Adelmo Artur de Aquino
Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA),
Brazil
E-mail: artur-aquino1@hotmail.com
Alex Armando da Silva
Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA),
Brazil
E-mail: alex.siv@hotmail.com
Adriano David Monteiro de Barros
Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA),
Brazil
E-mail: a_david86@hotmail.com
Almir Mariano de Sousa Júnior
Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA),
Brazil
E-mail: almir.mariano@ufersa.edu.br
Submission: 02/04/2017
Revision: 11/05/2017
Accept: 28/06/2017
ABSTRACT
The objective of this work was the
elaboration of a case study aimed at the detection of the carbon monoxide (CO)
emission caused by the incineration of municipal solid waste from the public
waste dump of the municipality of Serrinha dos Pintos/RN, as well as its
effects Toxicological. For the study, the portable four-gas detector, which has
the capacity to detect combustible gases (% LEL), hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
carbon monoxide (CO) and Oxygen (O2) was used. Regarding the
environmental impacts, that waste can offer human health, a socioenvironmental
questionnaire composed of closed-ended questions and eight objective questions
was applied, since after obtaining the answers, the data were tabulated in
Excel, which More viable its use, due to the spreadsheets and graphs for a
quantitative analysis, where through the obtained results, the
interviewees obtained a use of 70.4%,
demonstrating knowledge about the most common diseases caused by garbage, among
them, the most cited In the questionnaire were dengue and tetanus. It was
verified that the most common symptoms presented by the study population were
moderate headache and dizziness, considering that the levels of CO emissions
average 77.6 ppm, which is above the standard established by NR15. Thus, the
results encompass several areas that are linked not only to the emission of CO,
but also to waste, because according to the empirical tests, many procedures
occurring on the site directly affect safety, health and the environment.
Keywords: Carbon
Monoxide; Work Safety; Regulatory Norm 15; Solid Waste
1. INTRODUCTION
The destination and treatment of solid waste can
produce emissions of the main gases that contribute to the generation of
socio-environmental problems, as well as causing serious health consequences
for the people who are directly exposed to these emissions. According to Medronho
(2003) the relationship between health and work has been studied in the last
two decades, this object of study has a theoretical reference based on the
analysis of the process of this relation.
Solid waste is any undesirable solid or semi-solid
material which needs to be removed because it has been considered useless by
the user (MONTEIRO, et al, 2001). It is important to note that these materials
must be managed in order to reduce environmental impacts (GUERRERO; MAAS;
HOGLAND, 2013; MARSHALL; FARAHBAKHSH, 2013). When the solid waste is dumped in
the open dumps it is inevitable that there will be a high concentration of
garbage in the course of the day. Thus, the only solution to this waste is incineration.
As a result, high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) are released causing serious
environmental problems and making the workplace harmful for those responsible
for that activity (DEVECI, et al., 2004; FAZLZADEH, et al. 2015)
According to Freitas and Longo (2005), the fires have
four phases of evolution that are: ignition, flames, embers and extinction. The
release of CO and carbon dioxide (CO2) occurs in the flame phase,
where the high temperatures cause ruptures of the molecules constituting the
biomass, causing the release of the gases already mentioned, making possible
the contraction of occupational diseases. According to Sandilands and Bateman
(2016, p. 151) "carbon monoxide poisoning may be accidental or deliberate.
The principles of treatment are rapid removal from source and high-flow oxygen
therapy".
Agreeing to Conceição and Cavalcanti (2001),
occupational diseases are those in which workers are exposed to environmental,
ergonomic or accident risks. According to Mohammadfam et al. (2017, p. 156)
“risks endanger the workforce, equipment, the working environment, and impact
the competiveness and economic performance of both industries and communities”.
They are characterized when it establishes a connection between the
aggravations analyzed in the health of the worker and the exposure to certain
occupational risks.
