Telecommunications is the act of communicating with others through the use of electronic equipment like telephones, computer modems, satellites and fibre optic cables. Telecommunications systems comprise telecommunications cables from the user to the local switching office (local loops), the switching facilities which provide the communications connection to the user, the trunks or channels that transmit calls between the switching offices and, of course, the user.

During the early to mid-twentieth century, telephone exchanges, electromechanical switching systems, cables, repeaters, carrier systems and microwave equipment were introduced. After this occurrence, telecommunications systems spread to the industrialized areas of the world.

From the 1950s to 1984, technological advances continued to appear. For example, satellite systems, improved cable systems, the use of digital technology, fibre optics, computerization and video telephony were introduced throughout the communications industry. These changes allowed for the expansion of telecommunications systems throughout more areas of the world.

In 1984 a court ruling in the United States led to the breakup of the telecommunications monopoly held by American Telegraph and Telephone (AT&T). This breakup coincided with many rapid, major changes in the technology of the telecommunications industry itself.

Until the 1980s telecommunications services were considered to be public services operating within a legislative framework that provided monopoly status in virtually all countries. Along with the development of economic activity, the advent of new technologies has led to the privatization of the telecommunications industry. This trend culminated in the divestiture of AT&T and the deregulation of the US telecommunications system. Similar privatization activities are underway in a number of other countries.

Since 1984, technological advances have produced and expanded telecommunications systems that can provide universal service to all people throughout the world. This occurs as telecommunications technology is now converging with other information technologies. Related fields such as electronics and data processing are involved.

The impact of the introduction of new technology on employment has been mixed. Without question, it has reduced levels of employment and produced the de-skilling of jobs, radically altering the tasks of telecommunications workers as well as the qualifications and experience required of them. However, it is anticipated by some that employment growth will occur in the future as a result of the new business activity stimulated by the deregulated telecommunications industry that will produce many highly skilled jobs.

Occupations within the telecommunications industry can be categorized as either skilled craft or clerical work. Craft jobs include cable splicers, installers, outside plant technicians, central office technicians and frame technicians. These jobs are highly skilled, particularly as a result of the new technological equipment. For example, employees must be very proficient in the electrical, electronics and/or mechanical fields as they relate to the installation, service and maintenance of telecommunications equipment. Training is acquired through classroom and on-the-job training.

Clerical occupations include directory assistance operators, customer service representatives, account representatives and sales clerks. In general these tasks involve the operation of communications equipment such as VDUs private branch exchange (PBX) and facsimile machines which are used to establish local and/or long distance connections, perform business office work inside or outside the workplace and handle sales contacts with customers.

Hazards and Controls

The occupational safety and health hazards within the telecommunications industry can be categorized by the type of tasks or services performed.

Building and construction operations

In general, the same risks occur as in construction and building operations. However, several noteworthy activities which are specific to telecommunications include working at heights on poles or pylons, installing telecommunications wiring systems and excavating for cable laying. The usual means of protection, such as climbing gaffs, safety harnesses, lines and raise platforms and proper shoring for excavations, are applicable in telecommunications. Often, this work is performed during emergency repairs made necessary by storms, landslides or floods.

Electricity

The safe use of electricity and electrical equipment is extremely important when performing telecommunications work. The normal preventive measures against electrocution, electric shock, short circuits and fires or explosions are fully applicable to telecommunications. Also, a serious source of danger may arise when telecommunications and electricity cables are within close proximity to one another.

Cable laying and maintenance

A significant safety and health concern is cable laying and maintenance. Work on underground cables, pipelines and jointing chambers involves handling heavy cable drums and pulling cables into pipelines with power-driven winches and cable equipment as well as cable splicing or jointing and insulation or waterproofing. During cable splicing and insulation jobs, workers suffer exposure to health hazards such as lead, solvents and isocyanates. Preventive measures include use of the least toxic chemicals, adequate ventilation and PPE. Often, maintenance and repair work is performed in confined spaces like manholes and vaults. Such work necessitates special ventilation equipment, harness and lifting equipment and the provision of a worker stationed above ground who is able to perform emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and rescue activities.

Another health and safety concern is working with fibre optic telecommunications cables. Fibre optic cables are being installed as an alternative to lead and polyurethane-encased cables because they carry many more communications transmission and they are much smaller in size. Health and safety concerns involve potential burns to the eyes or skin from exposure to the laser beam when cables become disconnected or broken. When this occurs, protective engineering controls and equipment should be provided.

Also, cable installation and maintenance work performed in buildings involves potential exposure to asbestos products. Exposure occurs as a result of the deterioration or break-up of asbestos products like pipes, patching and taping compounds, floor and ceiling tiles and reinforcing fillers in paints and sealants. During the late 1970s, asbestos products were banned or their use was discouraged in many countries. Adherence to a worldwide prohibition will eliminate exposure and resultant health disorders for future generations of workers, but there are still large amounts of asbestos to contend with in older buildings.

Telegraph services

Telegraph workers use VDUs and, in some cases, telegraph equipment to perform their work. A frequent hazard associated with this type of work is upper extremity (particularly hand and wrist) musculoskeletal cumulative trauma. These health problems may be minimized and prevented with attention to ergonomic work stations, work environment and work organization factors.

Telecommunications service

Automatic switching and connecting circuits are the mechanical operations components of modern telecommunications systems. Connections are generally made by microwave and radio frequency waves in addition to cables and wires. Potential hazards are associated with microwave and radio frequency exposures. According to available scientific data, there is no indication that exposure to most types of radiation-emitting telecommunications equipment is directly linked to human health disorders. However, craft employees may be exposed to high levels of radio frequency radiation while working in close proximity to electrical power lines. Data have been collected that suggest a relationship between these emissions and cancer. Further scientific investigations are being conducted to more clearly determine the seriousness of this hazard as well as appropriate prevention equipment and methods. In addition, health concerns have been associated with emissions from cellular telephone equipment. Further research is being conducted to draw conclusions regarding potential health hazards.

