Mohammad Ranjbarian, Leila Gheibi, Hossein Hatami, Soheila Khodakarim,
Volume 2, Issue 4 (3-2015)
Introduction: Due to their
long work hours at environments with poor lighting, carpet weavers are at a
risk of developing certain eye diseases. Improving health conditions and safety
in the workplace, in particular supplying good lighting to carpet weaving
workshops as an important environmental factor, is crucial to the health of
carpet weavers.
Materials and
Methods: The present descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted
in rural carpet weaving workshops in the city of Takab. A total of 86 carpet
weaving workshops were selected through the cluster sampling method with 222
carpet weavers employed in them. General and local lighting settings were
measured in carpet weaving workshops using an LX-13 photometer and the vision
status of the workers was then determined through an E chart. All the data were
ultimately analyzed in SPSS-16.
Results: A total of
48.6% of the carpet weavers suffered from poor vision. The workshops examined
had a minimum area of 9m2 and a maximum area of 56m2, with
interior surfaces often brightly colored. In the majority of the workshops, general
lighting settings (in 82.4%) and local lighting settings (in 91.9%) were below
the standard. All the carpet weaving workshops studied had windows.
Conclusion: The results
of this study showed that, in the majority of the workshops studied, lighting
settings were both quantitatively and qualitatively undesirable and
non-standard. In addition, lighting distribution was non-uniform in these
workshops. Reduced lighting significantly increases the prevalence of poor
vision. In order to reduce eye injuries among carpet weavers during their years
of working, artificial lighting systems must be designed for and implemented in
carpet weaving workshops that suit the industry standards.
