Health and self-care among garbage collectors: work experiences in a recyclable garbage cooperative

Dall'Agnol, Clarice Maria; Fernandes, Felippe

doi:10.1590/s0104-11692007000700003

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…Even though the use of PPE are strongly recommended to prevent injuries, workplace hazards and diseases that are likely to arise from the working environment [39], about half the number of waste handlers did not use them regularly. From the transect walk and observation, non-compliance to the use of PPE, in spite of having access to it may be linked to the discomfort in its use during a workday, considering the strenuous activities under hot and humid climatic conditions or other reasons not directly captured in this study [40]. Even though the use of PPE does not remove the source of health hazards in waste handling, it can provide benefits that outweigh the harm and personal discomfort associated with them and through proper use, can contribute to health and safety of workers [41].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of faecal pollution among waste handlers in a resource-deprived coastal peri-urban settlement in Southern Ghana

et al. 2020

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Resource-deprived coastal peri-urban settlements in Southern Ghana are characterized by indiscriminate solid waste disposal and open defecation practices. Persons engaged in waste handling in such communities perform their activities with little or no personal protective equipment. They are thus confronted with the risk of faecal pollution of the hands and other bodily parts. A mixed method approach was used to investigate 280 waste handlers performing different activities to estimate recent faecal pollution of their hands and to observe the utilization of personal protective equipment and sanitation/hygiene facilities during work. The log concentration of E. coli on hands of waste handlers after work (8.60 ± 4.20 CFU/hand, mean ± standard deviation) was significantly higher compared with the E. coli log concentration before work (2.95 ± 1.89 CFU/hand, mean ± standard deviation) (p<0.001). The odds of faecal pollution was significantly higher (aOR 4.2; 95% CI: 1.9-9.1) for workers aged 35 years and above compared with those less than 35 years; and for workers at public toilet facilities (aOR 3.0; 95% CI: 1.0-8.4) compared with those who worked for private waste handling companies. Female workers were, however, 60% less likely (aOR 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2-0.8) to experience faecal pollution of their hands compared with males. The workers had limited access to water and sanitation and hygiene facilities, and about one-fifth (n = 59; 21.1%) did not use personal protective equipment during work. Waste handlers should be provided and instructed in proper use of personal protective equipment, have access to sanitation facilities and adopt improved hygiene behaviour to avoid the risk of faecal pollution and associated disease risk.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of faecal pollution among waste handlers in a resource-deprived coastal peri-urban settlement in Southern Ghana

et al. 2020

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“…Solid waste created from human activities is collected, stored, handled and disposed of by municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) who contribute greatly to reducing potential health risks to both the public and environment [1]. Nevertheless, these workers, regardless of their tasks (collection, sweeping, transportation, sorting, recycling, dumping or incineration) and their professional training, obviously engage in activities that pose a risk of infection because of the type of biohazardous materials that they contact [2, 3, 4, 5, 6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of HBV among Egyptian municipal solid waste workers

El‐Wahab

Eassa

2019

Heliyon

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Background Municipal solid waste workers (MSWWs) are potentially exposed to diverse hazards that are not merely a consequence of their occupation. Of particular concern are infectious diseases. The endemicity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Egypt suggests the possibility of disease transmission in MSWWs from improperly disposed hazardous materials found in the solid waste stream. To date, such transmission has not adequately been epidemiologically studied in Egypt. Objective To explore the seroprevalence of HBV among MSWWs in Egypt. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study that included 1467 MSWWs recruited from the main municipality company in Alexandria, Egypt, in February 2018. The enrolled participants were categorized into two occupational groups (exposed; n = 1361 and non-exposed; n = 115) on the basis of their direct exposure to solid waste. The study procedure involved interviews using a predesigned questionnaire that covered general demographic information. Blood samples from all participants were tested for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), a marker of active HBV infection, using a third-generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results All MSWWs were male and had a mean age of 39.8 (±7.9) years. The majority were urban residents (72.8%) and engaged in solid waste collection (63.8%) or sorting (13.6%). The overall seroprevalence of active HBV infection was 1.5%. In total, 3.8% of the workers received the compulsory HBV vaccine during their infancy, meaning approximately 96.2% of the participants were at risk for HBV infection. Evaluating the availability and use of personal protective equipment revealed that most of the workers were provided with and wore overalls but not safety shoes, protective gloves, face masks, or helmets. Conclusion The present work suggests the possible transmission of HBV in workers exposed to municipal solid waste. This result necessitates the initiation of prophylactic HBV immunizations and the consideration of safer techniques for waste management.

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“…Health risks may derive by direct or indirect contact with garbage. The most frequent reported morbidities seem to be infectious diarrhoeic diseases and diseases transmitted by vectors 1. Moreover, an increased risk of pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and cutaneous and mucous membranes symptoms is reported in garbage-sorting and recycling workers 2 3…”

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confidence: 99%