Injuries among domestic waste collectors.

Detailed information on occupational injuries and the precise number of injuries among waste collectors is missing. In this study, risk circumstances associated with injuries among waste collectors were analyzed and described. The study was carried out in a single company with 667 employees in 1993. For each injury, information was collected on date, time, type, and severity of the injury, injury circumstances, department of employment, external or internal registration, sex, year of birth and employment, type of employment, and a registration of where the injury happened. A total of 17% of the employees experienced injury. The number of injuries decreased with increasing seniority and age. Most injuries occurred outside the company area. More injuries occurred on Mondays and Thursdays, and there were peaks in the injury rate in May and September. Most often injured was the back, followed by the knees, hands, and feet. The job as a waste collector was associated with a high risk of experiencing an occupational injury and the number of injuries decreased with increasing seniority and nonsignificantly with increasing age. Moreover, a seasonal and weekly variation was observed.