Accidents in waste handling

Mike Ellerby discusses ways to avoid accidents when handling waste

Taken from Road Transport Briefing number 280, 16th November 2006.  Reproduced with kind permission from Wolters Kluwer (UK) Ltd.

Introduction

The UK produces in the region of 400 million tonnes of waste each year, of which only about a quarter comes from domestic households. The handling and processing of this waste is consequently a large industry. The waste industry employs about 163,000 people, and this is likely to grow to over 200,000 over the next few years.

These figures are even larger if we extend this to include the recycling industries and the organisations involved in the transportation of waste. HSE statistics reveal that the number of fatal accidents in the waste management sector is about 10 times the national average, while accident rates in this sector are around four times the national average.

Causes of accidents

There are several main categories for accidents in the industries associated with waste handling:

1. Manual handling injuries. 
2. Slips, trips and falls. 
3. Struck by objects. 
4. Machinery-related injuries. 
5. Transport-related accidents.

For manual handling injuries, typical causative factors include the following:

1. Lifting or performing a movement with too much force. 
2. Lifting or performing a movement in an awkward position. 
3. Repeating the lift or movement too often.

With respect to slips, trips and falls, typical causative factors include the following:

1. Storing materials or other unnecessary items on walkways and in work areas.
2. Creating and/ or using wet, muddy, sloping or otherwise irregular walkways and work surfaces.
3. Constructing and/or using improper walkways, stairs or landings, or damaging these surfaces. 
4. Creating and/or using uneven terrain in and around work areas. 
5. Working from elevated work surfaces and ladders. 
6. Using damaged or defective steps to enter vehicles.

Workers may be struck by falling objects or, more commonly, by objects that have been thrown.

Machinery-related accidents cover a very wide range of machine types and accident types:

Typical accident rates in UK industries, Source HSE statistics 

Some of these are fatal while others may lead to serious injuries, including amputations, crush injuries, severe cuts, etc. There have been many reported cases (including prosecutions) arising from the use of conveyors.

Workers are injured as a result of poorly guarded conveyor systems, especially in cases where workers are attempting to remove an obstruction from the conveyor while it is still in operation. Transport-related accidents have been reviewed relating to the new HSE initiative.

However, some categories of transport-related accident are more common in the waste industry than elsewhere such as follows:

1. Workers having their ankles and feet run over by forward-moving vehicles - either due to standing too close or due to slipping/tripping from kerbs while the vehicle is moving past.
2. Workers being injured while trying to get onto or off moving vehicles. 
3. Reversing vehicles being guided by two banksmen and striking one while the driver was watching the other for instructions. 
4. Banksmen failing to stop reversing vehicles with either verbal or hand signals resulting in either others being struck or being struck themselves. 
5. Workers not expecting vehicles to move, and being struck, such as when the driver was not aware of the worker behind the vehicle.

Avoiding accidents

Many of the steps that may be employed to avoid accidents and injuries are simple, relatively low-cost measures. Avoiding manual handling injuries can be achieved through the following:

1. Provide appropriate mechanical assistance and equipment such as carts, trolleys, adjustable work stations for the operators and appropriate tools. 
2. Provide this equipment in convenient locations. 
3. Train workers in appropriate manual handling techniques and the avoidance of ergonomic risks, etc. 
4. Undertake suitable and sufficient assessments of the risks for the manual handling operations undertaken and introducing suitable measures to avoid and/or control the risks arising. 
5. Review the size, shape and weight of materials to be moved, especially those that are handled regularly. 
6. Review the design of vehicles, such as (retro) fitting tailgate lifts and scissor lifts, etc.

In line with many other industry sectors, slips and trips can be avoided or controlled by measures including the following:

1. Ensure good standards of housekeeping in work areas - avoid the build-up of litter, debris and other general detritus. 
2. Ensure that adequate lighting is provided to all work areas. 
3. Ensure that suitable safety footwear is provided to workers and that it is worn as appropriate. 
4. Provide suitable, robust handrails, to steps and stairs, etc. 
5. Review the layout and design of the work area. 
6. Ensure that all floors are even and are maintained in good condition (through regular inspection and maintenance). 
7. Ensure that all floors are constructed from suitable materials and (where appropriate) are designed to be non-slippery when wet. 
8. Clean up spillages promptly and ensure that suitable materials are available and that suitable procedures are in place.
   

Falls from heights involving vehicles can be avoided and/or reduced by the following:

1. Train workers to be aware of the risks of falling from vehicles, even from simple operations such as getting into and out of cabs. 
2. Review the design and layout of areas where waste materials are loaded and unloaded onto vehicles. 
3. Avoid working from heights (such as elevated surfaces and ladders) by reviewing the activities and modifying the operations and/or the work area as appropriate. 
4. Review the design of vehicles, such as (retro) fitting tailgate lifts and scissor lifts, etc.

Many of the accidents involving machinery can often be avoided by the following:

1. Ensure that all machinery is designed and maintained to be as safe as is practicable. 
2. Ensure that machine guards are available and are in place at all times. 
3. Introduce regular inspections of machinery, looking for defects in the equipment and checking for any defective or missing guard or other safety features (such as interlock systems). 
4. Instruct workers in the safe operation of the machinery and, especially, in the actions to be taken when clearing obstructions, etc. 
5. Ensure that emergency stop controls are operational and are sited in suitable locations.

Many of the transport-related accidents can be avoided by greater attention to the task in hand (such as by removing the culture of "it won't happen to me" that exists within the waste and transport industry) and encouraging workers not to take shortcuts or to adopt sloppy practices.

Further training of both the banksmen and the drivers in accurate communication will also have a beneficial effect in preventing many vehicle-related accidents and injuries.

It is relatively simple to prevent workers being struck by thrown objects - prohibit the throwing of objects. If this is not a reasonably practicable solution, then organise the work area so that workers are not in the line of fire of thrown objects.

Summary

Many people are hurt and killed each year as a result of working in the waste industry. Many of these accidents can be avoided by implementing a few relatively simple measures as follows:

1. Undertake suitable and sufficient assessments of the risks arising from operations and implementing of suitable control measures. 
2. Further training including risk awareness training as well job specific training. 
3. Make the working culture more positive and proactive. 
4. Improve and monitoring housekeeping standards. 
5. Improve and monitoring the use and condition of machine guards and other safety features.

Copyright - Wolters Kluwer (UK) Ltd (2006)

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