Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene September 2018 Vol.13 No.4 | Page 34

Roundup
Libyans protest at severe water crisis
increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and
high cholesterol being but a few supposed health risks of a
sedentary job.
However, whilst being in a chair for hours on end might
not be the best for your health, what about workers that
have no choice but to stand for a living? Are there any
harmful effects associated with this? If so, what can
employers do about it?
Libyans protest at severe water crisis
(CAIRO) Residents of the Libyan city of Tobruk
raised empty bottles in anger at the lack of water in a
demonstration late last month, shouting the slogan “water
for oil” and threatening to shut Marsa Hariga port — one
of the country’s largest oil export ports — if the crisis was
not solved.
With a population of more than 150,000 people, Tobruk
gets its supply of water from a desalination plant that
became operational just after the year 2000. The plant,
which has three units with a combined daily production
capacity of 36,000 cubic meters, was forced to reduce
production by a third in early July. It then ran out of
chemicals before shutting down completely by the end of
the month.
According to Saleh Al-Kilani, a resident of the coastal city
in eastern Libya, people now resort to traders who sell
water at high prices as a result of repeated disruptions in
supply since 2012.
“The plant’s supply gets disrupted from time to time,
and may take up to several days to resume,” al-Kilani told
SciDev.Net. “The stated reason is that the equipment has
exceeded its life expectancy and there are no financial
resources to buy operating materials, nor a budget to pay
workers.”
A worker at the station, who asked not to be identified,
confirmed the plant’s need for comprehensive
maintenance, adding that financial support is needed
urgently to repair the boilers.
However, he doubted that any response would be offered
due to “the existence of two governments, one in the east
and another in the capital”.
A water crisis has also hit the southeastern city of Sabha,
whose public supply network pumps water from 80
underground wells.
Can standing up all day harm your
health?
For years, office workers have been warned against the
dangers of sitting down at a desk all day, with claims of
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • September 2018
A study at ETC Zurich in Switzerland has concluded
that standing for longer than two hours is likely to have
detrimental health effects. Standing for up to five hours
such as the roles of retail assistants and assembly line
workers can contribute to lower limb muscle fatigue,
which can in turn increase employee’s risk of lower back
pain, therefore significantly affecting their ability to work.
The study mentioned
above was published
in the Human
Factors journal and
consisted of 14 men
and 12 women of
different age groups,
half between 18 and
Standing-up-all-day
30 years old and
half between 50 and 65. The participants were told to
stand for extended periods of time at a work bench at a
manufacturing plant. The ‘workers’ were given five-minute
breaks and one 30-minute lunch break. Leg muscle stress
and posture were measured throughout and workers were
asked to report any discomfort. Although the study was
small, the results did have early indications that standing
for prolonged periods of time does negatively affect the
muscles and joints. Curtin University in Australia also
conducted similar research and found that taking a more
or less constant standing position can actually compress
the spine and therefore lead to back issues.
Of course, standing in some areas of employment cannot
be avoided, but there are actions that employers can take
to ensure their employee’s foot and overall joint health is
taken into consideration when at work.
Mats4U has an innovative range of mats specifically
designed to optimize foot care for standing workers. The
collection consists that are primarily designed to alleviate
stress to the back and legs by cushioning the areas where
people have to constantly stand to work.
Anti-fatigue mats work by allowing blood to flow more
freely throughout the body which will in turn reduce the
risk of circulatory problems. The Happy Feet Waterhog
mats available at Mats4U not only provide comfort in the
form of a dense rubber cushion but also possess durability
and some excellent safety features, not only making them
a great employer purchase but also the perfect solution to
foot care in the workplace.