Occupational hygiene in terms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bioaerosols at two solid waste management plants in Finland

Emission of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) during the aerobic decomposition of orange wastes

“…This profile of emitted OVOCs was consistent with that of OVOCs in citrus fruit flesh (Umano et al, 2002) or juice (Buettner and Schieberle, 2001;Brat et al, 2003), with ethanol, acetaldehyde, and ethyl acetate being the predominant compounds extracted. Also, the results in the study were quite similar to previous studies, which revealed that ethanol, ethyl acetate, 2-butanone and acetaldehyde typically showed high levels in odor sources such as municipal solid wastes (Staley et al, 2006) and waste treatment facilities (Eitzer, 1995;Smet et al, 1999;Dorado et al, 2014;Lehtinen et al, 2013). As shown by Fig.…”

“…Thus, OVOCs are also major non-methane organic compounds in waste gases from various waste treatment processes including transferring (Dorado et al, 2014), landfilling (Davoli et al, 2003;Dincer et al, 2006;Tassi et al, 2009) and composting (Eitzer, 1995;Smet et al, 1999;Pierucci et al, 2005;Romain et al, 2005;Staley et al, 2006;He et al, 2010;Kumar et al, 2011;Lehtinen et al, 2013). Emission of OVOCs from these treatment facilities may not only burst into their airborne ambient levels in the neighborhood (Davoli et al, 2003;Dincer et al, 2006) and contribute to ground-level ozone formation (Kumar et al, 2011), but also trigger complaints of sensory irritation by local residents.…”

Exposure to airborne fungi during sorting of recyclable plastics in waste treatment facilities

“…In waste sorting facilities, high concentrations of airborne fungi were found varying within a wide range of values depending on the sampling site, sampling method and processing of samples (1.9×10 3 [9]). Generally, the high amounts of airborne fungi particles inhaled by employees in sorting facilities may result in Four types of cultivation media with added antibiotics were used for the collection and detection of a broader spectrum of airborne fungi from sampled air: dichloran rose-Bengal chloramphenicol (DRBC), yeast glucose chloramphenicol (YGC), Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (100 mg/l) and malt extract agar (MEA) (Oxoid Ltd., UK) supplemented with chloramphenicol (100 mg/l).…”

Reducing the Indoor Odorous Charge in Waste Treatment Facilities

“…High VOC concentrations, even presenting lower values than TLV, can cause direct reactions such as sensory irritation of mucous membranes (eyes, nose and throat), and other individual's subjective symptoms like weakness, confusion, difficulty in making decisions, headache and memory loss [2,18]. In a previous study conducted in the same facility evaluated in the present paper, the total carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks (sum of selected VOC) were obtained in the ranges of 10 -6, respectively [15].…”

“…Perceptible malodours in the indoor air of waste treatment plants have a considerable impact on occupational comfort, hygiene, health and safety [1,2]. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are the main causers of odorous nuisances [3], being formed and released to the indoor environment of waste treatment facilities either from degradation processes of the organic matter or by degradation and volatilization of other materials treated.…”