Web-Resol Tudo sobre Limpeza Urbana e Resíduos Sólidos!
The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) has announced funding for a research project to investigate vehicle operators exposure to dust and endotoxin in the composting sector and to evaluate current control measures.
The research is being carried out by the Cardiff School of Health Sciences at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), and this funding has been made available through BOHSs Research Funding Programme which offers up to £20,000 annually to support research in occupational hygiene and its underlying sciences and technology.
Some 430 million tonnes of waste is produced annually in the UK, and stringent targets have been set to divert biodegradable waste from landfill which will result in the proliferation of commercial composting. The composting process actively promotes the growth of aerobic organisms known to be associated with adverse respiratory conditions, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulminary disease (COPD), toxic pneumonitis, organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS), chronic bronchitis and reduced lung function.
To date, no safe levels of exposure have been established for organic dust exposure within the composting industry. Consequently, the effective use of control measures to reduce vehicle operator exposure is key to reducing the potential risk of occupational illness. The use of cab filtration systems as the only control measure is common across the industry. The concern is that if the filtration within the cabs is not operating effectively, the operators exposure levels may be high.
The proposed study complements work already being undertaken within Cardiff‘‘s School of Health Sciences, UWIC, from which it is evident that the current control measures adopted at composting facilities are highly variable, very little data exists regarding the air quality within vehicle cabs, work is needed to establish the impact that maintenance, cleaning and operator work practices could have on employee exposure levels, and furthermore, in order to establish practical guidance regarding maintenance and operation, the efficacy of cab filtration as the primary risk control measure needs to be evaluated in an operational setting.
The research findings will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, such as BOHSs own Annals of Occupational Hygiene, and it is envisaged that this work will inform the development of some practical risk mitigation measures regarding vehicle cab filtration maintenance to maximise operating efficiency. It is hoped that it will also raise awareness and change working practices within the composting industry and beyond, especially in relation to the impact that poor practices have on operator exposure in this working environment.
The research funding application was made by Peter Sykes, Principal Lecturer at the Cardiff School of Health Sciences at UWIC, and his research team includes Professor Ken P Jones and John Allen (Research Assistant). The complete application, including principal objectives, detailed background, methods, outputs, funding breakdown and full references, can be downloaded from the Research area of the BOHS website
http://www.bohs.org/newsArticle.aspx?newsItem=78
Artigos Relacionados
Check Also
Waste management poses challenges, but could unlock major environmental and economic gains
Every day, the city of Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest metropolises in the Southern Hemisphere, generates 17,000 tonnes of waste, ranging from large industrial debris to candy wrappers bought innocently at newspaper stands. While this waste presents a serious and urgent environmental challenge, it also fuels an increasingly significant portion of the economy, with benefits extending beyond financial gains. - When we look at developed European countries, many are already recycling between 40% and 50%, with some reaching 60%. From an economic standpoint, both recyclable materials and organic waste hold tremendous value - stated Adalberto Maluf, National Secretary for Environment and Environmental Quality at the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), during the Methane Forum: Climate Emergency Brake, at the Rio Nature and Climate Week. Citing a 2025 report, Maluf mentioned that Brazil literally throws away R$27 billion annually, while municipalities spend significantly more - R$45 billion - managing all this waste, often overlooking the environmental impact or economic potential buried in landfills and dumps. - We spend R$45 billion to collect and dispose of waste in landfills, yet we manage to recycle less than a third of the potential. I believe it will be necessary to review contracts, create performance-based remuneration mechanisms, and pay for both effectively sorted materials and those diverted from landfills - he added. According to the IBGE, 60.5% of Brazilian municipalities adopt some form of selective waste collection, and several initiatives serve as examples of how to manage city waste. In his panel presentation, Bernardo Ornelas, Project Coordinator at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Urban Cleaning Company (Comlurb), highlighted Ecoparque do Caju, a national benchmark in waste management and recycling. There, received materials are sorted and can be used for biogas production, organic compounds for urban gardens, or human consumption, in the case of still...