30

DINO DRUDI

Job Hazards in the

Waste Industry

Until recently, relatively little research has focused on

hazards in the waste industry, even though refuse collection is a “high-hazard” job with a fatality rate 10 times

that of all workers. This article uses special analytical

techniques to delve into the hazards confronting waste

industry workers.

Dino Drudi is an economist in the Office of Safety,

Health and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mark Zak, in the same office, assisted with data development.

Telephone: (202) 606-6175

E-mail: Drudi_D@bls.gov

The waste industry is increasingly the focus of public attention as more refuse is recycled,

incinerated, and buried in landfills—

sometimes after being transported

great distances. Yet, to date, relatively

few research results have been published on the hazards affecting waste

industry workers.1 Because of the

character of the work, hazards abound

for refuse collectors, refuse

truckdrivers, and other waste industry workers. In fact, during the 1992-

97 period, refuse collectors were identified as holding one of the most

dangerous jobs in the United States.

Two essential functions make up

the waste industry: (1) Refuse collection and disposal, and (2) recycling.

These two functions are spread over

four Standard Industrial Classification

(SIC) codes.2

These four industries accounted

for 499 (1.3 percent) of the 37,875

occupational fatalities reported to

the Bureau of Labor Statistics’

(BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational

Injuries (CFOI) since its inception

in 1992.3

Until recently, research has tended

to ignore these fatalities, largely because these four SICs are so widely

dispersed throughout the SIC system

they were not recognized as a single

integrated economic activity.4 Refuse

systems and the waste industry activities in local trucking without storage

can involve recycling, however, they

usually involve refuse collection and

disposal. Wholesale durable scrap and

waste materials, and recovery of nonferrous metals from scrap metal and

dross—the waste industry aspect of

secondary smelting and refining—almost exclusively involve recycling.

The following tabulation shows the

distribution of fatality cases for 1992-

97 within these industries.

 Total fatalities ............. 499

334 Secondary smelting and

 refining of nonferrous

 metals .......................... 25

4212 Local trucking without

 storage ......................... 64

4953 Refuse systems .............. 223

5093 Wholesale durable scrap

 and waste materials ..... 187

Refuse Collection

and Disposal

Local trucking without storage

Establishments in this industry furnish

trucking or transfer services without

storage in a single locale for freight

generally weighing over 100 pounds.

This industry includes waste industry

Number

of

fatalities

SIC Industry
31

Job Hazards in the Waste Industry

functions such as local carting of debris and local collecting and hauling

of refuse without disposal, as well as a

wide range of functions outside the

waste industry (such as baggage transfer, contract bulk mail hauling, local

furniture moving without storage, log

trucking, farm to market hauling, and

local hauling of live animals). Local

government agencies and private companies which collect refuse, but turn

it over to another agency or firm for

disposal, are also classified in this industry. In addition, some local trucking without storage activities—such as

rental of trucks with drivers for local

use—might fall within the waste industry depending upon the cargo being hauled.

Fatal injuries. This industry provides

an analytical challenge because it covers a variety of activities, some relevant

to the waste industry and some not.

While it is impossible, given current

data limitations, to break out the nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the waste

industry, the fatality data are sufficiently detailed to support some analysis. As the following tabulation shows,

from 1992-97, the 64 waste industry

fatalities in local trucking without storage were distributed primarily among

only a few occupations.

 Total ................... 64 100

Refuse collectors ..... 39 61

Truckdrivers ............. 17 27

Nonconstruction

 laborers ................ 6 9

 1

 There were two additional fatally injured

workers in other occupations.

These 64 cases accounted for about

one-tenth of the total number of fatalities in this industry. The private

sector accounted for 58 of the 64 fatalities; highway vehicle incidents and

workers on the ground being struck

by vehicles each accounted for about

one-third.

Refuse systems

Establishments in this industry are

primarily engaged in the collection

and disposal of refuse by processing

or destruction, or in the operation of

incinerators, waste treatment plants,

landfills, or other disposal sites. Only

fatality data are available for this industry.

