Assessing and managing worker's exposures to bioaerosols during the treatment of organic waste (20m Lecture)

Background: Workers exposures to bioaerosols and the potential health implications arising from these exposures are poorly characterized in the organic waste sector. As compost emissions comprise of biological agents that may cause occupational asthma, employees’ exposure should be prevented or reduces ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. Consequently the effective use and maintenance of control measures that reduce operator’s exposures are of key importance in reducing the potential risk of occupational illness in this sector. This paper presents research findings that characterize employee exposure levels to dust and endotoxin and discusses risk mitigation measures that reduce employee exposure levels in accordance with the legal framework.
 
Methods: Personal exposure levels to inhalable dust and endotoxin was assessed at four large-scale composting facilities to determine task-related exposure data that would inform the development of evidence-based risk control measures. Furthermore, vehicle operators’ exposure levels were investigated to determine the impact that cab cleaning and maintenance of the vehicle filtration system had on operator exposure levels.
Inhalable dust fractions were determined by gravimetric analysis in accordance with MDHS 14/3 (HSE, 2000) using IOM Inhalable samplers. Endotoxin levels were determined using Limulus Amebocyte Lysate assay (LAL) (Wouters, 2005, HSE, 2007).
 
Findings: Employees exposure to dust was generally low (GM 0.99 mg/m3, GSD 2.99 mg/m3, n=117), however endotoxin concentrations were elevated (GM 35.10 EU/m3, GSD 9.97 EU/m3, n=117). A third of all samples taken exceeded the 90 EU/m3 occupational exposure limit recently adopted in the Netherlands (DECOS, 2010). Any activities involving the movement of waste gave rise to high peak exposure levels.
Vehicle operator exposures to endotoxin were consistently high despite working in air conditioned cabs with vehicle filtration systems fitted. The cleaning and maintenance of vehicle cabs had a significant reduction on operators’ exposure (p<0.05, 2 sample t-test) but these improvements were not maintained.
 
Conclusions: Multifaceted controls are needed to reduce employee exposures to as low as reasonably practicable in accordance with the legal framework. Consideration should be given to vehicle cab cleaning and maintenance, zoning of high exposure areas and high risk activities, health surveillance and provision of appropriate RPE.

Get Results! Tools for Managing a Public Health Nuisance Program (50m Lecture)

The effects of the housing crisis and diminished mental health services have had a tremendous impact on Franklin County Public Health. These effects have impacted how the department handles complaints regarding public health nuisances and subsequent inspections. This session will provide attendees with information about how the department overcame these obstacles while experiencing an increase in the volume of complaints and a decrease in the number of staff. Attendees will gain an understanding of tools that can be utilized in the management of a public health nuisance program.
 
Join us for an interactive session on how your department can manage a public health nuisance program with limited funds and staff. Learn how to use simple tools that will help categorize and prioritize complaints in a high-volume program.

Food waste in canteen trays of elementary schools from center region of Portugal (Poster)

Waste and hunger are major issues in the 21st century. These problems affect a great part of humanity, especially because one third of the food for human consumption is lost or wasted on a global scale, which amounts to about 1.3 billion tons per year. The catering sector, in this case, primary school canteens,is who generates more waste and consequently, it incurs a greater waste of resources, unnecessarily.

Thus, the main objective of this study was based on counting and analyzing the flow of food waste produced in primary schools canteens, in the central region, more specifically, to ascertain if the local context influences the production of waste, the amount of food that is wasted per capita, if the quantities served are as recommended, if the menu or the shift influences food wasting and if the diameter of the meal dish affect what was served and what waste was left.

The sample type was defined as non-probabilistic and the sampling technique was defined for convenience. Data were collected in situ between January and March 2013 using two measurement scales with different scale and precision levels. The sample was confined to ten schools, 5 in the periphery area and the other five in the urban center area.These schools make up a total of 855 meals, in a universe of 66 schools that make up 4150 meals. Subsequently, the data were processed using the SPSS version 21.0 software.

The main conclusions of this study are that there is a very significant food waste production in primary school canteens in the central region and also there is a greater production of food waste in periphery areas comparatively to urban center areas, resulting in an average of 40,8% of food waste,per capita, in relation to the amount which has been served.         

Correlates Of Environmental Insecurity Among Sub-Urban Residents (Poster)

Despite government efforts,  the disposing of wastes, particularly in urban cities has been a major health threat to the residents of Ejigbo area in Lagos State. There have been several studies on waste management and disposal system in Lagos but little has been done on the area of environmental insecurity, particularly among the people of Ejigbo in Isolo Local Government Area. This study therefore, sought to examine the correlates of Environmental insecurity among sub-urban residents in Ejigbo community in Lagos State. Descriptive survey research design was adopted  in the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 500 participants who formed the sample size. A questionnaire was the major instrument for data collection. The research instrument was re-validated using cronbach method of reliability for internal consistency and the coefficient of reliability yielded 0.71 alpha. All research hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the result held at 0.05 significant level. The findings showed a significant relationship between level of awareness among the residents, monitoring and control by government, health education, availability of waste disposal facilities and the level of environmental insecurity in Ejigbo community . Based on the findings, it was recommended among other things that government should intensify their efforts in the area of awareness and campaign to enhance positive attitude of Lagos residents towards good waste disposal and thereby reducing high environmental insecurity of Lagos residents.