Analysis of environmental risks and accidents at work in urban solid waste collection services

Ferrão, Caroline Cipolatto; Moraes, Jorge André Ribas

doi:10.1590/1806-9649.2020v28e4885

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Brasil

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Sumário

ORIGINAL ARTICLE • Gest. Prod. 28 (1) • 2021 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9649.2020v28e4885 copy

Analysis of environmental risks and accidents at work in urban solid waste collection services

Análise dos riscos ambientais e de acidentes de trabalho em serviços de coleta de resíduos sólidos urbanos

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

abstract:

The heterogeneity and the volume of solid urban waste generated daily cause difficulties in their management, which causes environmental impacts, health and public safety problems. Among all waste management activities, collection is one of the most relevant from an occupational point of view because employees are subject to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic risks as well as suffering accident. This article aims to instruct companies to apply multidisciplinary management tools that conciliate and serve as a basis for decision making related to environmental and occupational safety management. Therefore, the Ad Hoc Environmental Impact Assessment techniques and the RMT Risk Management Tool were used to identify the environmental impacts generated and the risks to which employees in the urban solid waste collection sector are exposed. It happened through the collection of operational, environmental information and work safety data, in 2017, of companies operating in 7 (seven) municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Ad Hoc report showed that the environmental aspects of surface water, groundwater, soil, odor and air pollution, generate negative and irreversible environmental impacts. Furthermore, the analysis of accidents at work, the identification of the major agents that cause accidents at work and the nature of injuries, showed their high frequency and severity. In total 60 accidents were recorded and all occurred with garbage collectors. Among these, 13 had as causative agents “glassware, fiberglass, blade, except vial, bottle” and the most recurrent types of injuries were “excoriation and abrasion (superficial wound)” and “by cutting, laceration, blunt wound, puncture (open wound)”, both with 22% of occurrence, which generate work leave. Furthermore, the elaboration of Action Plans and application of the 5W2H Quality Management tool proved to be excellent tools for assessments regarding the minimization of environmental impacts and the control of accidents at work.

Keywords:
Urban solid waste; Occupational safety; Occupational accidents; Environmental impacts; Risk management; Quality Management

BRAZIL
Reason/Situation	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Total
Typical - with Communication of Work Accidents (CWA)	5.170	5.500	5.551	5.519	5.360	5.216	32.316
Route - with CWA	659	678	733	708	655	629	4.062
Occupational Disease - with CWA	45	53	60	54	101	44	357
Without CWA	1.010	930	845	0	269	279	3.333
Total	6.884	7.161	7.189	6.281	6.385	6.168	40.068
RIO GRANDE DO SUL
Motivo/Situação	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Total
Typical - with CWA	329	355	296	363	397	318	2.058
Route - with CWA	25	28	35	25	33	22	168
Occupational Disease - with CWA	3	4	1	2	1	5	16
Without CWA	40	46	38	0	10	13	147
Total	397	433	370	390	441	358	2.389

Severity
Degree	Effect	Description	Clearance
1	Mild	Accidents that do not cause injuries	Without Leave
2	Moderate	Accidents with leave and non-incapacitating injuries	From 1 to 30 days
3	Major	Accidents with leave and incapacitating injuries, without loss of substances or limbs	From 31 to 60 days
4	Severe	Accidents with leave and incapacitating injuries, with loss of substances or limbs	From 61 to 90 days
5	Catastrophic	Death or permanent disability	No return

Frequency or Probability
Degree	Ocorrence	Description	Frequency
1	Improbable	Very low probability of damage occurring	Once every 02 years
2	Possible	Low probability of damage occurring	Once every 01 year
3	Occasional	Moderate likelihood of damage occurring	Once every semester
4	Regular	High probability of damage occurring	Once every 3 months
5	Right	Very high probability of damage occurring	At least once a month

Risk Index and Action Management
Risk Idex	Type of risk	Level of actions
Up to 3	Trivial	Do not require special actions, neither preventive nor detection
From 4 to 6	Tolerable	Do not require immediate action. They may be implemented in due time, depending on the availability of labor and financial resources
From 8 to 10	Moderate	Requires prevision and definition of deadline and responsibility for the implementation of actions
From 12 to 20	Relevant	Requires immediate implementation of actions and definition of responsibilities. Work can be released for execution only with follow-up and continuous monitoring. The interruption of work can happen when conditions present some lack of control
Greater than 20	Intolerable	The works cannot be started and if they are in progress, they must be stopped immediately and can only be restarted after implementing corrective actions

