By workplace & process
Sorting and processing waste exposes workers to inhalable dust and to bioaerosols - fungal spores, endotoxin and more. Why enclosing a site for odour can raise indoor exposure, and what the extraction test has to confirm.
The short answer
Sorting and processing waste stirs up more than dust. Disturbing, shredding and composting material releases bioaerosols - fungal spores, endotoxin from bacteria and other biological particles - alongside ordinary inhalable dust, all of it linked to respiratory disease. There is no fixed limit for bioaerosols, so control is under COSHH, and extraction at the points where people work close to the material is central to it.
The detail
Bioaerosols include fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, endotoxin from the cell walls of bacteria, and glucans, all released when waste is handled at picking lines, shredders, composting and mechanical-biological treatment. They are linked to respiratory inflammation, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic bronchitis and reduced lung function. There is no UK regulatory limit for them, so exposure is controlled as low as reasonably practicable; a Dutch committee's endotoxin figure of 90 endotoxin units per cubic metre is often used as an interpretive benchmark.
There is a trap in how these sites are designed. Facilities are frequently enclosed to control odour and dust for neighbouring communities, but enclosing a building can trap dust and bioaerosols inside, where the workers are. Good outcomes for the boundary can mean worse air for staff, which makes local capture at the work points and effective ventilation more important, not less. Because the exposure is biological and there is no single figure to test against, the weight falls on the engineering itself - keeping picking cabins under clean-air pressure, drawing dust away from the sorters, and filtering the air in the cabs of shovels and grabs - rather than on a measured limit.
What it means for you
A thorough examination and test of recycling and waste LEV confirms that capture at the picking cabins, shredders and transfer points is drawing dust and bioaerosols away from the breathing zone and moving air at the commissioned rate, with cab filtration checked where mobile plant is used. These are dirty, heavily loaded systems that foul quickly, so the examiner checks performance against the design at least every fourteen months with user checks between.
Because there is no simple number to measure against for bioaerosols, the emphasis falls on proving the engineering control works - that the capture is present, positioned and performing where people stand. Demonstrating that, rather than relying on an enclosure that may be holding contamination in, is what protects a waste workforce over a career.
The service behind the guide
We test recycling and waste LEV at pick cabins, shredders and transfer points against the dust and bioaerosols it has to control, with a clear report and next test date.
Questions
Airborne biological particles - fungal spores such as Aspergillus fumigatus, endotoxin from bacteria, and glucans - released when waste is disturbed, shredded, composted or sorted. They can cause respiratory inflammation and disease.
There is no UK regulatory limit for bioaerosols, so exposure is controlled under COSHH as low as reasonably practicable. A Dutch committee's endotoxin figure of 90 endotoxin units per cubic metre is often used as an interpretive benchmark.
Sites are often enclosed to control odour and dust for neighbours, but doing so can trap dust and bioaerosols inside where staff work. That makes indoor extraction and ventilation more important, not less.
At the points where material is disturbed and people are close - picking cabins, shredders and transfer points - along with cab filtration on mobile plant. That is where capture has to be proven.
At least every fourteen months under COSHH, with user checks between. The test confirms capture at the pick line and processing points is still holding.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We test recycling and waste LEV at pick cabins, shredders and transfer points against the dust and bioaerosols it has to control, with a clear report and next test date.