The vast majority of telecommunications services are performed with the use of VDUs. Work with VDUs is associated with the occurrence of upper extremity (particularly hand and wrist) musculoskeletal cumulative trauma disorders. Many telecommunications unions, such as the Communications Workers of America (US), Seko (Sweden) and the Communication Workers Union (United Kingdom), have identified catastrophic rates of VDU workplace musculoskeletal cumulative trauma disorders among the workers they represent. Proper design of the VDU workplace with attention to work station, work environment and work organization variables will minimize and prevent these health problems.

Additional health concerns include stress, noise and electrical shock.

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Without treatment of waste the current concentration of people and industry in many parts of the world would very quickly make portions of the environment incompatible with life. Although reduction of the amount of waste is important, the proper treatment of waste is essential. Two basic types of waste enter a treatment plant, human/animal waste and industrial waste. Humans excrete about 250 grams of solid waste per capita per day, including 2000 million coliform and 450 million streptococci bacteria per person per day (Mara 1974). Industrial solid waste production rates range from 0.12 tons per employee per year at professional and scientific institutions to 162.0 tons per employee per year at sawmills and planing mills (Salvato 1992). Although some waste treatment plants are exclusively dedicated to handling one or the other type of material, most plants handle both animal and industrial waste.

Hazards and Their Prevention

The goal of waste water treatment plants is to remove as much of the solid, liquid and gaseous contaminants as possible within technically feasible and financially achievable constraints. There are a variety of different processes that are used to remove contaminants from waste water including sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, aeration, disinfection, filtration and sludge treatment. (See also the article “Sewage treatment” in this chapter.) The specific hazard associated with each process varies depending on the design of the treatment plant and the chemicals used in the different processes, but the types of hazard can be classified as physical, microbial and chemical. The key to preventing and/or minimizing the adverse effects associated with working in sewage treatment plants is to anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control the hazards.

Figure 1. Manhole with cover removed.

Mary O. Brophy

Physical hazards

Physical hazards include confined spaces, inadvertent energizing of machines or machine parts and trips and falls. The result of an encounter with a physical hazards can often be immediate, irreversible and serious, even fatal. Physical hazards vary with the design of the plant. Most sewage treatment plants, however, have confined spaces which include underground or below grade vaults with limited access, manholes (figure 1) and the sedimentation tanks when they have been emptied of liquid content during, for example, repairs (figure 2). Mixing equipment, sludge rakes, pumps and mechanical devices used for a variety of operations in sewage treatment plants can maim, and even kill, if they are inadvertently activated when a worker is servicing them. Wet surfaces, often encountered in sewage treatment plants, contribute to slipping and falling hazards.

Figure 2. Empty tank in a sewage treatment plant.

Mary O. Brophy

Confined-space entry is one of the most common and one of the most serious hazards faced by sewage treatment workers. A universal definition of a confined space is elusive. In general, however, a confined space is an area with limited means of entry and egress that was not designed for continuous human habitation and that does not have adequate ventilation. Hazards occur when the confined space is associated with a deficiency of oxygen, the presence of a toxic chemical or an engulfing material, such as water. Decreased oxygen levels can be the result of a variety of conditions including the replacement of oxygen with another gas, such as methane or hydrogen sulphide, the consumption of oxygen by the decay of organic material contained in the waste water or the scavenging of oxygen molecules in the rusting process of some structure within the confined space. Because low levels of oxygen in confined spaces cannot be detected by unaided human observation it is extremely important to use an instrument that can determine the level of oxygen before entering any confined space.

The earth’s atmosphere consists of 21% oxygen at sea level. When the percentage of oxygen in breathing air falls below about 16.5% a person’s breathing becomes more rapid and more shallow, the heart rate increases and the person begins to lose coordination. Below about 11% the person experiences nausea, vomiting, inability to move and unconsciousness. Emotional instability and impaired judgement may occur at oxygen levels somewhere between these two points. When individuals enter an atmosphere with oxygen levels below 16.5% they may immediately become too disoriented to get themselves out and eventually succumb to unconsciousness. If the oxygen depletion is great enough individuals can become unconscious after one breath. Without rescue they can die within minutes. Even if rescued and resuscitated, permanent damage can occur (Wilkenfeld et al. 1992).

Lack of oxygen is not the only hazard in a confined space. Toxic gases can be present in a confined space at a concentration level high enough to do serious harm, even kill, despite adequate oxygen levels. The effects of toxic chemicals encountered in confined spaces are discussed further below. One of the most effective ways to control the hazards associated with low oxygen levels (below 19.5%) and atmospheres contaminated with toxic chemicals is to thoroughly and adequately ventilate the confined space with mechanical ventilation prior to allowing anyone to enter it. This is usually done with a flexible duct through which outside air is blown into the confined space (see figure 3). Care must be taken to ensure that fumes from a generator or the fan motor are not also blown into the confined space (Brophy 1991).

Figure 3. Air moving unit for entering a confined space.

Mary O. Brophy

Sewage treatment plants often have large pieces of machinery to move sludge or raw sewage from one place in the plant to another. When repairs are made on this type of equipment the entire machine should be de-energized. Furthermore, the switch to re-energize the equipment should be under the control of the person performing the repairs. This prevents another worker in the plant from inadvertently energizing the equipment. Development and implementation of procedures to achieve these goals is called a lockout/tagout programme. Mutilation of body parts, such as fingers, arms and legs, dismemberment and even death can result from ineffective or inadequate lockout/tagout programmes.

Sewage treatment plants often contain large tanks and storage containers. People sometimes need to work on top of the containers, or walk by pits that have been emptied of water and may contain an 8 to 10 foot (2.5 to 3 m) drop (see figure 4). Sufficient protection against falls as well as adequate safety training should be provided for the workers.

