Heavy metal exposure in domestic waste workers

Garbage collection is a business segment that importance of work increases day by day, due to change in the nature of waste and increasing amount of the garbage with increasing industrialization and urbanization. Domestic waste workers are exposed to many physical, biological, chemical risks during their work. The fact that heavy traffic, population growth and increase of industrialization indicate an enhancement in environmental pollution in urban areas. Domestic waste workers are at risk in terms of the exposure to a variety of organic or chemical waste, industrial waste, traffic pollutants in the areas of work environment. Heavy metals are one of the chemical factors that domestic waste workers exposed to. Heavy metals defined as, in terms of physical properties, density of metals higher than 5 g / cm3. Heavy metal exposure can be originate from environmental or workplace. Exposed heavy metals can enter the body in various ways and cause many diseases include various cancers. In this survey, we aimed to evaluate the levels of heavy metals in blood and serum in domestic waste workers. With in the scope of this cross sectional-descriptive study, 136 domestic waste workers were included to the study who are still actively working in Zonguldak Central Municipal Cleaning Works Department. 34 of these workers are vehicle workers (working behind the vehicle), 48 of workers are sweepers, and 54 of participans are other grup which are not directly exposed to exhaust gas. In survey, it has been searched the levels of Al, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Cr, Mn, Ni, As, Cd, Hg ve Pb in blood and serum. When blood and serum metal levels are evaluated, the others group's arsenic and cobalt levels are significantly higher than vehicle workers and sweepers. Sweepers have lower mercury and nickel levels than vehicle workers and the others group. Three groups are differed significantly from each other in terms of the average copper values. Levels of chromium is lower in vehicle workers than sweepers and the other group. All group's cadmium levels are higher in smokers than nonsmokers; smokers in sweepers have higher chromium and aluminum levels than nonsmokers; smokers in the other group's manganese level is lower than nonsmokers. Domestic waste workers are a risk group for heavy metal exposure originating from both in terms of traffic and environmental. It's needed to continue the studies in employees that works in this area for the evaluation of occupational or environmental exposure levels.