Occupational Safety and Health Guide for the Waste Industry

Occupational Safety and Health Guide for the Waste Industry

Control of work-related exposure to hazards to health for workers in waste treatment and landfill disposal sites

The incidence of occupational accidents in waste workers has been found to be higher than in the general workforce. There is a range of activities or situations which may increase the risk to workers of occupationally related illness or disease. Waste workers may be required to undertake repetitive lifting of heavy containers as well as other manual handling activities that increase the risk of musculoskeletal problems. The presence of unknown biological materials and other hazards, close contact or handling activity may place workers at risk of disease. In addition to airborne hazards such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bio-aerosols, dust levels have been found to be high at refuse transfer stations and incinerators. Increased exposure to bio-aerosols and volatile compounds may lead to elevated incidence of work-related respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin problems in waste workers compared to the general workforce.

7.1 Health Hazards

Ill health from potentially hazardous substances can occur via four routes:

·         Skin Contact, especially through cuts and abrasions or through contact with the eye’s mucus-membrane;

·         Injection through sharps injuries

·         Ingestion through hand-to mouth contact (eating, drinking or smoking); and

·         Inhalation through the lungs.

·         Hazards to health may be encountered in the sorting of waste and

·         Animal waste (including dog/cat/bird faeces and straw/hay) produced from litter trays, hutches and pens from domestic pets;

·         Dead animal carcasses;

·         Rodent infestations;

·         Hazardous liquids such as paint, varnishes and cleaning products;

·         Car batteries, asbestos and other declared hazardous or toxic substances

·         Energy efficient light bulbs (mercury and other toxic chemicals)

·         Blood-borne infectious material within used needles and syringes and drug/sex waste

·         Broken glass and other sharp items

7.2Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control.

Under the OSH Act employers have a duty to ensure as far as practicable that employees are not exposed to hazards at work. The OSH Regulations require employers to identify hazards, assess the risks and control the risk of injury or harm.

The three main steps are:

(a) Identification of Hazards

The first step involves recognising hazards that may cause injury or harm to the health of a person.

(b) Assessing the Risks

A risk assessment of the hazards identified in the first step should result in a list of potential injuries or harm and the likelihood of these occurring. If hazards are listed, they should be in order of the most to the least serious, e.g. from extreme through to low risk.

(c) Controlling the risk of injury or harm

The final step in risk assessment is to determine the control measures that need to be taken to eliminate or reduce the risk of a person being injured or harmed and the ongoing review of those measures. Risk control involves introducing measures; identified from a hierarchy or preferred order of control measures ranging from the most effective to the least effective.

The order in which controls should be considered is:

·         Elimination

change the system of work, the most effective way to make the workplace safe is to get rid of the hazard

·         Substitution

use a safer alternative

·         Isolation

separate workers from the hazard

·         Engineering control

use engineering solutions such as replacing humans with technology where exposure to a major health hazard is imminent, alarm systems, security, building layout and safer machinery options

·         Administrative control

training workers in appropriate systems of work such as handling used NS, blood & body wastes, chemicals

·         Personal protective equipment (PPE)

this includes equipment such as gloves, goggles and sharp resistant clothing for workers

Where legislation and/or regulations require specific methods to control the risk, these must be complied with e.g. use of PPE when handling asbestos [Health (asbestos) Regulations 1992]. More than one control can be used at a time to reduce risk to an acceptable level.

7.3 Risk Management

Risk management is an ongoing process. It is important to regularly review the steps especially if there are changes in the work environment or standards are changed. Appendix 3 identifies some of the most common health hazards found in Resource Recovery Centres and Landfill sites and provides a risk management framework as a guide for employers.

7.4 Risk Control

You should prevent or eliminate exposure to hazardous substances. Where this is not reasonably practicable, exposure should be adequately controlled. For instance, in Resource Recovery and Recycling Centres the hierarchy for controlling hazardous substances should use engineering controls where possible first, then work processes and systems of working in addition to, or instead of, just relying on personal protective equipment. These issues should be considered in the planning and design stages.

Control measures should be supported by:

•Clear instructions for the task;

•Training for all staff (including casual and agency staff) in operation of those control measures;

•Information to make others aware of potential dangers; and

•Regular checks and monitoring to ensure the system is working as planned and is followed.

7.5 Control measures

Along with government agency initiatives the employers can also do a number of things to manage the risk of ill health in their own workplaces –

•Work with other agencies to reduce the risk at source, e.g. needle return schemes, guidance for Local Government (LG) on how householders can better present waste and recyclables, dog/cat/bird faeces and hazardous waste or hazardous waste return schemes.

•Employers and/or operators must take all reasonably practicable steps to provide supervision necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees at work.

•Organisations involved with the storage, removal, transport or disposal of waste must have a detailed Emergency Procedures plan on how to manage accidental or deliberate spillages. Staff within these organisations should be educated regarding the contents of the plan, and their responsibilities within the plan.

•Employers and/or operators should make available for the use of their employees in an easily accessible place, copies of any policies, relevant Codes of Practice and any safety risk assessment or review reports. All work must be performed in accordance with the relevant policies, codes, risk assessments and health, safety and environmental policies. The employer must make available the above material in a language that is understood by the employee.

•Provide appropriate equipment for the task, e.g. litter picking tongs, shovels, ventilation equipment, sharps boxes, containers and lighting. 14

•Provide and use appropriate protective clothing, e.g. gloves, safety boots and cut-resistant trousers.

•Make sure operators and their managers understand the risks involved through proper information, instruction, infection control training and supervision. It is also important that all waste workers have a comprehensive induction program. Ongoing education regarding exposure to health hazards in waste and appropriate infection control practices should also be considered.

•Promote good personal hygiene. It is essential that workers wash and clean their hands before - eating, drinking, smoking, using the phone, taking medication, inserting contact lenses, wearing gloves, using the toilet, or after becoming contaminated with infected material.

•Make sure workers know what to do if there is a spillage, if they become contaminated or if they handle contaminated material. Workers should also know what the reporting arrangements are, should they be potentially exposed to a hazardous substance.

•Receptionists, cleaners and ground staff in waste facilities (incl. transport agencies) should be given specialist training or education as required e.g. receptionists should receive training in how to handle an exposure to toxic chemicals and emergency procedures relating to medical attention.

•Workers dealing with waste and hazardous material should be trained and educated in the emergency procedures in the event of a significant spillage which could result in a multi casualty event. Procedures should align with Health Care Facilities Disaster Plans