Microbial hazards

Microbial hazards are primarily associated with the treatment of human and animal waste. Although bacteria are often added to alter the solids contained in waste water, the hazard to sewage treatment workers comes primarily from exposure to micro-organisms contained in human and other animal waste. When aeration is used during the sewage treatment process these micro-organisms can become airborne. The long term effect on the immune system of individuals exposed to these micro-organisms for extended periods of time has not been conclusively evaluated. In addition, workers who remove solid refuse from the influent stream before any treatment is begun are often exposed to micro-organisms contained in material splashing onto their skin and making contact with the mucous membranes. The results of encountering micro-organisms found in sewage treatment plants for extended periods of time are often more subtle than resulting from acute intense exposures. Nevertheless, these effects can also be irreversible and serious.

The three main categories of microbes relevant to this discussion are fungi, bacteria and viruses. All three of these can cause acute illness as well as chronic disease. Acute symptoms including respiratory distress, abdominal pains and diarrhoea have been reported in waste treatment workers (Crook, Bardos and Lacey 1988; Lundholm and Rylander 1980). Chronic diseases, such as asthma and allergic alveolitis, have been traditionally associated with exposure to high levels of airborne microbes and, recently, with microbial exposure during the treatment of domestic waste (Rosas et al. 1996; Johanning, Olmstead and Yang 1995). Reports of significantly elevated concentrations of fungi and bacteria in waste treatment, sludge dewatering and composting facilities are beginning to be published (Rosas et al. 1996; Bisesi and Kudlinski 1996; Johanning Olmstead and Yang 1995). Another source of airborne microbes is the aeration tanks which are used in many sewage treatment plants.

In addition to inhalation, microbes can be transmitted through ingestion and through contact with skin that is not intact. Personal hygiene, including washing hands before eating, smoking and going to the bathroom, is important. Food, drink, eating utensils, cigarettes and anything that would be put into the mouth should be kept away from areas of possible microbial contamination.

Chemical hazards

Chemical encounters at waste treatment plants can be both immediate and fatal, as well as protracted. A variety of chemicals are used in the process of coagulation, flocculation, disinfection and sludge treatment. The chemical of choice is determined by the contaminant or contaminants in the raw sewage; some industrial waste requires somewhat exotic chemical treatment. In general, however, the primary hazards from chemicals used in the coagulation and flocculation processes are skin irritation and eye injury due to direct contact. This is especially true of solutions which have a pH (acidity) less than 3 or greater than 9. The disinfection of effluent is often achieved by using either liquid or gaseous chlorine. Use of liquid chlorine can cause eye injury if splashed into the eyes. Ozone and ultraviolet light are also used to achieve disinfection of the effluent.

One way to monitor the effectiveness of sewage treatment is to measure the amount of organic material which remains in the effluent after treatment is complete. This can be done by determining the amount of oxygen that would be required to biodegrade the organic material contained in 1 litre of liquid over a period of 5 days. This is referred to as the 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD₅).

Chemical hazards in sewage treatment plants arise from the decomposition of organic material which results in the production of hydrogen sulphide and methane, from toxic waste dumped down the sewer lines and from the contaminants produced by operations performed by the workers themselves.

Hydrogen sulphide is almost always found in waste treatment plants. Hydrogen sulphide, also known as sewer gas, has a distinctive, unpleasant smell, often identified as rotten eggs. The human nose, however, quickly becomes accustomed to the smell. People who are exposed to hydrogen sulphide often lose their ability to detect its odour (i.e., olfactory fatigue). Furthermore, even if the olfactory system is able to detect hydrogen sulphide, it is not able to accurately judge its concentration in the atmosphere. Hydrogen sulphide biochemically interferes with the electron transport mechanism and blocks the utilization of oxygen at the molecular level. The result is asphyxiation and ultimately death due to the lack of oxygen in the brainstem cells that control the breathing rate. High levels of hydrogen sulphide (greater than 100 ppm) can, and often do, occur in the confined spaces found in sewage treatment plants. Exposure to very high levels of hydrogen sulphide can result in almost instantaneous suppression of the respiratory centre in the brainstem. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has identified 100 ppm of hydrogen sulphide as immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH). Lower levels of hydrogen sulphide (less than 10 ppm) are almost always present in some areas of sewage treatment plants. At these lower levels hydrogen sulphide can be irritating to the respiratory system, be associated with headaches and result in conjunctivitis (Smith 1986). Hydrogen sulphide is produced whenever organic matter decays and, industrially, during the production of paper (Kraft process), the tanning of leather (hair removal with sodium sulphide), and the production of heavy water for nuclear reactors.

Methane is another gas produced by the decomposition of organic matter. In addition to displacing oxygen, methane is explosive. Levels can be reached which result in an explosion when a spark or source of ignition is introduced.

Plants that handle industrial waste should have a thorough knowledge of the chemicals used in each of the industrial plants that utilize their services and a working relationship with the management of those plants so that they are promptly informed of any changes in processes and waste contents. Dumping of solvents, fuels and any other substance into sewer systems presents a hazard to treatment workers not only because of the toxicity of the material dumped but also because the dumping is unanticipated.

Whenever any industrial operation, such as welding or spray painting, is performed in a confined space special care must be taken to provide sufficient ventilation to prevent an explosion hazard as well as to remove toxic material produced by the operation. When an operation performed in a confined space produces a toxic atmosphere it is often necessary to equip the worker with a respirator because ventilation of the confined space may not ensure that the concentration of the toxic chemical can be maintained below the permissible exposure limit. Selection and fitting of a proper respirator falls within the purview of industrial hygiene practice.

Another serious chemical hazard in sewage treatment plants is the use of gaseous chlorine to decontaminate the effluent from the plant. The gaseous chlorine comes in a variety of containers weighing from 70 kg to roughly 1 tonne. Some of the very large sewage treatment plants use chlorine delivered in railroad cars. Gaseous chlorine is extremely irritating to the alveolar portion of the lungs, even in levels as low as a few ppm. Inhalation of higher concentrations of chlorine can cause inflammation of the alveoli of the lung and produce the adult respiratory distress syndrome, which has a 50% death rate. When a sewage treatment plant utilizes large amounts of chlorine (1 tonne and greater) the hazard exists not only for the plant workers but for the surrounding community as well. Unfortunately, the plants that use the largest amounts of chlorine are often located in large metropolitan centres with high density of people. Other methods of decontamination of sewage treatment plant effluent are available, including ozone treatment, the use of liquid hypochlorite solution and ultraviolet irradiation.

