Occupational hazards and safety in secondary steelmaking industry: a review

The occupational hazards and safety scenario of workers engaged in the medium- and small-scale steelmaking industry or secondary steelmaking industry (mainly scrap-based steelmaking plants) deserves attention for their better health, safety, and increased productivity. The current work reviews the status of the occupational hazards and safety faced by workers and employees in the secondary steelmaking industry. Occupational hazards and safety is a crucial business component. During the last two decades, the steelmaking industry has increased awareness of occupational safety and health risks. However, deficiency in managing occupational risks may lead to work-related injuries, illnesses, or deaths in an organization or workplace. The accident rate is still greater due to lack of financial resources and expertise which hinders their capacity to implement occupational safety effectively in small and medium scale industries. This high prevalence of accidents in the steelmaking business has been attributed to two main factors in the literature: (i) The inherent risk resulting from the activities’ specifics and the nature of the work and (ii) The financial and economic considerations surrounding the deployment of additional safety measures in an increasingly competitive market, particularly in medium- and small-scale steelmaking industry in developing nations. Therefore, the occupational safety and health scenario of workers and employees engaged in the steelmaking industry has been reviewed. The specific objectives of this review are to (i) present an overview of steelmaking, (ii) identify various occupational hazards, accidents (fatal/nonfatal), and safety issues, and (iii) study existing safety and health risk management systems in secondary steelmaking plants.