Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is a global issue that is caused by many factors. The purpose of this study was to survey noise level to identify NIHL and its relationship with other factors in cement plants in Vietnam. Noise level was measured at one cement plant and three cement grinding stations located in the South of Vietnam. The audiometric data of exposed workers were surveyed to determine NIHL. Finally, the relationship between NIHL and noise level in cement plants was determined. The results show that noise level in almost all processes exceeded the permissible exposure limit (PEL). In this study, 42 cases (10% of exposed workers) with occupational NIHL were found with mean age (SD) of 49 (9.0) years. All NIHL cases were found in the departments in which the noise level exceeded the PEL, which included quarry (n = 16), maintenance (n = 12), production (n = 10), co-waste processing (n = 3) and quality assurance (n = 1). There was a positive and significant correlation between the NIHL and the excessive noise exposure in the cement plants (r = 0.89, p = 0.04).

Air pollution associated with suspended particles has become a significant concern in Vietnam recently. The study aimed to (1) investigate dust sources; (2) measure concentration levels of Total Suspended Particulate (TSP), Particulate Matter (PM) fractions; (3) identify silica levels and the correlation with respirable particles at a cement grinding plant in Vietnam. A total of 312 samples (52 TSP, 160 PMs) at 13 processes were measured using the direct-reading dust meter. The silica composition was analyzed in a certified laboratory using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. SPSS version 26 for Window was used to analyze the data. The operations of the cement grinding plant created multiple dust sources from the jetty to the cement dispatch process. The TSP levels ranged 0.06–38.24 mg m⁻³, and 40.38% (n = 21) TSP samples exceeded the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for an 8-h working shift. Besides that, there was a wide range and significant concentration levels of PMs in the cement processes. The levels of PMs were PM₁ (0.00–0.06 mg m⁻³), PM_2.5 (0.01–0.83 mg m⁻³), PM₄ (0.02–4.59 mg m⁻³), PM₇ (0.03–16.94 mg m⁻³), and PM₁₀ (0.04–26.85 mg m⁻³). The highest mean levels of PMs factions were measured at the pre-grinding process. The inefficient operation of the dust collector contributed a significant factor to the dust dispersion in this process. The silica’s mean (SD) composition in respirable dust was 20.4% (0.86) and was not significantly different amongst the processes. There was a significant correlation between the levels of respirable dust and silica exposure in the cement grinding plant (r = 0.99). The improvement of indoor air quality is needed to prevent health effects on cement workers.