Occupational exposure to organic dust associated with municipal waste collection and management

The aim of the study was to assess the occupational exposure of workers employed in the municipal waste collection and management industry. Air samples were collected in the workers' breathing zone; two samples were collected parallely. The assessment concerned exposure to organic dust, endotoxins, bacteria and fungi. The questionnaire data showed that workers found themselves in good or very good health. They also regarded noise, dustiness, odor, physical effort and changeable atmospheric conditions as the most strenuous factors. The highest dust concentrations were observed on the sites of waste collection (mean, 7.7 mg/m3) and composting (mean, 4.6 mg/m3). Samples collected on the composting site contained the largest amount of endotoxins (mean concentration, 76 ng/m3). This was followed by sorting facility (61 ng/m3) and waste collection area (36 ng/n3). Gram-negative rods (primarily intestinal) were found in all samples collected at workposts, which justified the adoption of the air concentrations of endotoxins as a criterion for assessing their hygienic conditions. Taking MAC for total suspended dust (4.0 mg/m3) and the concentration of 10 ng/m3 for endotoxin as the criteria for the exposure evaluation, it must be considered that waste collectors and composting site workers are working in poor hygienic conditions. Workers employed at the most hazardous workposts did not use personal protective equipment (glasses, antirespirators), thus infringing a fundamental condition for limiting health hazards (Directive 2000/54/EC).