Environmental Aspects Ambientais	ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Environmental Aspects Ambientais	NE	PE	NE	B	A	P	ST	LT	R	I
Surface water			X			X		X		X
Groundwater			X			X		X		X
Soil			X			X		X		X
Fauna and flora			X			X		X		X
Noise			X			X	X		X
Odor			X		X		X			X
Air pollution			X			X		X		X
Public infrastructure		X		X				X	X
Socioeconomic aspects		X		X				X	X
Compatibility with municipal plans		X		X				X	X

Year	Municipalities	TN	H	T	Lsa	Lca	N	Total days lost	Freq Rate	Freq Rate Lsa	Freq Rate Lca	G	RIA
2017	M1	30	74.631,86	249/301	0	8	8	225	107,19	0	107,19	301,48	26,67%
	M2	17	42.023,53	249/301	0	4	4	23	95,18	0	95,18	54,73	23,53%
	M3	46	101.488,93	249/301	2	5	7	126	68,97	19,71	49,27	124,15	15,22%
	M4	14	34.498,53	249/301	0	10	10	42	289,87	0	289,87	121,74	71,43%
	M5	38	73.829,20	249/301	2	7	9	49	121,90	27,09	94,81	66,37	23,68%
	M6	20	38.119,33	249/301	5	9	14	31	367,27	131,17	236,10	81,32	70,00%
	M7	25	45.936,53	249/301	0	8	8	59	174,15	0	174,15	128,44	32,00%

RMT - Home Solid Waste Collection Services
Risks	Causes	Consequences	Frequency	Severity	Risk Index
Physicical	Noise from the collection trucks	Worker: discomfort throughout the workday	5	1	5
Chemical	Atmospheric emissions	Worker: breathing problems; Environmental: odor air pollution	5	1	5
Biological	Contact with viruses, fungi and bacteria through poor packaging of waste and exposure to loading and unloading vehicles	Worker: occupational diseases	3	2	6
Accident	Contact with sharps due to poor packaging	Worker: Injuries in general Environmental: contamination of surface water, groundwater and soil	5	2	10
	Holes and pavements on streets and roads	Worker: Dislocation, distension, twisting, abrasions	5	2	10
	Traffic	Worker: Fracture, dislocation, abrasions, contusion, crushing, distension, torsion	4	4	12
	Loose animals	Worker: cutting, laceration, injury, abrasions	4	2	8
Ergonomic	Inadequate posture, lifting and handling bags with waste	Worker: Body aches	5	1	5

Risk Type	Causes	Action Plans
Tolerable	Noise from collection trucks	- Assess the noise levels to which workers are exposed, installing a dosimeter on workers and monitor the activities performed by them, in order to verify that the sound pressure is above 85dB (A), following the NR-15 (Brasil, 2014Brasil. (2014). NR 15 – Atividades e Operações Insalubres. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).
	Noise from collection trucks	- Supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for hearing protection, such as hearing protection insertion (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).
	Atmosferic emissions	Atmospheric emissions - Requirement in bids for trucks with recent years of manufacture, which must have devices to control atmospheric emissions.
	Atmosferic emissions	- Provision of PPE for respiratory protection, in case the employee feels discomfort, as a semi facial filtering piece (PFF2) (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).
	Contact with viruses, fungi and bacteria through poor packaging of waste and exposure to loading and unloading vehicles	- Supply of PPE for upper and lower limbs, such as hand protection gloves and foot protection shoes (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).
		- Develop regular training for employees.
		- Contact with citizens through awareness campaigns regarding the management of waste in homes.
	Inadequate posture, lifting and handling bags with waste	- Develop regular training for employees.
	Inadequate posture, lifting and handling bags with waste	- Provide workplace gymnastics classes throughout the working day for employees who remain at the corporate headquarters and for those who arrive from the collection of the streets.
Moderate	Contact with sharps residues due to poor packaging	- Supply of PPE for upper and lower limbs, such as gloves for hand protection and shoes for foot protection (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).
		- Develop regular training for employees.
		- Contact with citizens through awareness campaigns regarding the management of waste in homes.
	Holes and sidewalks of streets and roads	- Forwarding of photographic reports to the municipalities of the occurrences.
	Loose animals	- Contact with the residents of the affected regions so that the animals in the neighborhood remain leached for the best performance of the services.
Relevant	Traffic	Develop regular training for employees.

