Work Related Injuries in an Oil field in Oman.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this paper is to describe the epidemiology of occupational injuries in the Harweel oil field, Oman. METHODS The study is based on data gathered from a computerized database maintained by Petroleum Development of Oman (PDO). All non-fatal work-related occupational injuries registered between April 2007 and December 2009 were gathered and analyzed. RESULTS A total of 170 work-related injuries were reported during the study period. Foreign body to the eye was the most common type of injury (27.6%) encountered among all injuries, followed by man falls/slips (11.8%). Injury to the upper extremities accounted for the largest percentage (38.8%) among other body parts. While, a significant portion of the injuries (52%) affected workers aged less than 30 years. The average injury rate per 1000 exposed workers per year was 19.8. CONCLUSION The study outlines the types of injuries most commonly encountered in the oil field in Oman. Additional data is required in order to devise proper epidemiological analysis. Establishing a comprehensive surveillance system for injuries is essential to ascertain factors influencing such injuries.