Category: Recycling

Wholesale Recycling: High Rates of Injuries and Illnesses

The U.S. wholesale recycling material industry consists of about 12,700 wholesale companies, providing an estimated 102,038 jobs [Siccode.com 2020]. Unlike recycling services that pick up empty cartons, cans, and bottles curbside from households, wholesale recycling merchants buy automotive scrap, electronic scrap, industrial scrap, or other recycling materials from manufacturers and resell it to businesses, government Read More >

Posted on by Jeanette Novakovich, MA, MS, PhD; Vern Putz Anderson, PhD, CPE; Adrienne Eastlake, MS, RS/REHS, MT(ASCP) ; and Debbie Hornback, MS5 Comments

Workplace Medical Mystery Solved: What is causing a recycling worker’s respiratory distress?

While working at a metal recycling facility, Joe was suddenly overcome with shortness of breath, coughing, chest pressure, and eye irritation. After transport to a local hospital, Joe was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome or ARDS. Read more about his case here.  What was the cause of his illness? The plume of smoke Joe Read More >

Posted on by R. Reid Harvey, DVM, MPH; Michelle R. Martin, MS; and Julie Tisdale-Pardi, MA4 Comments

Workplace Medical Mystery: What is causing a recycling worker’s respiratory distress?

Joe worked at a metal recycling facility in Nevada. His typical job duties included operating a material handler to load scrap metal into a shear for crushing. During his shift at the recycling facility, Joe looked up to see a plume of thick yellow smoke swirl around a pile of scrap metal and was suddenly Read More >

Posted on by R. Reid Harvey, DVM, MPH; Michelle R. Martin, MS; and Julie Tisdale-Pardi, MA7 Comments

Occupational Exposures at Electronic Scrap Recycling Facilities

Go Green! Recycle! We have all heard the call to be more environmentally conscious. However, not everyone is aware of the many health and safety hazards facing employees who handle the recycling of electronics. Many recycled electronics can contain hazardous materials such as lead, cadmium and other toxic metals. In 2011, the U.S. e-scrap recycling Read More >

Posted on by Diana Ceballos, PhD,CIH,MS; Elena Page, MD,MPH41 Comments

Going Green: Safe and Healthy Jobs

Green jobs—good for the environment, good for the economy. But are green jobs good for workers? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its partners recently launched the Going Green: Safe and Healthy Jobs initiative to make sure that green jobs are good for workers by integrating worker safety and health into "green jobs" and environmental sustainability. Read More >

Posted on by Christine Branche, PhD52 CommentsTags