Occupational Injuries and Deaths in Domestic Waste Collecting Process

摘要

This study investigates the domestic waste collecting processes and the characteristics of occupational injuries in each collecting process. Accident data for 517 injured persons were categorized by the collecting processes in progress during the accident andwere analyzed in terms of age of injured person, length of employment, accident type, and source of accident. Results show that "waste collecting" (42.2%) was the most common type of collecting process in injuries, followed by "loading of waste" (36.3%), "truck driving during collection" (9.3%), "going/returning to work" (8.1%), and "unloading at a disposal site" (4.1%). Also, the most probable form of accident was slips on slippery ground in the "waste collecting" process (18.4%), followed by falls on slippery surface at a height in the process of "loading of waste" (8.5%) and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) by improper posture and heavy waste bags in "loading of waste" (7.9%), and vehicle accidents in "going/returning to work" (7.4%). Meanwhile, the most deaths were due to falls by clinging on to the footrest of garbage trucks in "truck driving during collection" (28.6%) and vehicle accidents in "going/returning to work" (28.6%). This study is a descriptive retrospective examination of injury records. The findings of this study can be used as basic information in order to prevent hazardous incidents reoccurring in the domestic waste collection industry. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.