Investigating occupational threats in informal recyclers of solid waste in Kerman city

Abstract

Introduction: The valuable activity of informal recyclers, or salters, itinerants in the direction of sustainability and environmental protection is not hidden from anyone. Unfortunately, this occupational group has been neglected, and organizational, support, and health institutions pay less attention to these people, so we felt it necessary to investigate the threats related to the occupation of these people in Kerman City.
 Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The statistical population in the form of a census includes 232 informal recycling centers and 294 informal recyclers who entered the study voluntarily and with their consent at first, field research collecting information and completing questionnaires through observation and interviews with a face-to-face referral from 2021 to 2022, and then the data were collected. In the end, the necessary analysis and interpretation were done using SPSS software version 19 and the Chi-score test.
 Results: Results showed that 51.4% of the participants declared health and health problems as the most important threat to their jobs, and there was a significant relationship between job threats and gender (p-value=0.003). About 20% of people did not use any personal protective equipment. There was a significant relationship between the lack of use of personal protective equipment and the number of visits to health centers (p-value=0.048). The most occupational threats of the recyclers were sharp objects, contact with chemicals and vapors and smoke from waste fuel, musculoskeletal problems, especially back and leg pain, bites by stray animals, and skin dermatitis.
 Conclusion: The government and the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education should pay more attention to the threats related to the job of informal recyclers, the most obvious of which is health and safety.