I. Chemical hazards
Generally speaking, chemicals exist in three forms: solid, liquid and gas. Exposure to any form of toxic chemicals may endanger health and even life. The degree of harm depends on the length of contact time and the toxicity of chemicals. There are three main ways for chemical substances to invade: skin penetration, respiratory inhalation and ingestion. For workers in the electronic manufacturing industry, the main ways are the first two.
At present, there are hundreds of chemicals used in electronic industry, which have different hazards to human body. Some will damage people's brain and nervous system, some will easily cause cancer, some will damage the liver, digestive system or cardiovascular system, and some will affect the reproductive system, leading to irregular menstruation in women, decreased sexual function in men, or infertility. Moreover, usually a chemical substance can also cause harm to the human body in many ways at the same time.
Electronic factories often use some toxic and harmful solvents as cleaning agents, such as washing water, the main component of which is trichloroethylene. Trichloroethylene can damage liver function, and its symptoms are similar to hepatitis. Some patients with trichloroethylene poisoning were misdiagnosed as liver disease, failed to prescribe the right medicine, and even died. Tianna water is also commonly used, generally containing benzene and toluene. Benzene is a highly toxic chemical with strong carcinogenicity. Patients with chronic benzene poisoning often suffer from aplastic anemia, namely leukemia. Toluene can also cause acute or chronic poisoning. There is also a commonly used solvent called white oil, also called defatted oil. The main component is n-hexane, which is less toxic than benzene. In recent years, many factories have used it to replace benzene-containing solvents, but many workers have been poisoned by hexane because of improper use, poor workshop environment, lack of ventilation and lack of protective measures. N-hexane can destroy people's peripheral nerves. One of the main symptoms of chronic n-hexane poisoning is weakness, numbness and soreness of limbs. In 2002, the poisoning incident of nearly 40 female workers in a shoe factory in Dongguan shocked the whole country. The above three chemicals are easy to volatilize in the air, which is very harmful when exposed with bare hands.
In addition to solvents, all kinds of heavy metals are also very harmful to human body, and because heavy metals accumulate in human body, they are not easy to be discharged, which will affect health for a long time, even for life. In recent years, there have been many large-scale lead, mercury and cadmium poisoning (or exceeding the standard) incidents among battery factory workers. Lead can damage the nervous system, leading to memory loss and sexual dysfunction. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal with high carcinogenicity and great influence on reproductive system. In electronic factories, most of these heavy metals (compounds) exist in the form of dust or smoke, and long-term inhalation by workers will cause poisoning or excessive chemicals in the body.
Second, radiation.
Many electronics factories will be exposed to radiation. Most radiation components are low. But there is evidence that even low doses of radiation are dangerous. The most dangerous type of radiation is ionizing radiation, which people can neither feel nor see. Followed by non-ionizing radiation, the most common and less harmful radiation types are thermal energy and artificial light.
The common ionizing radiation in the electronics industry are: X-ray (often used to make circuit boards and detect circuit errors) and radioisotope (often used to detect whether there is air in sealed parts). The consequences of exposure to excessive ionizing radiation include: cancer, abortion, congenital malformation, premature aging and anemia.
Common non-ionizing radiation includes: radio waves (often generated in the process of plasticizing, bonding, welding, curing epoxy resin, etc. ), microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, laser, etc. Among them, microwave, ultraviolet and laser are the most dangerous non-ionizing radiation. Medical research shows that workers exposed to excessive microwave can cause heart, thyroid and nervous system problems. Laser is very dangerous, which not only burns eyes and skin immediately, but also leads to blindness. Ultraviolet rays can cause acute skin burns and eye damage. If you don't wear protective goggles at work, it will lead to blindness. B-type ultraviolet rays can also induce skin cancer.
Third, noise.
Loud or harsh noise can make people nervous and even lead to permanent deafness. Physical discomfort such as hypertension, nervous disorder and headache is related to the stress caused by noise. The noise in the electronic room mainly comes from metal mashers, cutting instruments, polishing and packaging machines. The maximum tolerance to noise is about 120~ 140 dB. China's current national standard on noise stipulates that if you work 8 hours a day, the noise level should not exceed 85 decibels. However, some studies show that in order to ensure the normal hearing of workers, it is best that the noise they hear should not exceed 80 dB, 16 kHz within 8 hours of work every day.
Fourth, the damage to the eyes.
In the short-term development of electronic manufacturing, many people think that the saddest thing is that thousands of young workers have lost their good eyesight forever because of unreasonable and unhealthy working environment. A survey shows that long-term use of microscopes, computers and irritating chemicals are the main causes of eye damage. In addition, the radiation mentioned before can also cause harm to the eyes. In addition, long-term and meticulous repeated operations, such as screwing small screws, can easily lead to decreased vision.