During 1992-97, nearly threequarters of the 223 refuse systems

workers suffering fatal job injuries

were either refuse collectors (69 fatalities), truckdrivers (63 fatalities), or

nonconstruction laborers (30 fatalities). Truckdriver fatalities predominated in the private sector, outnumbering refuse collector fatalities 55 to

46, while the opposite was true in the

public sector where refuse collector

fatalities outnumbered truckdriver fatalities 23 to 8.

As the following tabulation

shows, there were 149 fatalities in

which refuse workers were struck by

vehicles or mobile equipment, killed

in crashes and other highway incidents involving vehicles they were

operating, or mangled by equipment

or objects.

 Total .................... 223 100

Workers struck by

 vehicle, mobile

 equipment ............... 66 30

Highway transportation

 crashes and other

 incidents ................. 58 26

Caught in or com-

 pressed by equip-

 ment or objects ....... 25 11

Other ......................... 74 33

These 149 cases comprise two-thirds of

the 223 refuse systems fatalities.

Refuse collection, a deadly

occupation

Collecting refuse has long been known

to be dirty, strenuous work. Less well

known is that it is also among the most

deadly occupations. Special analysis

of this occupation using combined data

from both local trucking without storage and refuse systems was conducted

because 108 of the 132 fatally injured

refuse collectors during 1992-97

worked in local trucking without storage (39) and in refuse systems (69).

These 108 fatally injured refuse

collectors comprise 38 percent of the

286 fatal occupational injuries in

these two industries. Truckdrivers

suffered 80 fatalities and nonconstruction laborers 36, which, respectively, comprise 28 and 12 percent

of the total.

Although the private sector employs about two-fifths of refuse collectors,5 it accounts for three-quarters of

all refuse collector fatalities. (See tabulation.)

Total

 Number ........... 108 81 27

 Percent ............ 100 75 25

 Local

 trucking

 without

 storage

 Number .... 39 35 4

 Percent .... 36 32 4

 Refuse

 systems

 Number .... 69 46 23

 Percent .... 64 43 21

As the following tabulation

shows, the annual number of refuse

collector fatalities in refuse collection and disposal from 1992 through

1997 ranged from a low of 14 in

1993 to a high of 24 in 1995. For

refuse collectors overall, it similarly

ranged from a low of 18 in 1993 to

a high of 29 in 1995.

 1992-97 ............... 132 108

1992 ........................ 20 17

1993 ........................ 18 14

1994 ........................ 23 16

1995 ........................ 29 24

1996 ........................ 21 18

1997 ........................ 21 19

Risk. During 1992-97, the number of

workers annually employed as refuse

collectors ranged from 43,000 to

55,000, of whom 132 suffered fatal occupational injuries. Because of annual

Occupation

Number

of

fatalities

Percent

Industry Total Private

sector

Public

sector

Year Total

Refuse

collection

and

disposal

1

Number

of

fatalities

Event Percent
32

variability in the number of fatalities

and employment, data for these 6 years

were combined to mitigate the effects

of these fluctuations and assure a more

meaningful measure of the risk of onthe-job fatality. Using the combined

data for all industries, a fatality rate

of 46 deaths per 100,000 workers was

computed.6 This rate—10 times the

overall on-the-job fatalities rate—puts

this occupation among the “high-hazard” jobs identified by BLS.7, 8

A fatality rate of 46 deaths per

100,000 workers means that, on average, each year during this 6-year period, 1 out of 2,189 refuse collectors

suffered a fatal job injury. Stated differently, this means that there would

be 20 fatal injuries per 1,000 refuse

collectors over a 45-year working lifetime.9

Event. Refuse collection invariably

involves jumping off and on trucks,

carrying trash containers, and walking on streets, alleys, and parking lots.

