Workplace Injury Among Waste Management Workers: Emphasis on Heat Stress

Details

• Personal Author:
  Al Hajji MH ; Bernard, Thomas E.
• Description:
  Objective: Waste management includes the pick up and dumping of household garbage and trash. The employees are occupationally exposed to chemical and physical agents that might cause an injury requiring first aid to time away from work. A special consideration is the effects of heat stress on injury risk. Methods: The injury and illness data for 6 years was examined for type of injury, severity, location (on-route or yard), and the average heat stress level. The number of labor-hours was used to calculate incident rates. Results: Most of the injuries occurred on the routes and were dominated by musculoskeletal disorders followed by acute injuries. Most injuries were treated as first aid with less than a day of work lost. If a musculoskeletal disorder or acute injury result in more than a day away, it was more likely to be more than a week away. The rate of musculoskeletal disorders and acute injuries increased with heat stress level with a reference level at 24 degree C-WBGT. Conclusion: There was little surprise that most of the injuries were related to musculoskeletal disorders due to the manual nature of the work. The increase in musculoskeletal disorders and acute injuries due to heat stress was suspected and confirmed. The rate ratio was 1.67 just above the occupational exposure limit. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Chemistry Environmental Exposure Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Temperature

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Injury Chemical Composition Chemical Properties Chemicals Employees Exposure Levels Health Effects Heat Exposure Heat Stress Humans Injuries Manual Materials Handling MSD Musculoskeletal System Disorders Occupational Exposure Limits OELs Physical Agents Risk Factors Temperature Effects Waste Disposal

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• Publisher:
  University of South Florida (USF)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063789
• Citation:
  Sunshine ERC Research Poster Session/USF Health Research Day, February 20-22, 2014, Tampa, Florida. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida (USF), 2014 Feb; :5
• Contact Point Address:
  Mohammed Al Hajji, MSPH, University of South Florida
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Sunshine Education and Research Center, University of South Florida
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Sunshine ERC Research Poster Session/USF Health Research Day, February 20-22, 2014, Tampa, Florida
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fcf1ba9b5b0495c192f5c2c5661fa530e00cc1d8022f56f31c26d2c29aedb7416f097526698152a51eac25d945ed35616145d7e62ba48015ce6cb7a2a3ded381
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222343/cdc_222343_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 115.21 KB ]