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In many locations domestic waste collection is performed by municipal employees. In others, by private companies. This article provides an overview of processes and hazards that are based on observations and experiences in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Editor.

Overview

Besides the few workers employed by municipalities in the Province of Quebec, Canada, that have their own waste collection boards, thousands of waste collectors and drivers are employed in hundreds of companies in the private sector.

Many private enterprises rely, either wholly or partially, upon jobbers who rent or own trucks and are responsible for the collectors who work for them. Competition in the sector is high, as municipal contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, and there is a regular annual turnover of enterprises. The high competition also results in low and stable domestic waste-collection rates, and waste collection accounts for the lowest proportion of municipal taxes. However, as the existing landfills fill up, landfill costs rise, obliging municipalities to consider integrated waste-management systems. All municipal workers are unionized. Unionization of private-sector workers began in the 1980s, and 20 to 30% of them are now unionized.

Work Processes

Waste collection is a dangerous trade. If we recognize that garbage trucks are similar to hydraulic presses, it follows that waste collection is like working on a mobile industrial press under conditions much more demanding than those encountered in most factories. In waste collection, the machine travels through traffic in all seasons and workers must feed it by running behind it and tossing irregular objects of variable volume and weight, containing invisible and hazardous objects, into it. On average, collectors handle 2.4 tonnes of waste per hour. The efficiency of waste collection operations is entirely dependent on determinants of work rate and rhythm. The need to avoid rush-hour traffic and bridge line-ups creates time pressures at collection points and during transport. Speed is again of importance during unloading at landfills and incinerators.

Several aspects of waste collection influence workload and hazards. First, remuneration is on a flat-rate basis, that is, the territory specified by contract must be completely cleared of domestic waste on collection day. Since the volume of waste depends on residents’ activities and varies from day to day and from season to season, the workload varies enormously. Secondly, workers are in direct contact with the objects and waste collected. This is quite different from the situation in the commercial and industrial waste-collection sectors, where waste-filled containers are collected by either front-loading trucks equipped with automated fork-lifts or by roll-off trucks. This means that workers in those sectors do not handle the waste containers and are not in direct contact with the waste. Working conditions for these collectors therefore more closely resemble those of domestic waste drivers, rather than domestic waste collectors.

Residential collection (also known as domestic collection) is, on the other hand, primarily manual, and workers continue to handle a wide variety of objects and containers of variable size, nature and weight. A few suburban and rural municipalities have implemented semi-automated collection, involving the use of mobile domestic waste bins and side-loading collectors (figure 1). However, most domestic waste continues to be collected manually, especially in cities. The principal characteristic of this job is thus significant physical exertion.

Figure 1. Automatic, side-loading refuse collector.

Pak Mor Manufacturing Company

Hazards

A study involving field observations and measurements, interviews with management and workers, statistical analysis of 755 occupational accidents and analysis of video sequences revealed a number of potential hazards (Bourdouxhe, Cloutier and Guertin 1992).

Workload

On average, waste collectors handle 16,000 kg spread out over 500 collection points every day, equivalent to a collection density of 550 kg/km. Collection takes almost 6 hours, equivalent to 2.4 tonnes/hour, and involves walking 11 km during a total work day of 9 hours. Collection speed averages 4.6 km/h, over a territory of almost 30 km of sidewalks, streets and lanes. Rest periods are limited to a few minutes precariously balanced on the rear platform, or, in the case of driver-collectors of side-loading trucks, at the wheel. This demanding workload is exacerbated by such factors as the frequency of truck dismounts and mounts, the distance covered, travel modes, the static effort required to maintain one’s balance on the rear platform (a minimum of 13 kg of force), the frequency of handling operations per unit time, the variety of postures required (bending movements), the frequency of tosses and twisting movements of the trunk and the high collection rate per unit time in some sectors. The fact that the Association française de normalisation (AFNOR) adapted weight standard for manual handling was exceeded in 23% of observed trips is eloquent testimony of the impact of these factors. When workers’ capacities (established to be 3.0 tonnes/hour for rear-loading trucks, and 1.9 tonnes/hour for side-loading ones) are taken into account, the frequency with which the AFNOR standard is exceeded rises to 37%.

Diversity and nature of objects handled

Manipulation of objects and containers of variable weight and volume interrupts the smooth flow of operations and breaks work rhythms. Objects in this category, often hidden by residents, include heavy, large or bulky objects, sharp or pointed objects and hazardous materials. The most frequently encountered hazards are listed in table 1.

Table 1. Hazardous objects found in domestic waste collections.

Glass, window panes, fluorescent tubing

Battery acid, cans of solvent or paint, aerosol containers, gas cylinders, motor oil

Construction waste, dust, plaster, sawdust, hearth cinders

Pieces of wood with nails in them

Syringes, medical waste

Garden waste, grass, rocks, earth

Furniture, electrical appliances, other large domestic trash

Pre-compacted waste (in apartment buildings)

Excessive numbers of small containers from small businesses and restaurants

Large amounts of vegetable and animal waste in rural sectors

Extra-large bags

Prohibited containers (e.g., no handles, excessive weight, 55-gallon oil drums, thin-necked drums, garbage cans without covers)

Small, apparently light bags that are in fact heavy

Excessive numbers of small bags

Paper bags and boxes that rip

All waste that is hidden because of its excessive weight or toxicity, or that surprises unprepared workers

Commercial containers that must be emptied with an improvised system, which is often inappropriate and dangerous

Workers are greatly helped by having residents sort waste into colour-coded bags and mobile domestic bins which facilitate the collection and allow better control of work rhythm and effort.

