Occupational health and safety amongst municipal solid waste workers in Florida Injury and disease distributions amongst municipal solid waste (MSW) workers in Florida were analyzed from data from the Florida Workers' Compensation scheme between 1993 to 1997. Municipal solid waste workers in Florida were most commonly exposed to musculoskeletal and dermal injury risks such as strains or sprains, contusions, fractures, and lacerations. Strains or sprains represented 47.7% of all the reported injuries, similar to the proportion found for other Florida industrial workers (45.7%). Waste collectors (drivers or helpers) had a higher risk of injury than other workers in the MSW industry. Whilst injury rates for all Florida industrial workers decreased, the injury rates of MSW workers almost doubled from 1993 to 1997. It was noted that workers' compensation claims represent only a fraction of total injuries. Possible reasons for the high risks were discussed. Occupational diseases amongst MSW workers are believed to be under reported. Further studies on different waste management worker subpopulations are needed to provide detailed information to reduce these risks. Huren An James Englehardt Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA Lora Fleming Judy Bean Department of Epidimiology and Public Health, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA Keywords ± Health and safety; injuries; municipal solid waste (MSW); risks Corresponding author: Huren An, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL33124, USA Received 16 April 1999, accepted in revised form 1 June 1999 Introduction Municipal solid waste (MSW) workers are highly exposed to health and environmental safety risks due to exposure to heavy workloads, bio-aerosols, volatile compounds, poten- tially hazardous or even infectious materials. Municipal solid waste workers are subject to musculoskeletal, dermal, respiratory, and gastrointestinal problems (Poulsen et al. 1995a; 1995b; Englehardt et al. 1999). In Denmark, it has been reported that MSW workers are 5.6 times more at risk of suffering occupational injuries, and 1.5 times more at risk of suffering occupational diseases than the general workforce (Poulsen et al. 1995a). The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (1998) reported that US garbage collectors experienced 48.8 fatalities per 100 000 workers in 1996, and that garbage collection was the seventh riskiest occupation in the US. Overall, there have been few epidemiological or medical studies on health and safety amongst MSW workers. A 5-year research program (entitled, Waste Collection & Recycling), supported by the Danish-EPA and Danish Work Environment Services focused on occupational exposures and adverse health effects related to the collection, sorting, and recycling of household waste (Midtgard & Poulsen 1997). The published results of the project indicated high risks of respiratory and gastrointestinal problems (Sigsgaard et al. 1994; Hansen et al. 1997; Ivens et al. 1997a). The number of MSW workers exposed to occupational risks is predicted to rise as a result of increasing MSW generation and of changes in MSW processing (e.g., increases in recycling rates). Municipal solid waste generation in the US has increased steadily over the years: from 1960 to 1995, total Waste Manage Res 1999: 17: 369±377 Printed in UK ± all rights reserved Copyright # ISWA 1999 Waste Management & Research ISSN 0734±242X 369