Action Plan selected	“What” What to do?	“When” When to do it?	“Who” Whos is going to do it?	“Why” Why do it?	“Where” Where to do it?	“How” How to do it?	“How Much” How much will it cost?
Assess the noise levels to which workers are exposed, installing a dosimeter on the workers and monitor the activities performed by them, in order to verify that the sound pressure is above 85dB (A), following the NR-15 (Brasil, 2014Brasil. (2014). NR 15 – Atividades e Operações Insalubres. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).	Measuring	Throughout the Workday	Work Safety Technician	To assess noise levels	In all waste collection companies	Install the device (calibrated) on one of the workers and monitor the measurement throughout the workday.	R$ 2,000.00 (purchase of equipment)
Supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for hearing protection, such as hearing protection insertion (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).	Provide PPE	Always	Technical in Occupational Safety or Operational Supervisor	To comply with the legislation and take care of the health of workers	In all waste collection companies	With the aid of PPE delivery control sheets per employee	R$ 285, 00 per week in the 7 municipalities
Requirement in bids for trucks with recent years of manufacture, which must have devices to control atmospheric emissions.	Use trucks with a recent manufacturing date	When required by the bids	Responsible for preparing the terms of reference or basic design of the bids	To reduce atmospheric emissions	In all municipalities	Hire qualified people to prepare bids consistently and carefully	Budget
Provision of PPE for respiratory protection, in case the employee feels discomfort, as a filtering semi-facial part (PFF2) (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).	Provide PPE	Always	Technical in Workplace Safety or Operational Supervisor	To comply with legislation and take care of the workers’s health.	In all waste collection companies	With the aid of PPE delivery control sheets per employee	R$ 266, 00 per week in the 7 municipalities
Provision of PPE for respiratory protection, in case the employee feels discomfort, as a filtering semi-facial part (PFF2) (Brasil, 2017Brasil. (2017). NR 6 - Equipamentos de Proteção Individual – EPI. Brasília, DF: Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil.).	Provide PPE	Always	Technical in Workplace Safety or Operational Supervisor	To comply with the legislation and take care of the workers ‘health	In all waste collection companies	With the aid of PPE delivery control sheets per employee	R$ 1,045, 00 per week in the 7 municipalities
Develop regular training for employees.	Train employees	Regularly, following a schedule of activities	Technical in Workplace Safety	So that workers are aware of the risks to which they are exposed and the importance of the proper use of PPE	At company headquarters	Through lectures and routine conversations, with visual presentation and delivery of printed material	Travel, accommodation and food for the Safety technician - R$ 350.00 for each municipality to be served
Contact with citizens through awareness campaigns regarding the management of residues in homes.	Get in touch with citizens	Regularly, following a schedule of activities	Operational and Administrative Assistant	In order to raise awareness of the population on the correct management of waste	In all municipalities	Lectures at schools and delivery of printed material at strategic points	R$ 1,000.00 - Folders
Provide workplace gymnastics classes throughout the working day for employees who remain at the corporate headquarters and for those who arrive from the collection of the streets	Occupational gymnastics classes	Regularly, following a schedule of activities	Physical Educator or Physiotherapist	Taking care of the ergonomic risks to which workers are exposed	At company headquarters	With available hours for the activity	R$ 200.00 per hour
Forwarding of photographic reports to the municipalities of the occurrences	Delivery of reports	Monthly	Administrative Assistant	To report on the infrastructure situation of municipalities	In city halls	Delivering in print (with protocol) and via internet	No costs for city halls

Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Engenharia de Produção , Caixa Postal 676 , 13.565-905 São Carlos SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 16 3351 8471 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: gp@dep.ufscar.br

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[1] Source: DATAPREV (2018)Empresa de Tecnologia e Informações da Previdência Social – DATAPREV. (2018). AEAT InfoLogo - base de dados históricos de acidentes de trabalho: estatísticas de acidentes do trabalho. Retrieved in 2018, May 22, from http://www3.dataprev.gov.br/aeat/
http://www3.dataprev.gov.br/aeat/... .