Climatic conditions and the nature of objects transported

Wet paper bags and poor-quality plastic bags that rip and scatter their contents over the sidewalk, frozen garbage cans and domestic bins stuck in snow banks can cause mishaps and dangerous recovery manoeuvres.

Work schedule

The need to rush, traffic problems, parked cars and crowded streets all can contribute to dangerous situations.

In an attempt to reduce their workload and maintain a high but constant work rhythm in the face of these constraints, workers often attempt to save time or effort by adopting work strategies that may be hazardous. The most commonly observed strategies included kicking bags or cardboard boxes towards the truck, zigzagging across the road to collect from both sides of the street, grabbing bags while the truck is in motion, carrying bags under the arm or against the body, using the thigh to help load bags and garbage cans, hand-picking of waste scattered on the ground and manual compaction (pushing garbage overflowing the hopper with the hands when the compacting system is incapable of processing the load rapidly enough). For example, in suburban collection with a rear-loading truck, almost 1,500 situations were observed per hour that could result in accidents or increase workload. These included:

• 53 mounts and dismounts from the truck’s rear platform

• 38 short runs

• 482 bending movements

• 203 tosses

• 159 twisting movements

• 277 potentially hazardous actions (including 255 work strategies aimed at reducing workload by saving time or effort)

• 285 instances of increased workload, including 11 mishap- recovery activities

• 274 dangerous or heavy objects or containers.

Collection with side-loading trucks (see figure 1) or small mobile domestic bins reduces the manipulation of heavy or dangerous objects and the frequency of situations that could result in accidents or an increase in workload.

Use of public thoroughfares

The street is the collectors’ workplace. This exposes them to such hazards as vehicular traffic, blocked access to residents’ waste receptacles, accumulation of water, snow, ice and neighbourhood dogs.

Vehicles

Rear-loading trucks (figure 2) often have excessively high or shallow steps and rear platforms that are difficult to mount and render descents perilously similar to jumps. Hand-rails that are too high or too close to the truck body only worsen the situation. These conditions increase the frequency of falls and of collisions with structures adjacent to the rear platform. In addition, the upper edge of the hopper is very high, and shorter workers must expend additional energy lifting objects into it from the ground. In some cases, workers use their legs or thighs for support or additional power when loading the hopper.

Figure 2. Back-loading enclosed compactor truck.

National Safety Council (US)  The packer-blade comes down within centimetres of the edge of the platform. The blade has the capacity to cut protruding objects.

The characteristics of side-loading trucks and the operations related to their loading result in specific repetitive movements likely to cause muscle and joint problems in the shoulder and upper back. Driver-collectors of side-loading trucks have an additional constraint, as they must cope with both the physical strain of collection and the mental strain of driving.

Personal protective equipment

While the theoretical value of PPE is beyond question, it may nevertheless prove inadequate in practice. In concrete terms, the equipment may be inappropriate for the conditions under which collection is carried out. Boots, in particular, are incompatible with the narrow utilizable height of rear platforms and the high work rhythm necessitated by the manner in which collection is organized. Strong, puncture-resistant yet flexible gloves are valuable in protecting against hand injuries.

Work organization

Some aspects of work organization increase workload and, by extension, hazards. In common with most flat-rate situations, the main advantage to workers of this system is the ability to manage their work time and save time by adopting a rapid work rhythm as they see fit. This explains why attempts, based on safety considerations, to slow down the pace of work have been unsuccessful. Some work schedules exceed workers’ capacities.

The role of the myriad variations of residents’ behaviour in the creation of additional hazards merits a study in itself. Prohibited or dangerous wastes skilfully hidden in regular waste, non-standard containers, excessively large or heavy objects, disagreements over collection times and non-conformity with bylaws all increase the number of hazards—and the potential for conflicts between residents and collectors. Collectors are often reduced to the role of “garbage police”, educators and buffers between municipalities, enterprises and residents.

Collection of materials for recycling is not without its own problems despite a low waste density and collection rates far below those of traditional collection (with the exception of the collection of leaves for composting). The hourly frequency of situations that could result in accidents is often high. The fact that this is a new type of work for which few workers have been trained should be borne in mind.

In several cases, workers are obliged to perform such dangerous activities as mounting the truck’s compaction box to get into the compartments and move piles of paper and cardboard with their feet. Several work strategies aimed at speeding up work rhythm have also been observed, e.g., hand re-sorting of the material to be recycled and removing objects from the recycling box and carrying them to the truck, rather than carrying the box to the truck. The frequency of mishaps and disruptions of normal work activity in this type of collection is particularly high. These mishaps result from workers doing ad hoc activities that are themselves dangerous.

Occupational Accidents and Prevention

Domestic waste collection is a dangerous trade. Statistics support this impression. The average annual accident rate in this industry, for all types of enterprise, truck and trade, is almost 80 accidents for every 2,000 hours of collection. This is equivalent to 8 workers of every 10 suffering an injury at least once a year. Four accidents occur for every 1,000 10-tonne truckloads. On average, each accident results in 10 lost workdays and accident compensation of $820 (Canadian). Indices of injury frequency and severity vary among enterprises, with higher rates observed in municipal enterprises (74 accidents/100 workers versus 57/100 workers in private enterprises) (Bourdouxhe, Cloutier and Guertin 1992). The most common accidents are listed in table 2.

Table 2. Most common accidents in domestic waste collection, Quebec, Canada.

Collectors typically suffer hand and thigh lacerations, drivers typically suffer sprained ankles resulting from falls during cabin dismounts and driver-collectors of side-loading trucks typically suffer shoulder and upper back pain resulting from tossing movements. The nature of the accidents also depends on the type of truck, although this can also be seen as a reflection of the specific trades associated with rear- and side-loading trucks. These differences are related to equipment design, the type of movements required and the nature and density of waste collected in the sectors in which these two types of truck are used.