In this way, to prevent accidents in the workplace and
not to harm the health of workers is essential the use of personal protective
equipment (PPE). According to Conceição and Cavalcanti (2001), Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) is defined as all equipment for personal use aimed
at preserving the worker's safety while performing their duties.
The objective of
the present study related to the analysis of the emission of carbon monoxide
and its IMPACTS TO HEALTH OF THE WORKER, WELL LIKE THE ENVIRONMENT, in a public
dump in the city of Serrinha dos Pintos, located in the state of Rio Grande do
Norte (RN). Thus, it was verified in comparison with the levels of emission
delimited by Regulatory Norm 15 - NR 15, if the workers responsible for such
activity have possibilities to contract occupational diseases, as well as
analyzed the possible socio-environmental problems, caused by both the emission
and the form of the management and its due treatment.
2. THEORETICAL REFERENCE
2.1.
Work
safety
Work
Safety is a set of norms and regulatory laws that propose measures and actions
to be adopted to minimize and even eradicate occupational accidents and
diseases. Therefore, its main goal is to protect the integrity of the workers
in the workplace, guaranteeing them all the necessary support so that they can
develop their activities in the most efficient way possible.
However,
to develop the application of these norms and laws requires very strict
planning, because from it will arise the need to adopt specific measures for
each type of problem encountered. Therefore, points such as: Work environment
study, study of occupational safety legislation, regulatory technical standards
and employer responsibilities, are fundamental activities to take the necessary
measures, in which sometimes can be resolved through administrative actions.
According
to Martins et al. (2010), it is convenient that all companies have professional
staff trained to understand and solve health and safety problems at work. With
this, the organization will have a specialized and dynamic dimension, since the
professional will have capacities to act in all sectors in order to prevent and
protect accidents in the scope of work.
Therefore,
some preventive actions are more prominent because they are basically the most
common in relation to work safety, thus becoming initial parameters for an
analysis for decision making. They are: Study of the occupational scope,
analysis of causes of work accidents, lectures and capacitive training,
implementation of EPCs (Collective Protection Equipment) and PPE, correction of
the adopted administrative methods, medical examinations, psychological
evaluation of the worker, among others. Thus, the execution of these actions is
necessary so that there is a control of the risks of accidents, being able to prevent
them and even solve the problem directly from the source. Therefore, the lack
of a system of prevention and control in the management of safety at work can
lead to enormous losses, the consequences for both the company and the worker,
can be of great impact.
In spite of being a relatively new context, the
subject has been showing a very large social impact, as companies are
increasingly leaving behind the philosophy of management applied to activities
and their level of productivity, adopting the philosophy oriented to the
worker, being the main one the people for a better income in the execution of
its activities.
In Brazil, there is a Work Safety Legislation in which
it is basically based on regulatory standards, but also by decrees, ordinances
and even conventions of the International Labor Organization, which serves as
the basis for several technical measures, many of them adapted to the scenario
Brazilian.
Regarding the administrative actions whose competence
belongs to the organization itself, there are multidisciplinary groups or
commissions responsible for supervising the occupational activity in the
sectors of the institution in which the group is inserted. One of them is CIPA,
which means Internal Commission for Accident Prevention, and is regulated by
Regulatory Standard 5 - NR 5, and its purpose is to reduce the large number of
accidents in the industries. For Rossete (2015), CIPA will be implemented
according to the activity of the institution, regardless of whether it is
private or public.
2.2.
Emission
of Gases from Urban Solid Waste
According
to Resolution Number 05/93 of the National Environmental Council (CONAMA, p.
592), it presents the concept of solid waste in accordance with Brazilian
Standard (NBR) 10.004 / 87 of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards
(ABNT), as: "Residues in the solid and semi-solid states, resulting from
activities of the community of origin: industrial, domestic, hospital,
commercial, agricultural, service and sweeping”.
According
to the National Survey of Basic Sanitation (PNSB), conducted in 2008, 50.8% of
Brazilian municipalities used solid waste in open-air landfill, specifically in
the Northeast region.
