Occupational Health Problems Due To Garbage Sorting

Medical examinations and dust analysis showed that illness of workers, predominently asthma, in an enclosed waste sorting plant in Denmark, was probably related to high particulate levels containing bacteria and endotoxins derived from decaying waste. Modification of the plant to enclose conveyors and install vacuum cleaning systems to reduce dust levels led to significant reductions in airborne bacteria and the nearly complete elimination of endotoxins. However, fungi concentrations were not reduced.