Prevention

The following are ten categories in which improvements could make domestic waste collection safer:

1. management of health and safety (for instance, the development of accident-prevention programmes based on workers’ knowledge of occupational hazards which are better adapted to actual tasks)
2. training and hiring
3. work organization, organization of collection and workload
4. vehicles
5. training and work conditions of auxiliary, occasional and temporary workers
6. collection contracts
7. public management
8. collaboration between employer associations (municipal and private), workers and municipal or regional decision-making bodies
9. stability of the workforce
10. research on personal protective equipment, ergonomic design of trucks, subcontracting jobbers and safety.

Conclusion

Domestic waste collection is an important but hazardous activity. Protection of workers is made more difficult where this service is contracted out to private sector enterprises which, as in the province of Quebec, may subcontract the work to many smaller jobbers. A large number of ergonomic and accident hazards, compounded by work quotas, adverse weather and local street and traffic problems must be confronted and controlled if workers’ health and safety are to be maintained.

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Adapted from 3rd edition, Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety.

Waste water is treated in order to remove pollutants and to comply with the limits set by law. For this purpose an attempt is made to render the pollutants in the water insoluble in the form of solids (e.g., sludge), liquids (e.g., oil) or gases (e.g., nitrogen) by applying appropriate treatments. Well known techniques are then used to separate the treated waste water to be returned to the natural waterways from the pollutants rendered insoluble. The gases are dispersed into the atmosphere, while the liquid and solid residues (sludge, oil, grease) are usually digested before being submitted to further treatment. There may be single or multi-stage treatments according to the characteristics of the waste water and to the degree of purification required. Waste water treatment may be subdivided into physical (primary), biological (secondary) and tertiary processes.

Physical Processes

The various physical treatment processes are designed to remove insoluble pollutants.

Screening

The sewage is made to pass through screens which retain coarse solids that may block or damage the treatment works equipment (e.g., valves and pumps). The screenings are processed according to local situations.

Sand removal

The sand contained in the waste water has to be removed as it tends to settle in the pipework on account of its high density and cause abrasion to the equipment (e.g., centrifugal separators and turbines). Sand is generally removed by passing the waste water through a channel of constant cross-section at a velocity of 15 to 30 cm/s. The sand collects on the channel bottom and may be used, after washing to remove putrescible matter, as an inert material, such as for road building.

Oil removal

Oils and non-emulsifiable fats have to be removed because they would adhere to the equipment of the treatment works (e.g., basins and clarifiers) and interfere with the subsequent biological treatment. Oil and fat particles are made to collect on the surface by passing the waste water at an appropriate velocity through tanks of rectangular cross-section; they are skimmed off mechanically and may be used as a fuel. Multi-plate separators of compact design and high efficiency are frequently used for oil removal: the sewage is made to pass from above through stacks of flat inclined plates; the oil adheres to the bottom surfaces of the plates and moves to the top where it is collected. With both these processes, the de-oiled water is discharged at the bottom.

Sedimentation, flotation and coagulation

These processes enable the solids to be removed from the waste water, heavy ones (greater than 0.4 μm in diameter) by sedimentation and light ones (less than 0.4 μm) by flotation. This treatment, too, relies on the differences in density of the solids and of the flowing waste water which is passed through sedimentation tanks and flotation tanks made of concrete or steel. The particles to be separated collect in the bottom or at the surface, settling or rising at velocities which are proportional to the square of the particle radius and to the difference between the particle density and the apparent waste water density. Colloidal particles (e.g., proteins, latexes and oily emulsions) with sizes from 0.4 to 0.001 μm are not separated, as these colloids become hydrated and usually negatively charged by adsorption of ions. Consequently the particles repel each other so that they cannot coagulate and separate. However, if these particles are “destabilized”, they coagulate to form flocks greater than 4 μm, which can be separated as sludge in conventional sedimentation or flotation tanks. Destabilization is obtained by coagulation, that is, by adding 30 to 60 mg/l of an inorganic coagulant (aluminium sulphate, iron (II) sulphate or iron (III) chloride). The coagulant hydrolyses under given pH (acidity) conditions and forms positive polyvalent metal ions, which neutralize the negative charge of the colloid. Flocculation (the agglomeration of coagulated particles in flocks) is facilitated by adding 1 to 3 mg/l of organic polyelectrolytes (flocculation agents), resulting in flocks of 0.3 to 1 μm diameter which are easier to separate. Sedimentation tanks of the horizontal-flow type may be used; they have rectangular cross-section and flat or sloping bottoms. The waste water enters along one of the head sides, and the clarified water leaves over the edge at the opposite side. Also vertical flow sedimentation tanks can be used which are cylindrical in shape and have a bottom like an inverted right circular cone; the waste water enters in the middle, and the clarified water leaves the tank over the top indented edge to be collected into an external circumferential channel. With the two types of tank, the sludge settles on the bottom and is conveyed (if necessary by means of a raking gear) into a collector. The solids concentration in the sludge is 2 to 10%, whereas that of the clarified water is 20 to 80 mg/l.

The flotation tanks are usually cylindrical in shape and have fine bubble air diffusers installed in their bottoms, the sewage entering the tanks in the centre. The particles adhere to the bubbles, float to the surface and are skimmed off, while the clarified water is discharged below. In the case of the more efficient “dissolved-air floating tanks”, the waste water is saturated with air under a pressure of 2 to 5 bars and then allowed to expand in the centre of the floating tank, where the minute bubbles resulting from the decompression make the particles float to the surface.

Compared to sedimentation, flotation yields a thicker sludge at a higher particle separation velocity, and the equipment required is therefore smaller. On the other hand, the operating cost and the concentration of solids in the clarified water are higher.

Several tanks arranged in series are required for coagulating and flocculating a colloidal system. An inorganic coagulant and, if necessary, an acid or an alkali to correct the pH value are added to the waste water in the first tank, which is equipped with an agitator. The suspension is then passed into a second tank equipped with a high-speed agitator; here, the polyelectrolyte is added and dissolved within a few minutes. The flock growth takes place in a third tank with a slow-running agitator and is carried out for 10 to 15 minutes.

