Waste Management

Dr. Muhammad Farooq Mustafa

 Health and Safety Issues
World is not a safe place to live
•All human activities carry some
risk of injury. To be safe, people
should think about their job and
plan well for possible hazards.
•To avoid injury or death, people
must understand and recognize
hazards.
•The simplest way for safe living
is: (1) recognize hazards, (2)
evaluate hazards, and (3) control
hazards.
 Waste management
Effects on the health of
human exposure are causes
of concern.
Injury and death can occur to
waste producer, collector,
transporter, recyclers and
reusers.
Risks occur from the point of
waste generation to the
ultimate disposal.
 Why Is Safety Important?
•Coming in contact with
human blood or with certain
chemicals used in the
laboratory, is potentially
hazardous.
•Safety involves taking
precautions to protect you
and coworkers against
infection, injury or
poisoning.
•Protect environment from
hazardous material
 Cont…
In an industry safety is important because: (1) safety would
affect the wages of the people who are ill or injured, (2) loss
of productivity caused by disruption to business, (3)
damage to products, equipments, (4) costs of
investigation and correcting a problem, and (5) fines and
legal costs if prosecuted.

Solid waste in many countries is an unorganized sector with

people disposing and handling waste the way they like it.

The efficient storing and handling of materials are vital to

waste management. Inappropriate storing and handling
of materials result in costly injuries.
 Health risks from waste depends on

(1) Composition of waste (e.g., toxic, sharps, infectious substances and

other chemical/physical properties)
(2) Products and by products of waste decomposition/reaction
(3) Work condition (e.g., traffic, waste handling machineries)
(4) Health of individuals
(5) Disaster in the area
(6) Methodology/technology adopted for handling/processing of waste
(7) Climatologically/environmental setup of the location
(8) Personal protective equipment
Waste generation/collection point

(1)Changing weather
(2)Undefined workspace and exit
(3)Absence of fire precautions
(4) Absence of showers
(5) Absence of potable water supply
(6) Absence of clean eating area
(7) Absence of controlled lighting
(8) Absence of safe access
(9) Absence of first aid
 Health Injuries
(1) Injuries due to handling waste
(2) Respiratory sickness due to air
pollutants
(3) Infections due to direct contact
with infectious material
(4) Injuries due to surface
subsidence, fires, and slides,
(5) Sickness due to water
pollution,
(6) Attack by stray animals
residing in waste dumps
 Required Precautions during manual
operation
•Wastes in the developing countries are
thrown openly making it unsafe
•Workers have to manually collect
waste with shovels or by hand
•Handling should be done with
precaution and after wearing proper
personal protective equipments.
•When moving bulky waste materials
or bales of compacted/shredded
manually, waste handlers should attach
holders/handles to loads.
 Required Precautions for moving
materials mechanically
•Accidents occur while being
struck by waste collection
vehicles, being struck by
falling objects are significant.
•Waste-handler should evade
overloading equipment while
moving waste mechanically.
•The size, weight and shape
of the object being moved
should be considered while
choosing the type of handling
equipment.
 Safety During Storage and Transport
•Storage could happen on site as
well as off site.
•Irrespective of where the material is
stored precaution should be taken to
handlers as well as general public.
•Keep storage areas free from
accumulated waste to avoid fires,
explosions and rodents
•Equip waste-handler who works at
high level with safety belts
• Separate non-compatible material
 Safety During Treatment and Disposal
Chemicals are not compatible with others and
may burst into flames immediately or hours after
mixing, emit toxic gases, or bubble and fizz out
of the container.
Chemicals washed down the drain produce
flammable vapors which can collect in stand
pipes and explode.
Waste dump sites are much hazardous compared
to land fill site due to unrestricted access,
absence of fire fighting equipment, no control on
quantity and type of waste dumped.
Location could also be infectious if infectious
wastes are being incinerated.
The operators of the incinerators are
continuously exposed to smoke and high
temperature
 Work Permit System
Work permit system is a system within an organization which provides
identification, control and review of hazards within any work environment.
The advantages of permit to work system are:
(1) ensures suitable people are authorised,
(2) provides clarity about the hazard,
(3) specifies the precautions,
(4)ensures the person in direct charge of the facility about the work under
progress,
(5) provides a system of continuous control, and
(6) provides formal handover and hand back procedure.

Responsible person needs to be designated for controlling the issue and

cancellation of clearances under various conditions and safe and expedition’s
execution of works there under.
 Safety Education and Training
Organizations are responsible for ensuring that all personnel are properly
trained before they begin work in a waste handling site and that they
receive additional training when new hazards or procedures are introduced.
In addition to general Environment Health and Safety (EH&S) training, all
employees, must receive job-specific training on the following topics:
• Location and content of the safety manual
• Physical, chemical, biological, laser and radiation hazards in the work
area, including signs and symptoms of exposure and allowable exposure
limits
• Location of references describing hazards and safety practices associated
with laboratory materials (e.g., material safety data sheet (MSDS),
biosafety in microbiological and biomedical laboratories, etc.)
• Protective measures employees should take to avoid exposure or injury,
as specified in the laboratory’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
• Procedures for responding to emergencies (fire, chemical spill, severe
weather, etc) as outlined in the emergency action plan
•Methods to detect the presence of contamination or the release of chemical,
•biological and radioactive materials
• Procedures for obtaining medical care in the event of exposure/injury
• Proper waste management and disposal procedures
• Proper recordkeeping