article · Discover Public Health
Manufacturing ceramic tiles is an emerging industry in Tanzania, where handling stone materials puts workers at risk of developing lung diseases through dust exposure. An assessment carried out in a Tanzanian ceramic tile factory evaluated personal respirable dust exposure and crystalline silica levels across various work areas. Using personal cyclone samplers, 100 dust samples were gathered, with 10 analysed for crystalline silica content. The overall geometric mean exposure to respirable dust was 0.66 milligrams per cubic metre, with the highest exposures recorded in the press and spray departments. Work location, machine operation, and wind speed accounted for most of the variation in exposure among workers. The analysed samples showed a geometric mean respirable crystalline silica concentration of 0.123 milligrams per cubic metre, demonstrating that factory workers face hazardous dust levels requiring prompt intervention.
Inhaling fine stone dust containing crystalline silica can cause severe and irreversible lung diseases. Because ceramic tile manufacturing is expanding in Tanzania, identifying specific high-risk departments and operational factors provides critical evidence needed to protect factory workers. This insight helps industrial managers and safety regulators implement targeted ventilation, dust control systems, and safety policies to prevent long-term occupational illness.
The findings provide baseline occupational safety data that industrial health and safety managers, factory operators, and ventilation engineers can apply directly. The evidence can guide the immediate procurement, design, and deployment of targeted dust control equipment, such as extraction systems and personal protective equipment, specifically for high-risk press and spray operations. This represents an applied study whose recommendations are ready for immediate workplace adoption.
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Ceramic tile manufacturing is relatively new in Tanzania. Workers in these ceramic tile industries may be exposed to dust from stone materials, increasing their risk of developing diseases such as lung diseases. The study aimed to assess dust exposure among workers in ceramic tiles industry and to evaluate the crystalline silica content in respirable dust samples. A cross sectional exposure study was carried out in a ceramic tiles industry in Tanzania in 2023. Personal dust sampling was done using plastic cyclone samplers with 37 mm diameter plastic cassettes. A total of 100 personal respirable dust samples were collected, of where 10 were randomly selected for crystalline silica content analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear mixed-effects regression models. The overall geometric mean (GM) exposure to respirable dust in the factory was 0.66 mg/m 3 . The press and spray departments had the highest GM respirable dust exposure, at 1.22 mg/m 3 and 1.07 mg/m 3 , respectively. A mixed model regression analysis indicated that work in the spray, press, kiln, and gas station departments, operating machines and wind speed, explained approximately 92% of the between-worker variance and 66% of the total variance. The concentration of respirable crystalline silica for the 10 selected respirable dust samples had a GM of 0.123 mg/m 3 . Workers in the ceramic tiles industry are exposed to respirable dust with a high crystalline silica content. Immediate measures are necessary to reduce dust exposure and prevent adverse health effects among workers.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12982-025-00927-6
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