Assessment on respiratory health of waste collectors in Kuala Selangor

The amount of waste is increasing every year causing the workload of the waste collectors to increase. Waste collectors are exposed to numerous pollutants especially particulate matter since their working condition required them to contact with waste which already contain pollutants and bacteria. The aim of this study is to assess the respiratory health of waste collectors in Kuala Selangor. The cross-sectional study was conducted among waste collectors to determine the exposure on PM2.5 and the respiratory health-related symptoms experienced by the waste collectors. The assessment is divided into two section; exposure to PM2.5 assessment and the respiratory health assessment. Descriptive statistic is used analyze the exposure to PM2.5 and symptoms experienced by the waste collectors. Both Spearman and Pearson correlation are used to identify the correlation between the two objectives. The study found that the personal exposure to total dust are exceed the limit of 0.15 mg/m³ of an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of total dust exposure in workplaces. However, the exposure of waste collectors to PM2.5 based on the area sampling does not exceed MAAQS limit of total suspended particles of 0.26 mg/m³ for 24 hours. Moreover, majority of waste collectors experienced obstructive lung impairment while 15 out of 50 samples are tested normal lung function. Most of the waste collectors does not experienced any respiratory health-related symptoms while some of them experienced chest colds and chest illnesses, cough, and phlegm. Both exposure to PM2.5 and respiratory health-related symptoms does not show any correlation. The finding of the study shows that the exposure to PM2.5 and symptoms may be varied due to the environmental factors, the susceptibility of the waste collectors to the pollutants as well as the habits and lifestyles of the workers.