Refuse collectors often have to collect

from both sides of a street; they work

in close proximity to large collection

vehicles that stop and start frequently.

Sometimes these vehicles obscure

them, which both inhibits their ability

to spot approaching traffic, and blocks

them from the view of approaching

drivers.10 Not surprisingly, vehicles

inflict most fatal injuries involving

refuse collectors, for example, being

run over by the refuse truck or struck

by a passing vehicle, sometimes after

falling from the truck.

Nonfatal injuries and illnesses. Not

all occupational injuries are fatal. The

Bureau’s annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, which

excludes government employees and

self-employed individuals, estimates

that an average of 2,162 refuse collectors suffered nonfatal job injuries and

illnesses each year from 1992 through

1997, the most recent year for which

data are available. Cuts, lacerations,

punctures, bruises, and contusions—

usually minor injuries requiring a

median of only a few days for recovery—account for 18 percent of all

cases involving refuse collectors during this time span. In contrast, fractures—which account for 3 percent of

such cases—usually require several

weeks to recuperate before returning

to work. Sprains, strains, and muscle

tears account for 48 percent of cases—

a proportion slightly higher than that

for all private sector employment. Recuperation time for this kind of injury

is close to that for all private sector

employment, about 5 or 6 days. Overall, nonfatal injuries to refuse collectors require a median of 6 workdays

for the worker to recover and return

to work—only slightly above the 5-day

median for private industry workers

overall. While the nonfatal injury experience facing refuse collectors might

seem surprising, given this occupation’s high fatality rate, it is one of

many examples that illustrate how the

characteristics of fatal injuries for a

particular occupation may differ quite

markedly from the corresponding nonfatal ones.11

Overexertion—predominantly in

lifting—is the leading cause of nonfatal injury or illness for refuse collectors, accounting for almost a third of

the cases, closely followed by being

struck by, striking against, or being

compressed in equipment or objects.

Due to the lifting and carrying

refuse collection involves, containers

are the leading source of injury or illness, accounting for about one-third

of the cases. Contact with surfaces,

such as streets, sidewalks, alleys, and

parking lots, accounts for about onesixth of all cases (most were the result

of falls); free body movement (such as

cumulative trauma from jumping on

and off trucks day-after-day) for about

one-eighth; and vehicles for about oneninth of all cases.

Recycling

Secondary smelting and refining

of nonferrous metals

Establishments are classified in secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals if they are primarily engaged in recovering nonferrous metals and alloys from used scrap and

dross or in producing alloys from purchased refined metals. No direct

smelting from ore occurs in this industry. The portion of this industrial

activity involved in the recovery of

nonferrous metals and alloys from used

scrap and dross is part of the waste

industry. Producing alloys from purchased refined metals is not unless the

purchased refined metals are used in

combination with the used scrap or

dross. Secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals includes

waste industry functions such as

detinning of cans and other scrap, recovering silver from used photographic film, and reclaiming zinc dust.

Other secondary smelting and refining activities—such as aluminum ingot extrusion and brass refining—

could fall within the waste industry

depending upon the extent to which

scrap or recovered materials are

used.12

Fatal injuries. The secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals

industry experienced 25 fatalities from

1992-97. Most of these fatalities were

the result of workers being struck by

objects or caught in equipment, being

exposed to harmful substances, or from

assaults and violent acts. Operators,

fabricators, and laborers incur almost

one-half of these fatalities; precision

production, craft, and repair workers

account for over one-quarter.

Nonfatal injuries and illnesses. In

1997, 16,200 wage and salary workers were employed in private sector

secondary smelting and refining of

nonferrous metals establishments. Job

injuries and illnesses requiring more

than first aid were sustained by 3,200

of these workers. Over one-quarter

(900) of these workers were afflicted

severely enough to be absent from the

job for at least 1 day beyond the day of

injury.

