Occupational exposure to bioaerosols in the waste sorting industry

Biological agents may be present in the occupational environment and become a risk to the workers' health. The main source of exposure are small particles carried by air, the bioaerosols. The study of occupational exposure is still under development, and this investigation contributes to the knowledge of viable bacterial and fungal contamination in the waste sorting industry. For such purpose, air samples were analyzed in 5 Portuguese industries. The mean concentration of bacteria in the air was positively and significantly correlated with the type of sorting carried out, indicating that the glass sorting industry contamination with bacteria was higher, namely Enterobacter cloacae, Micro coccus spp. and Staphylococcus (negative coagulase). In the case of fungi, although the average concentration was not significantly correlated with the waste sorting performed, it was in the plastic sorting industry that the higher contamination was found, namely with species of Penicillium spp.