Adoption of Sustainable Risk Management: A Study of Chemical Exposure in Textile Industry in Nigeria

The textile industry consists of a number of units engaged in spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and a number of other processes that are required to convert fibre into a finished fabric or garment. Approximately 42% of chemicals manufactured globally are applied in textile industry and Nigeria’s textile industry uses about 25% of the world’s textile chemicals. The industry however exposes workers to many hazards and risks, ranging from exposure to noise and dangerous substances and chemicals, to manual handling and working with dangerous machinery. Each processing stage - from the production of materials to the manufacturing, finishing, colouring and packaging - pose risks for workers, and some of these are particularly dangerous to human’s health. Risk is the possibility of suffering harm from hazard and hazard is a source of risk that refers to actions that can cause harm. No industrial sector today is free of risk belonging to its internal and external environment. It is obligatory at every step of industrial operation to make risk assessment. This article aims at studying each of these risks in relation to the Nigerian textile industries, along with the possible solutions for their assessment.