The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a new research report on the risks posed to workers in the waste sector by bioaerosol emissions from composting waste.
The report points out that composting organic waste is an important component of the waste management process in the UK and the strategy to reduce waste to landfill. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of commercial composting operations.
Furthermore, microbiological activity is fundamental to the composting process. Therefore, any handling of composting material is likely to make airborne significant quantities of those micro-organisms, referred to as bioaerosols.
The researchers note that workers mechanically handling compost on such sites may be at risk of "considerable exposure" to bioaerosols depending on:
- their work task
- their proximity to the bioaerosol source
- the control measures put in place.
In addition, because the work is largely done out of doors, there is the potential for bioaerosols generated to disperse some distance from the point source.
Consequently, there is concern that people living or working in the vicinity of waste composting sites (sensitive receptors) may also be exposed to these bioaerosols.
The researchers sampled bioaerosols at sites representative of commercial scale waste composting in the UK. The samples taken were then linked to specific activities likely to generate compost bioaerosols, and samples were collected from as close as possible to the source of emission.
The report concludes that bioaerosol emissions from commercial waste composting activities will continue to be a health concern for workers on site and to near neighbours.
The study provided evidence of the potential for compost site workers to be exposed to large concentrations of bioaerosols, and previous studies have shown potential links to allergic respiratory ill health.