like respiratory diseases, reproductive disorders, cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases and others. Furthermore the study revealed that protective wears and equipment are inadequate resulting in the inhalation of hazardous chemicals and sometimes spill over their skin. Moreover, the study found that there are lapses and weak ergonomic arrangements in the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). The study found that job description at TOR is very challenging, tedious and time consuming. In addition the study revealed that although TOR offers pre-employment training before employees are employed, the company lacks continuous policy on training where employees are periodically trained to equip them on health and safety practices. Surprisingly, TOR is less proactive about the health of employees because they lack policies that ensure occasional check-ups for health issues. In conclusion, the causes of accidents were identified as poor working conditions, human errors and the lack of protective clothing. The study recommends that there is the urgent need to integrate policies and models to effectively manage safety culture at TOR. Furthermore, the study recommends that integrated model is required to comprehensively explain the safety culture at TOR since implementation of occupational health and safety management system (OHS-MS) has been proven inadequate.
Keywords: Ghana, Health Hazards, Oil and Gas, Safety Culture, Tema Oil Refinery