As a
result, the inadequate form of waste management leads to the release of gases
called biogas, the main component being methane (CH) and carbon monoxide (CO).
In addition, leachate is released. Together with these gases has serious
consequences for the health of people who are in direct contact with waste.
Humidity
is a factor that influences the biogas release process. According to Qian et
al. (2001) the moisture present in the residues after the composition affects
considerably the biogas production.
For
Ruiz and Loeri (2011), the density of carbon monoxide is lower than that of air
(0.967), it presents a colorless, odorless appearance and non-irritating onset
of airways. The same originates from the incomplete combustion of organic and
inorganic material, it contains carbon atoms and the combustion occurs under
conditions related to the lack of oxygen, resulting in the formation of CO.
The
residences and commercial residues of a municipality are mostly of the
biodegradable type, so their composition affects considerably in the production
of gases, so the greater the amount of biodegradable waste the greater will be
the biodegradation of the waste, increasing the rate of generation of chemical
agents.
According to Junqueira (2000), in the rainy season it
allows the addition of dissolved oxygen in the water, allowing an increase of
the aerobic bacteria manifestations, leading to an increase in temperature and,
especially in the mass of the residue due to the exothermic activities of
microorganisms. This means that this whole process causes an imbalance of the
anaerobic microorganisms, thus causing a decrease in the rate of degradation of
the residues and, consequently, the decrease of biogas proliferation.
2.3.
Health
Impacts
Health
is defined as the good state of normal operational of the human body, in
addition to being in good physical and mental disposition. According to the
World Health Organization (1946), "health is the state of complete
physical, mental and social well-being and not just the absence of disease.”
Gouveia (2012) states that the incorrect disposal of
solid waste causes impacts on human health. Thus, there is an increase in
disease-transmitting factors, populations living near the dumps are exposed to
"various types of cancer, congenital anomalies, low birth weight,
abortions and neonatal deaths," reminding the garbage collector that their
work is considered unhealthy and because they are in direct contact with the
garbage the possibility of acquiring diseases such as: tetanus, dermatitis,
cholera, typhoid, verminoses, among others. Non-use of PPE makes them more
vulnerable to being infected by diseases.
For Tavares (2008), is considered inappropriate
disposal any waste thrown on the floor, streets, lakes, rivers, parks, schools
and any other passive location of illegality. The consequence of this irregular
practice it ends causing the accumulation of garbage. Thus, when this happens
one of the ways to dispose of the waste accumulation is to use the method of incineration,
from the moment they adopt such practice entails the emergence of problems such
as the high emission of carbon monoxide, causing environmental and social
consequences.
When people are exposed for a long time to carbon
monoxide, it can cause serious health consequences. According to Prockop and
Chichkova (2007), they say that CO causes negative effects in people; it
combines with hemoglobin, forming carboxy-hemoglobin (COHb) in the blood, thus
avoiding oxygen binding to hemoglobin, leading to the reduction of the oxygen
carrying capacity of the blood.
The
manifestation of symptoms caused by CO depends on the intensity of exposure, as
well as on the amount inhaled and the time of exposure. According to Ruiz and
Loeri (2011), the symptoms are proportional to the concentration of COHb in the
blood and in general, about 90% of the cases patients complain of headaches,
accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, deep fatigue, among other symptoms.
In more severe cases you may experience fainting or coma in high degrees.
2.4.
Sampling
Analysis of CO
According
to ABNT, in Regulatory Norm 15 - NR 15 (1978), each sample collected in the
data referents should not exceed the values obtained in the following equation;
otherwise, it is considered a serious and imminent health risk situation.
Therefore,
the analysis is done for each sample, having as parameter this maximum value
obtained through Equation 1. Thus, one can individually evaluate the risk that
each sample represents.
In
addition, according to Table 1, adapted from NR 15 below, the tolerance limit
for Carbon Monoxide (CO) is 39 ppm.
Maximum
value = T.L x D.F (1)
Where:
T.L. = Tolerance limit for the
chemical agent, according to Table 1 of NR 15.
