The study of awareness and practices among workers on the possibility of dust explosion in the organic processing industry / Nur Husnina Safwah Binti Hamzan

Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor Degree Of Occupational Safety And Health) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2025

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Introduction: Dust explosions pose a significant hazard in the organic processing industry. The improper management of fine particulate matter generated from combustible materials might result in tragic incidents. Objective: This study aims to assess and determine the levels of awareness, attitudes, and practices, as well as the correlation among workers regarding the possibility of dust explosions. Other than that, to examine the association between socio-demographic factors of workers with awareness, attitudes, and practices, emphasizing the human factors that are often overlooked in technically focused research. Method: A self-administered structured questionnaire consists of 2 sections: section 1 (socio-demographic) and section 2: (knowledge, attitudes, and practices). Section 2 was divided into three parts: Part A (Awareness- 8 items), Part B (Attitudes – 6 items), and Part C (Practices – 8 items, using a 5 – point Likert scale was distributed across selected processing industries to study the workers’ understanding of dust explosion risks, their insight of workplace safety, and their attachment in preventive practices such as housekeeping, hazard identification and reporting. Result: The findings indicate a moderate to high level of awareness, though gaps in core knowledge and inconsistency in safety practices were observed. Correlation results revealed significant relationships between awareness, attitudes, and practices in two companies: in FGV2, awareness was significantly correlated with practices (r = 0.400, p = 0.019); and in PJF, awareness showed strong correlation with attitudes (r = 0.736, p = 0.004) and practices (r = 0.400, p = 0.019). But there is also no significant relationship which is in FGV 1 where all variables (p = 0.05). The statistical analysis also identified a significant relationship between education level and awareness (p = 0.011, β = 0.354). These findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. Conclusion: The study highlights the need for targeted interventions such as hands-on training, improved safety communication, and regular monitoring to reduce dust explosion risks. It provides key insights into workers’ awareness, attitudes, and practices, aiming to enhance behavioural safety and minimize risk in high-risk industries