Biological Processes

Biological treatment processes remove organic biodegradable pollutants by use of micro-organisms. These organisms digest the pollutant by an aerobic or anaerobic process (with or without supply of atmospheric oxygen) and convert it into water, gases (carbon dioxide and methane) and a solid insoluble microbic mass which can be separated from the treated water. Especially in the case of industrial effluents proper conditions for the development of micro-organisms must be assured: presence of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, traces of microelements, absence of toxic substances (heavy metals, etc.), optimum temperature and pH value. Biological treatment includes aerobic and anaerobic processes.

Aerobic processes

The aerobic processes are more or less complex according to the space available, the degree of purification required and the composition of the waste water.

Stabilization ponds

These are generally rectangular and 3 to 4 m deep. The sewage enters at one end, is left for 10 to 60 days and leaves the pond partly at the opposite end, partly by evaporation and partly by infiltration into the ground. The purification efficiency ranges from 10 to 90% according to the type of effluent and to the residual 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) content (<40 mg/l). Oxygen is supplied from the atmosphere by diffusion through the surface of the water and from photosynthetic algae. The solids in suspension in the waste water and those produced by microbial activity settle on the bottom, where they are stabilized by aerobic and/or anaerobic processes according to the depth of the ponds which affects the diffusion both of oxygen and sunlight. The oxygen diffusion is frequently accelerated by surface aerators, which enable the volume of the ponds to be reduced.

This type of treatment is very economical if space is available, but requires clay-like soil to prevent the pollution of underground water by toxic effluents.

Activated sludge

This is used for an accelerated treatment carried out in concrete or steel tanks of 3 to 5 m depth where the waste water comes into contact with a suspension of micro-organisms (2 to 10 g/l) which is oxygenated by means of surface aerators or by blowing in air. After 3 to 24 hours, the mixture of treated water and micro-organisms is passed into a sedimentation tank where the sludge made up by micro-organisms is separated from the water. The micro-organisms are partly returned to the aerated tank and partly evacuated.

There are various types of activated-sludge processes (e.g., contact-stabilization systems and use of pure oxygen) which yield purification efficiencies of greater than 95% even for industrial effluents but they require accurate controls and high energy consumption for oxygen supply.

Percolating filters

With this technique the micro-organisms are not kept in suspension in the waste water, but adhere to the surface of a filling material over which the sewage is sprayed. Air circulates through the material and supplies the required oxygen without any energy consumption. According to the type of waste water and to increase efficiency, part of the treated water is recirculated to the top of the filter bed.

Where land is available, low-cost filling materials of appropriate size (e.g., crushed stone, clinker and limestone) are used, and on account of the weight of the bed the percolating filter is generally constructed as a 1 m high concrete tank usually sunk in the ground. If there is not enough land, more costly lightweight packing materials such as high-rate plastic honeycomb media, with up to 250 square metres of surface area/cubic metre of media, are stacked in percolating towers up to 10 m high.

The waste water is distributed over the filter bed by a mobile or fixed sparging mechanism and collected in the floor to be eventually recirculated to the top and to be passed into a sedimentation tank where the sludge formed can settle. Openings at the bottom of the percolating filter allow for air circulation through the filter bed. Pollutants removal efficiencies of 30 to 90% are achieved. In many cases several filters are arranged in series. This technique, which requires little energy and is easy to operate, has found widespread use and is recommended for cases where land is available, for instance, in developing countries.

Biodiscs

A set of flat plastic discs mounted parallel on a horizontal rotating shaft are partially immersed in the waste water contained in a tank. Due to the rotation the biological felt that covers the discs is brought into contact with the effluents and atmospheric oxygen. The biological sludge coming off the biodiscs remains in suspension in the waste water, and the system acts as activated sludge and sedimentation tank at the same time. Biodiscs are suitable for small to medium-sized industrial factories and communities, take up little space, are easy to operate, require little energy and yield efficiencies of up to 90%.

Anaerobic processes

Anaerobic processes are carried out by two groups of micro-organisms—hydrolytic bacteria, which decompose complex substances (polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, etc.) to acetic acid, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and water; and methanogenic bacteria, which convert these substances to a biomass (that can be removed from the treated sewage by sedimentation) and to biogas containing 65 to 70% methane, the remainder being carbon dioxide, and having a high heat value.

These two groups of micro-organisms, which are very sensitive to toxic contaminants, act simultaneously in the absence of air at an almost neutral pH value, some requiring a temperature of 20 to 38^oC (mesophilic bacteria) and other, more delicate ones, 60 to 65^oC (thermophilic bacteria). The process is carried out in stirred, closed concrete or steel digesters, where the required temperature is held by thermostats. Typical is the contact process, where the digester is followed by a sedimentation tank to separate the sludge, which is partially recirculated to the digester, from the treated water.

Anaerobic processes need neither oxygen nor power for oxygen supply and yield biogas, which can be used as a fuel (low operating costs). On the other hand, they are less efficient than aerobic processes (residual BOD₅: 100 to 1,500 mg/l), are slower and more difficult to control, but enable faecal and pathogenic micro-organisms to be destroyed. They are used for treating strong wastes, such as sedimentation sludge from sewage, sludge in excess from activated sludge or percolating-filter treatments and industrial effluents with a BOD₅ up to 30,000 mg/l (e.g., from distilleries, breweries, sugar refineries, abattoirs and paper mills).

Tertiary Processes

The more complex and more expensive tertiary processes make use of chemical reactions or specific chemicophysical or physical techniques to remove water-soluble non-biodegradable pollutants, both organic (e.g., dyes and phenols) and inorganic (e.g., copper, mercury, nickel, phosphates, fluorides, nitrates and cyanides), especially from industrial waste water, because they cannot be removed by other treatments. Tertiary treatment also enables a high degree of water purification to be obtained, and the water thus treated may be used as drinking water or for manufacturing processes (steam generation, cooling systems, process water for particular purposes). The most important tertiary processes are as follows.

