Objectives: To identify occupational risks factors in the artisanal dyeing factories of Bamako and to propose appropriate preventive measures.
Equipment and methods: This is a prospective and descriptive study conducted over a period of 6 months, from April to September 2014, among dyers in Bamako. The study instrument was a 24-item questionnaire on socio-professional characteristics and data analysis was performed by the Epi Info software, version 6.4.
Results: Our study population was 100 dyers with a sex ratio of 5.67 in favour of women (17 women for 3 men). The average age was 31.9 years with extremes of 15 and 70 years. Married people were in the majority with 70% and 38% of the dyers had between 1 and 3 children. The dyers were enrolled in school in 44% of cases, 30% of which were in Arabic. Soakers were more numerous with 43%, followed by rinsers 28% and blenders 15%. The majority had no professional qualification, i.e. 94%, and 48% had more than 5 years of experience in the profession. The main risks were repetitive movements and manual handling 100%, noise 98%, lack of lighting 96%, chemical risks 94%, dermatological risks 93%, falls on the same level 74%, puncture wounds 66%, lack of PPE 38% and musculoskeletal disorders 76%.
Conclusion: Our study shows the diversity of occupational risks present in the craft sector, hence the urgent need to regulate this sector and implement an effective prevention policy.