Improving mental and physical health for waste management and recycling workers
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN19236285 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN19236285 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | Swedish study arm: GreenMetalWaste Danish study arm: Genanvend Portuguese study arm: Plastic-Waste |
- Submission date
- 18/12/2024
- Registration date
- 19/12/2024
- Last edited
- 19/12/2024
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Injury, Occupational Diseases, Poisoning
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Increased recycling is a key part of the circular economy and the transition towards green energy. However, increased recycling may lead to hazardous exposure to workers including exposure to biological and chemical hazards, repetitive work, noise and accidents. Adverse health effects such as cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, eye, skin and musculoskeletal symptoms have been found in workers sorting and recycling electronics and plastics. Nevertheless, little is known about the exposure and health effects of those workers. Therefore, this study carried out in Sweden, Denmark and Portugal, aims to assess exposure to biological and chemical hazards and explore possible negative health effects in waste management workers; work together with companies to find solutions to prevent exposure and health risks among workers; and, evaluate the risk and safety management measures put in place by exposure assessment.
Who can participate?
Companies and workers involved in recycling/waste management processes are invited to participate in the study. All participants will be informed about the aims of the study and the participation will be voluntary.
What does the study involve?
Upon the agreement of the company and the participants, a visit to the workplace will be scheduled to perform an examination. The examination will involve a lung function test, donation of two urine (one after days off from work and one after shift) and blood samples, wearing an air pump to collect dust near a breathing zone, filling in the questionnaire, and for some participants also ergonomic examination to evaluate strains on muscles and joints. Carried out will be also educational workshops for participants and company managers.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no direct benefits for the individuals or companies participating in the study. The indirect benefit may be the assessment of exposure to metals and chemicals in the workplace which will help to give guidance to reduce such exposure. At different stages of the study, the findings and results will be reported back to the company as well as to individuals. None of the examination methods cause any major discomfort. However, some may experience mild pain during blood sampling.
Where is the study run from?
The study is run by researchers at Lund University, Sweden, with centres in Sweden, Denmark and Portugal.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
The study will start at the beginning of 2025 and will run for 4 years until the end of 2028.
Who is funding the study?
The study is funded through different funding agencies:
1. At the European level, Horizon Europe through funding INTERCAMBIO and PARC projects (No 101137149 and 101057014, respectively)
2. At the study arm level:
- In Sweden by the Swedish Government Research Council (FORMAS) and Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare (FORTE, no: 2021-01757);
- In Denmark byArbejdsmiljøforskningsfonden (The Working Environment Research Fund)
Who is the main contact?
Prof Karin Broberg (Principal investigator), karin.broberg@med.lu.se
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Scheelevägen 2
Lund
22363
Sweden
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-5862-468X |
|---|---|
| Phone | +46 73 782 37 50 |
| karin.broberg@med.lu.se |
Study information
| Study design | Multicentre interventional study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Baseline cross-sectional cohorts and follows up to co-create interventions |
| Study setting(s) | Workplace |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact detail to request a participant information sheet. |
| Scientific title | INTERCAMBIO WP8: Interventions to promote mental and physical health in changing working environment: waste management/recycling workers |
| Study acronym | INTERCAMBIO WP8 |
| Study objectives | 1. Workers and employers are able to suggest preventive measures that can improve existing ones in terms of protecting workers’ health from the effects of waste exposure. 2. There is a sizable percentage of waste workers who do not perceive waste exposure as a health risk. 3. Waste exposure is associated with the presence of waste-related illness symptoms. 4. Implementing a preventive intervention is effective in reducing the exposure level and prevalence of waste-related illness symptoms. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Not yet submitted, Ethics committee name not provided (Address not provided, City not provided, Zip/postal code not provided; Telephone number not provided; not@provided.com), ref: Reference number not provided |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Mental and physical health |
