The Relationship of Dust Exposure with Respiratory Disorders Symptoms Among Textile Industry Workers

Preliminary study of the total dust exposure in the textile industry of Semarang city is 233 μg/Nm3, which exceeds the quality standard. The high concentration of dust is influenced by increased productivity, so that it has the potential as a source of pollutants that can affect the respiratory system of workers. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between dust exposure and respiratory disorders symptoms in workers. The method used is a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 161 people and 6 points of dust measurement locations. The Modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) standardized questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 24 with Chi square and Binary logistic regression tests to determine the relationship. The results showed that the average dust concentration exceeded the quality standard, namely 4 location points for PM2.5, 1 location point for PM10, and 2 location points for total dust. The average exposure to respirable dust is 3.93 μg/m3, which exceeds the quality standard. A total of 57% of workers experienced symptoms of respiratory disorders with the results of bivariate statistical analysis of 5 significant variables, namely PM2.5 (p = 0.021), PM10 (p = 0.002), total dust (p = 0.000), respirable dust (p = 0.002), and working period (p = 0.037). Meanwhile, the results of the binary logistic regression test had 2 significant variables, namely total dust (p = 0.000) and respirable dust (p = 0.006). The conclusion of this study is that total dust and respirable dust that exceed the quality standard have a higher risk of causing respiratory disorders symptoms with a probability of 71.6% and dust may be minimized by adding a pneumablo to each machine.