D.F. = Deviation factor, as defined
in Table 2 of NR 15.
Table
1: Tolerance Limits Table
CHEMICAL
AGENTS |
Value
Ceiling |
Absorption
also for skin |
Up
to 48 hours / week |
Degree of insalubrity to be considered in the case
of its characterization |
|
Ppm* |
Mg/m³** |
|
|||
Monomethyldidrazine |
+ |
+ |
0,16 |
0,27 |
Maximum |
Carbon monoxide |
|
|
39 |
43 |
Maximum |
Negro de fumo |
|
|
|
3,5 |
Maximum |
Table
2: Deviation factor
TABLE N. º2 |
|
T.L. |
D.F. |
(ppm,
or mg/m³) |
- |
0
to 1 |
3 |
1
to 10 |
2 |
10
to 100 |
1,5 |
100
to 1000 |
1,25 |
Above
1000 |
1,1 |
3. METHODOLOGY
The
study consists of the emission analysis of the gases in an open landfill
located in the city of Serrinha dos Pintos / RN, the same one receives the
waste discharge of the entire urban and rural zone, besides the hospital waste
that is also deposited in the place. The incineration of the waste is based on
its daily accumulation. For the detection of the emission of gases, a portable
four-gas detector model DG-500 is used, as shown in Figure I. This apparatus
has the capacity to detect combustible gases (% LEL), hydrogen sulphide (H2S),
carbon monoxide (CO) and Oxygen (O2).
The
research method used was a case study, which according to Yin (2001), it
consists of an empirical analysis, comprising a comprehensive procedure, with
plans to obtain and observe the data.
In
this way, the management of the data collected in the research follows a
procedure for the elaboration of the work. For Gil (1991), the case study does
not consist of a strict roadmap for its limitation, being possible to establish
four processes that present its design: a) limitation of the case; B) data
collection; C) selection, analysis and interpretation of the data, d)
elaboration of the work.
According
to Lüdke and Meda (1986), using the case study as a research strategy is the
approach of a case, simple and specific or complex and abstract, always being
well demarcated. It may be the same as other studies, but there is a certain
difference, since it has its own exclusive and characteristic interest.
Data
collection, using the gas detector, started at 1:00 p.m., defining 16 samples
(measurements) at intervals of 20 minutes each. For the evaluation of the
results it is necessary to define parameters in different environmental
conditions, that is, the collection of samples with and without the
presentation of the garbage burning. Thus, the study of the two situations
allows to evaluate the consequences present in the working conditions
described. The interpretation of the results depends on a basic knowledge of
statistics, being taken as reference values for the emission of CO to
Regulatory Norm 15 - NR 15. Finally, Excel software was used to tabulate and
analyze the data obtained in the research.
For
the identification of the environmental impacts, the method of detailed
observation of the landfill was used, recording the main conditions that harm
the environment through photographic images, thus allowing a better evaluation
of possible environmental problems.
Nearby
the place where the waste is deposited, there are residences, with this the
high emission of CO caused by the burning of the trash can cause social
problems, to detect possible consequences for the health of the residents.
Applying the questionnaire in 10 (ten) residences located near the landfill,
the questionnaires were composed of closed questions and 8 predominantly
objective questions, once after obtaining the answers to the data tabulation
more feasible through spreadsheets and graphs for a quantitative analysis.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1.
Occupational
Exposure Limit to CO
According
to Silva (2008), there was no control of occupational exposures in the
workplace during the 1990, while typical work-related injury rates began to
fall considerably, and occupational disease rates tended to remain stable or
even in the coming years.
According
to Formigoni (2015), the limits of exposure to chemical and environmental
agents consist of values where it is believed that workers can be exposed in
their working hours without harming their physical and mental integrity. Thus,
Regulatory Norm 15 - NR 15, defends the worker from the activities related to
the exposure of chemical agents, whose unhealthiness is characterized by the
tolerance limit and inspection in the workplace.