| Intervention | This is a multicentre interventional study that conducts three cross-sectional cohorts within the waste management industry in Sweden, Denmark, and Portugal at the baseline phase and follows up to co-create interventions within 1-4 selected companies per country. • Intervention* Intervention methodology cross-cutting over study arms • Baseline phase: will recruite 100 recycling workers from different companies and collect data on: - questionnaire (demographic and socioeconomic information, data on symptoms related to lung and musculoskeletal problems, data on work tasks etc.), - occupational observational protocol (data on work tasks, personal protective equipment, ventilation etc.) - personal air measurements of inhalable and/or respirable dust fraction - analyses of chemicals (i.e. metals) in blood, urine and air samples - bioaerosols (only DK study arm) - lung function test - ergonomic measures on a subset of workers (SE and PT study arm) • Intervention phase I: report back to the companies the baseline results (inhalable/respirable air, occupational assessment and selected chemicals in biological samples) along with recommendations on how to improve the work environment. • Evaluation of 1st intervention: selected will be 1-4 companies where an evaluation of intervention effectiveness will be carried out through repeated measures of inhalable/respirable air. • Intervention phase II: within the selected 1-4 companies different risk and safety measures will be co-created together with each of the selected companies through workshops. Those measures will depend on the results from the baseline phase - primarily focusing on specific working tasks and related inhalable/respirable dust fraction levels and concentrations of specific metals in biological samples. Interventions will depend on the capabilities of companies (e.g. financial) and will also focus on improving workers` adherence to the already existing safety measures, specifically concerning the use and storage of personal protective equipment and hygiene practices (i.e. educational workshops on exposure risks at workplace, fit tests etc.). • Evaluation of 2nd intervention: intervention effectiveness will be carried out through repeated measures of inhalable/respirable air and selected chemicals in biological samples, as well as questionnaires (data on main work tasks performed, and on lung, and musculoskeletal and mental health symptoms) will be assessed. Results of the repeated measures will be communicated back to the companies, through the organised workshop with managers and workers, and further measures, if needed, will be co-created. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Exposure to dust measured using personal inhalable and respirable dust measurements using PTFE membrane filters fitted with IOM-cassette (inhalable) and Higgins-Dewell Cyclone cassettes (respirable) at baseline and 6 months following the intervention 2. The levels of selected chemicals in air and biological samples measured using ICP-MS and LC-MS/MS analytical methods at baseline and following the intervention |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Mental health and well-being measured using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index following the intervention 2. Physical health measured using a standard questionnaire related to lung, eye and musculoskeletal problems, at baseline, and following the intervention |
| Overall study start date | 01/01/2024 |
| Completion date | 31/12/2028 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Employee |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 300 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Working in the recycling/waste management sector 2. Aged 18 years old and over |
| Key exclusion criteria | Not able to sign the informed consent |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/01/2025 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/01/2026 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Denmark
- Portugal
- Sweden
Study participating centres
Lund
SE-22100
Sweden
Lund
SE-223 62
Sweden
Stockholm
SE-171 77
Sweden
Stockholm
SE-113 65
Sweden
Aarhus
DK-8200
Denmark
Lisbon
1600-407
Portugal
Sponsor information
Government
Rue de la Loi 200
Brussels
1040
Belgium
| Phone | +32 2 299 11 11 |
|---|---|
| paula.pinho@ec.europa.eu | |
| Website | https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en |
Funders
Funder type
Government
Government organisation / National government
- Alternative name(s)
- Horizon Europe, Horizon Europe Programme, Framework Programme, Horizon Europe, EU Framework Programme, Horizon
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2028 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in non-publicly available repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Results and data collected will be disseminated through publications in high-impact peer-reviewed scientific journals, project deliverables, thesis and dissertations, communications in scientific conferences and with local journalists, as well as communications with stakeholders and policy briefs. |
| IPD sharing plan | Swedish study arm: The results on the group level will be communicated to the companies and individuals in the form of a report. Danish study arm: The results on the group level will be communicated to the companies and individuals in the form of a report and individual data to the individuals Portuguese study arm: The data at the individual level will be communicated to the occupational medical doctor, who will communicate the results to the worker. Aggregated data, by task or task group, will be communicated to the company in a report. |
Editorial Notes
19/12/2024: Study's existence confirmed by INTERCAMBIO.
