Investigation of the occupational health and safety conditions in Hellenic solid waste management facilities and assessment of the in-situ hazard level

Due to tenuous working conditions and working accidents in the past, sufficient safety measures for the personnel in certain solid waste management facilities are deemed a necessity. Besides the fact that such facilities are equipped with heavy machinery associated with safety risks, the working environment poses additional health risks to the personnel, due to their exposure to various waste-derived emissions. Therefore, it is required to establish and preserve the safety and hygienic conditions but also to equip and train their personnel during all waste treatment and management stages. Presented in this work are the results of a field research which aimed to evaluate the health and safety conditions in operating Hellenic Solid Waste Management facilities. For the performed data mining, structured questionnaires were used and interviews with facility Safety Officers and workers were held. Facilities included sanitary landfills, recycling plants, transfer stations, mechanical-biological treatment plants and a HealthCare Waste incinerator. Major outcome was the overall evaluation of Occupational Health and Safety measures of the facilities (material Recovery and composting facilities are those with the higher hazard level), as well as the evaluation of high-risk parameters (“dust” and “litter, animals and insects in the perimeter” are found to constitute the major health hazards for the facilities' personnel). The limitation of the latter parameters and the adoption of measures towards it by decision makers or facility managers/stakeholders will lead in best-practice practical guidelines.