NR 15
presents a table with the tolerance limits of the chemical agents that the
worker may be exposed to, the respiratory inhalation limit of these agents is
given in Parts per Million (PPM). As the object of the study is closely related
to the emission of carbon monoxide, then the tolerance limit value for this
agent is 39ppm.
When
measuring with the gas detector the emission of carbon monoxide in the waste
dump without the incineration it is noticed that it was not possible to detect any
CO rate, as shown in Figure 1, which represents the measurement of the
apparatus, in addition to Figure 2 and 3 that represent the state of the
environment at the time of testing. The explanation for obtaining this result
is because it is located in a locality where it does not have a frequency of
transport flow and of any eventual factor that causes the release of the
chemical agent.
Figure 1:
Detection of CO emission under normal conditions. |
Figure 2:
Environment in normal conditions: lateral view. |
Figure 3:
Environment under normal conditions: front view |
4.2.
Carbon
Monoxide Emission
The
emission of carbon monoxide was obtained by collecting sample data during the
5-hour period in the public dump of the city of Serrinha dos Pintos / RN, with
each sample being collected every 20 minutes. In order to determine the period
of data collection, the time of burning of the solid waste during the daily
working day was taken into account, since the initial data represents the
beginning of the incineration of the garbage, and consequently the final data
represents the final phase of the burning, which occurs at the end of the
working day. The data are shown in Table 3:
Table 3: Sample data collected in the public dump of
Serrinha dos Pintos / RN
Time (min) |
0 |
20 |
40 |
60 |
80 |
100 |
120 |
140 |
160 |
180 |
200 |
220 |
240 |
260 |
280 |
300 |
CO (ppm) |
35 |
40 |
43 |
87 |
85 |
108 |
100 |
43 |
127 |
101 |
78 |
130 |
53 |
92 |
55 |
64 |
The
collection began around 1:00 p.m. and lasted until approximately 6:00 p.m.,
during which time it was possible to obtain data on the various phases of
incineration of the waste, from the initial phase to a very advanced phase of
the burning, in the which compounds are disposed in place until there is a
process of mobilization of the remaining residues. Figure 4 describes the
behavior of the incineration according to the order of presentation.
Figure 4: Phases
of waste incineration.
It is possible to observe that the values have some
proportionality with the time due to the incineration of the residues, which in
the initial state are relatively low given the conditions of the environment
and grow with their apex around 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. hours in which the stage
of the carbon monoxide emission shows maximum, and finally, the values decrease
considerably since the residues are in the final phase of the burning.
In order to analyze the significance of the samples
collected in relation to the level of sample risk, Eq.1 is used. In this case,
the tolerance limit, according to NR 15 is 39ppm. The deviation factor as
defined in Table 2 of NR 15 is 1.5. With this, applying in the equation we
have:
Maximum value = T.L x D.F
Maximum value = 39x1.5
Maximum value = 58.5ppm
It means that each sample that presents values higher
than 58.5 ppm is considered to be a serious and imminent risk situation. When
analyzing the sample data presented in Table II, it can be seen that of 16
samples collected, only 6 presented values lower than the maximum sample value
allowed. Thus, because there is a greater number of samples that have higher
values than allowed, the possibility for all of them to be considered a risk to
occupational health is effectively high.
In relation to the data set, according to Regulatory Norm
15 - NR 15 in Annex 11, item 8, it is necessary to analyze the data based on
the arithmetic mean of the samples to consider the tolerance limit if the average
exceeds the value defined by NR 15, which in this case is 39ppm.
With regard to the study of all the sample data, first
with the intention of having a notion about the behavior of carbon monoxide emission
in relation to time, the graph was elaborated according to the data presented
in Table II.
Graph 1: Carbon
Monoxide Emission in the Landfill
As for the representation in Graph 1, it is perceived
that the value normalized by the norm corresponding to the occupational
tolerance limit that is 39ppm is represented by the black coloration, the
samples that are above this value are in red color, while the ones that are
below Is represented by the green color.