The total case incidence rate for

this industry is 18.9, meaning there
33

Job Hazards in the Waste Industry

were just under 19 injuries or illnesses

for every 100 full-time equivalent employees. These cases include those involving lost workdays beyond the day

of injury, loss of consciousness, medical treatment beyond first aid, or restriction of work or motion. This rate

is 26 percent higher than the rate for

the primary metal industry, almost

twice that for manufacturing, and over

21⁄2 times that for all private sector

industry. The lost workday case rate

for days-away-from-work cases—

meaning the injury or illness was sufficiently incapacitating that the employee was absent from work for at

least 1 day—is 5.4 (11⁄2 times the corresponding rate for primary metals,

21⁄4 times the manufacturing rate, and

over 21⁄2 times the all private sector

industry rate). This lost workday case

rate (5.4) for days away from work

cases means that, for every 1,000 fulltime equivalent employees, there are

54 cases severe enough to require the

worker to lose 1 or more days of work

beyond the day the injury occurred.

Similar patterns were evident in previous years.

Sprains, strains, and muscle tears

comprise one-third of the lost workday cases in this industry (a smaller

share than the two-fifths for the private sector), and it is the industry’s

largest injury or illness category.

Cuts, lacerations, punctures, bruises,

and contusions account for about

one-sixth of all cases, much like the

rest of the private sector. However,

heat burns, which comprise over oneeighth of the cases, are over seven

times more prevalent than in the private sector overall.

Wholesale trade in scrap and

waste materials

Establishments in this industry are

primarily engaged in the assembling,

breaking up, sorting, and wholesale

distributing of scrap and waste materials. This industrial activity involves

recycling a wide variety of materials,

such as automobiles crushed for scrap;

plastic, paper, and glass recycling;

scrap iron, steel, and other metals; and

rags and other textile waste.

Fatal injuries. Only fatality data are

available for this industry. During

1992-97, 187 workers died of occupational injuries in this industry, all but

a few of whom were in the private sector where wholesale trade employment

is concentrated. The 62 nonconstruction laborer fatalities account for

one-third of the total fatalities in this

industry, and the 22 sales supervisor

and proprietor fatalities account for

about one-ninth.

Workers in this industry confront a

wider range of deadly hazards than

other waste industry workers. The

following tabulation shows the events

that caused the greatest number of fatalities.

 Total ....................... 187 100

Struck by object ........... 42 22

Caught in equipment

 or objects .................. 36 19

Fires and explosions ... 24 13

Worker struck by

 vehicle, mobile

 equipment ................. 19 10

Homicides ................... 16 9

 1 There were 50 additional cases distributed among other events.

Targeting safety efforts may be difficult because of the variety of materials handled by the workers in this industry and the wide range of hazards

they face.

Conclusion

Although data limitations pose challenges to research into occupational

hazards in the waste industry, close inspection of existing data might assist

industry safety specialists in designing initiatives to prevent injuries and

decrease hazards. Combining data for

many years, moreover, may yield surprising results as occupations, such as

refuse collector, whose hazardousness

might otherwise be overlooked,

emerge as “high-hazard” occupations

worthy of safety professionals’ attention.

Event

Number

of

fatalities

Percent

1
34

1

 James D. Englehardt, Huren An, Judy A.

Bean, and Laura E. Fleming, Florida Center for

Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, Solid

Waste Management Health and Safety Risks:

Epidemiology and Assessment to Support Risk

Reduction (Gainesville, FL: Florida Center for

Solid and Hazardous Waste Research, March 31,

1999), p. xiv. 2

 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)

Manual 1987 (Washington, DC: Office of Management and Budget). 3

 Data for this article are drawn from two primary sources: The Bureau of Labor Statistics’

annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

(CFOI), which covers all occupational injury fatalities in the United States, and the Bureau’s annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

(SOII), which covers nonfatal injuries and illnesses

in the private sector, except for the self-employed.

Data for fatal occupational illnesses are not

available from the CFOI. Data for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses are not available at

the 4-digit industry level from SOII for local trucking without storage, refuse systems, and wholesale trade in scrap metal and waste materials.

