A worker at Dong Nai Province-based Tin Nghia granite factory.

The increasingly dangerous working environments in Ho Chi Minh City saw a sharp spike in the number of workplace accidents and injuries, according to a study by the city Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Of the more than 4,000 workers, about 1,200 workers, or 30 percent, suffered from hearing loss. Of those, 220 were deaf, according to health examination results at the companies.

“In HCMC, deafness now tops the list of working impairments,” said Dr. Huynh Tan Tien, who serves as the director of the HCMC Center for Labor Health and Environment Protection.

Nationwide statistics from the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH) showed that work-related accidents have increased, with more than 500 people killed and 5,000 injured every year.

Also according to the NIOEH, around 25,000 people nationwide suffer adverse health effects caused by their working environment.

Nearly 74.5 percent of them suffer from pneumoconiosis, a type of lung disease caused by inhaling metallic dust, and 16 percent suffer some degree of deafness caused by loud machinery at the work site.

Tests conducted by the Center for Labor Health and Environment Protection in 2008 found more than 15 percent of local businesses failed to meet the allowed levels.

The Ministry of Health requires the noise level to be less than 85 decibels during an eight-hour work day. More than 100 decibels can rupture an eardrum.

Workers often work constantly at loud sites for an extended period of time, according to the study.

Of the local companies, 48 percent of the steel makers failed to meet the allowed levels, followed by printing houses at 32 percent.

Textile producers ranked third, while footwear makers were comparatively the least noisy, however the study did not give a percentage.

The study also indicated that all of the companies that allowed above-level noise disruptions often didn’t set up any measures to protect their employees from potential harm.

According to the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (DLISA), 20 accidents occurred in the workplace in the first three months of the year, killing 20 people and injuring two.

The number of dead was 300 percent higher than last year, said the department.

Nguyen Quoc Viet, deputy chief inspector of the DLISA, encouraged laborers working at loud and unsafe workplaces to send complaints to his office.

DLISA’s inspectors will not only fine companies who violate regulations on labor safety, but also order them to compensate their workers, he said.

Currently, the penalty for companies accused of violating regulations remains low, with the heaviest fine, a mere VND20 million (US$1,123), Viet said.

He added that the DLISA is considering raising the penalty to a maximum of VND30 million.

Reported by Minh Nam