Precipitation

Precipitation is carried out in reactors made of an appropriate material and equipped with agitators where chemical reagents are added at a controlled temperature and pH value to convert the pollutant to an insoluble product. The precipitate obtained in the form of sludge is separated by conventional techniques from the treated water. In waste water from the fertilizer industry, for instance, phosphates and fluorides are rendered insoluble by reaction with lime at ambient temperature and at an alkaline pH; chromium (tanning industry), nickel and copper (electroplating shops) are precipitated as hydroxides at an alkaline pH after having been reduced with m-disulphite at a pH of 3 or lower.

Chemical oxidation

The organic pollutant is oxidized with reagents in reactors similar to those used for precipitation. The reaction is generally continued until water and carbon dioxide are obtained as final products. Cyanides, for instance, are destroyed at ambient temperature by adding sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite at alkaline pH, whereas azo- and anthraquinone-dyes are decomposed by hydrogen peroxide and ferrous sulphate at pH 4.5. Coloured effluents from the chemical industry containing 5 to 10% non-biodegradable organic substance are oxidized at 200 to 300°C at high pressure in reactors made of special materials by blowing air and oxygen into the liquid (wet oxidation); catalysts are sometimes used. Pathogens left in urban sewage after treatment are oxidized by chlorination or ozonisation to render the water drinkable.

Absorption

Some pollutants (e.g., phenols in waste water from coking plants, dyes in water for industrial or drinking purposes and surfactants) are effectively removed by absorption on activated carbon powder or granules which are highly porous and have a large specific surface area (of 1000 m²/g or more). The activated carbon powder is added in metered quantities to the waste water in stirred tanks, and 30 to 60 minutes later the spent powder is removed as a sludge. Granulated activated carbon is used in towers arranged in series through which the polluted water is passed. The spent carbon is regenerated in these towers, that is, the absorbed pollutant is removed either by chemical treatment (e.g., phenols are washed out with soda) or by thermal oxidation (e.g., dyes).

Ion exchange

Certain natural substances (e.g., zeolites) or artificial compounds (e.g., Permutit and resins) exchange, in a stoichiometric and reversible manner, the ions bound to them with those contained, even strongly diluted, in the waste water. Copper, chromium, nickel, nitrates and ammonia, for instance, are removed from waste water by percolation through columns packed with resins. When the resins are spent, they are reactivated by washing with regenerating solutions. Metals are thus recovered in a concentrated solution. This treatment, though costly, is efficient and advisable in cases where a high degree of purity is required (e.g., for waste water contaminated by toxic metals).

Reverse osmosis

In special cases it is possible to extract water of high purity, suitable for drinking, from diluted waste water by passing it through semi-permeable membranes. On the waste water side of the membrane the pollutants (chlorides, sulphates, phosphates, dyes, certain metals) are left as concentrated solutions which have to be disposed of or treated for recovery. The diluted waste water is subjected to pressures up to 50 bars in special plant containing synthetic membranes made of cellulose acetate or other polymers. The operating cost of this process is low, and separation efficiencies of greater than 95% may be obtained.

Sludge Treatment

Rendering pollutants insoluble during waste water treatment results in the production of considerable amounts of sludge (20 to 30% of the removed chemical oxygen demand (COD) which is strongly diluted (90 to 99% water)). The disposal of this sludge in a manner acceptable to the environment presupposes treatments with a cost of up to 50% of those required for waste water purification. The types of treatment depend on the destination of the sludge, depending in turn on its characteristics and on local situations. Sludge may be destined for:

• fertilization or dumping at sea if it is substantially free from toxic substances and contains nitrogen and phosphorus compounds (sludge from biological treatment), using fixed outfalls, lorries or barges

• sanitary landfill into pits dug in the ground, alternating layers of sludge and soil. Impermeabilisation of peats is required if the sludge contains toxic substances that may be washed out by atmospheric precipitations. The pits should be remote from water-bearing strata. Non-stabilized organic sludge is usually mixed with 10 to 15% lime to retard putrefaction.

• incineration in rotary or fluidized-bed furnaces if the sludge is rich in organic substances and free from volatile metals; if necessary, fuel is added, and the smoke emitted is purified.

The sludge is dewatered before its disposal to reduce both its volume and the cost of its treatment, and it is frequently stabilized to prevent its putrefaction and to render harmless any toxic substances it may contain.

Dewatering

Dewatering includes previous thickening in thickeners, similar to sedimentation tanks, where the sludge is left for 12 to 24 hours and loses part of the water which collects on the surface, while the thickened sludge is discharged below. The thickened sludge is dewatered, for example, by centrifugal separation or by filtration (under vacuum or pressure) with conventional equipment, or by exposure to the air in layers of 30 cm thick in sludge-drying beds consisting of rectangular concrete lagoons, approximately 50 cm deep, with a sloped bottom covered with a layer of sand to facilitate water drainage. Sludge containing colloidal substances should be previously destabilized by coagulation and flocculation, according to already described techniques.

Stabilization

Stabilization includes digestion and detoxification. Digestion is a long-term treatment of the sludge during which it loses 30 to 50% of its organic matter, accompanied by an increase in its mineral salt content. This sludge is no longer putrescible, any pathogens are destroyed and the filtrability is improved. Digestion may be of the aerobic type when the sludge is aerated during 8 to 15 days at ambient temperature in concrete tanks, the process being similar to activated-sludge treatment. It may be of the anaerobic type if the sludge is digested in plants similar to those used for the anaerobic waste treatment, at 35 to 40°C during 30 to 40 days, with the production of biogas. Digestion can be of the thermal type when the sludge is treated with hot air at 200 to 250°C and at a pressure of more than 100 bars during 15 to 30 minutes (wet combustion), or when it is treated, in the absence of air, at 180°C and at autogenous pressure, for 30 to 45 minutes.

Detoxification renders harmless sludge containing metals (e.g., chromium, nickel and lead), which are solidified by treatment with sodium silicate and autothermically converted into the corresponding insoluble silicates.

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