Fatality data for local trucking without storage

include only those cases associated with the waste

industry. 4

 The industries which constitute the waste

industry are taken from a trade magazine special

report: Ruhan Memishi, “Safety Doesn’t Always

Come First in Waste,” Waste News, (Akron, OH:

Crain Communications, Inc.; Volume 4, Issue 17,

September 7, 1998), pp. 1, 13-25. 5

 Employment data are derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS). According to CPS

data for 1992-97, the public sector accounts for

three-fifths of refuse collector employment, nearly

all in local government. The private sector accounts for the remaining two-fifths, with self-employed refuse collectors about one-tenth of the

private sector total. Refuse collecting is a maledominated field, with women accounting for only

a few percent of total employment. Whites account for about three-fifths of refuse collectors,

and blacks account for almost all of the remaining two-fifths. Hispanics, who may be of any

race, account for about one-tenth of refuse collectors. 6

 The fatality rate represents the number of

fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 employed

workers and is calculated as follows:

(N/W) x 100,000 where

N = the number of fatal work injuries, and

W= the number of employed workers, based

on annual average estimates of employed civilians 16 years of age and older, CPS, 1992-97. 7

 Other high risk occupations include fishers,

timber cutting and logging workers, airplane pilots and navigators, structural metal workers, extractive workers, water transportation workers,

public transportation attendants such as flight attendants, construction laborers, and taxicab drivers. For a discussion on calculating occupational

fatality rates, see Guy A. Toscano and Janice A.

Windau, “Profile of Fatal Work Injuries in 1996,”

Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring

1998, pp. 37-44. 8

 A special study of refuse collectors in Florida

during 1993-97, using workers’ compensation

data, reached conclusions broadly consistent with

the Bureau’s. This study, for example, also found

Florida refuse collectors have a very high fatality

rate. See Englehardt, An, Bean, and Fleming,

Solid Waste Management Health and Safety

Risks, p. xvii.

9

 The lifetime risk for a specific industry or

occupation is calculated using the following equation proposed by the Occupational Safety and

Health Administration in 1995:

WLTR = [1-(1-R)y] x 1,000 where

WLTR = working lifetime risk

 R = probability of a worker having a

work-related fatal injury in a given year, and

 y = years of exposure (for purposes of

this study, 45 years)

Because of labor turnover and other factors,

the risk should be expressed on a per 1,000 worker

basis. Therefore, to derive the number of fatal

occupational injuries per 1,000 workers the formula is multiplied by 1,000. Refuse collectors’

annual fatality rate of 46 per 100,000 employment was inserted into the formula as follows:

[1-(1-0.00046)45] x 1,000 = 20 fatalities per

1,000 employment over a 45-year working lifetime.

For more thorough explanations of the methodology used to derive this statistic, see David E.

Fosbroke, Suzanne M. Kisner, and John R. Myers,

“Working Lifetime Risk of Occupational Fatal

Injury,” American Journal of Industrial Medicine (Vol. 31, 1997), pp. 460-61; Dino Drudi,

“Fishing for a Living Is Dangerous Work,” Compensation and Working Conditions, Summer

1998, pp. 6-7; and Eric Sygnatur, “Logging Is

Perilous Work,” Compensation and Working

Conditions, Winter 1998, pp. 8-9. 10 Englehardt, An, Bean, and Fleming, Solid

Waste Management Health and Safety Risks, p.

xvii.11 For a fuller discussion of this phenomenon,

see Katharine G. Abraham, William L. Weber, and

Martin E. Personick, “Improvements in the BLS

Safety and Health Statistical System,” Monthly

Labor Review, April 1996, pp. 3-12. 12 Other metal industries, such as SIC 3312,

Steel Works, Blast Furnaces, and Rolling Mills,

also use recycled metal, although in a more incidental fashion than in secondary nonferrous metals.