It is noteworthy that in the first 20 minutes the
result obtained is considered acceptable, the explanation for this result is
because it is the beginning of the waste incineration process; the elapsed time
was not enough to cause the CO emission to be considered health risk.
From 20 minutes to 300 minutes, it is notable that all
values are above the level that is considered acceptable, but according to
Regulatory Norm 15 - NR 15 in Annex 11, item 8, it is necessary to make analysis
of the data set based on the arithmetic mean of the samples to consider the
tolerance limit. The arithmetic mean of the data obtained is 77.6ppm, as the
mean exceeded the value defined by NR 15, thus it is considered as an
occupational health risk.
The explanation for the high rate of emission of the
gas after 20 minutes is due to the fact that the burning of the waste is at an
intensity sufficient to generate high rates of carbon monoxide, that is, the
stage in which the incineration was allowed High rate of CO release, as occurs
specifically at the point of 220 minutes, where a rate of 130ppm is presented,
with this it is noticeable that the other values collected in the same phase
of the burning have a certain proportion, in the interval of 100 to 220 minutes
, Thus causing consequences on workers' health, as well as still causing social
and environmental impacts.
According to Conceição and Cavalcanti (2001), personal
protective equipment should protect the individual against the risks of work
environments, and provide protection against uncomfortable and unpleasant
working conditions; being able to even more fully protect the region of the
body threatened directly. Thus, the workers responsible for handling and
throughout the incineration of waste are essential the use of PPE, thus
enabling the reduction of health risks and preserving the physical integrity of
workers.
When assessing the conditions that workers were
subjected to in the work environment, it was noted that they lacked the use of
some PPE as masks that protect the airways and glasses for the protection of
the eyes.
4.3.
Toxicological
Effects of Exposure to Carbon Monoxide
Factors
such as pollution, emission of gaseous materials, space of the environment, and
displacement can have a great impact in the execution of the tasks, in the
health and safety of those who carry out any type of duty in these places.
Thus, in this case, it was possible to observe several of these factors,
including the emission of carbon monoxide, the main objective of the study. In
addition to chemical and biological risks, physical and accident hazards were
also observed at the site, such as heat, inadequate arrangements and even
venomous animals.
In relation to the emission of carbon monoxide from
the solid wastes allocated to the environment, it is possible to analyze
several possible clinical effects that the exposure to this gas can cause to
human health.
“[...] Carbon monoxide has an
affinity for hemoglobin 240 times greater than that of oxygen, which causes a
small amount of carbon monoxide to saturate a large amount of hemoglobin
molecules (CANÇADO et al. 2006, p. 3). ”
Resulting in decreased blood capacity to carry oxygen,
and even tissue hypoxia, which is caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the
tissue. According to Reis (2016), these toxicological effects are caused by the
so-called acute exposure to carbon monoxide, which in the body is combined with
hemoglobin, forming carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO), which in turn has no ability to
carry the Oxygen, because CO and react with the
same group on the hemoglobin molecule.
In
addition, exposure to carbon monoxide can cause short- and long-term problems.
Thus, these problems are analyzed in minor intervals, since they are better
adapted to the workers' exposure situation, thus being in line with the
problems addressed according to the parameters presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Effects
of acute carbon monoxide poisoning
CO (ppm) on air |
Accumulation time (minutes) |
Carboxy-hemoglobin concentration (%) |
Symptoms |
50 |
150 |
7 |
Light headache |
100 |
120 |
12 |
Moderate
headache, and dizziness. |
250 |
120 |
25 |
Severe
headache and dizziness |
500 |
90 |
45 |
Nausea,
vomiting, collapse |
1.000 |
60 |
60 |
Coma |
10.000 |
5 |
95 |
Death |
Source: American Petroleum Institute, 2009.
Table
III shows the effects caused by the level and time of exposure to the gas, and
thus it is possible to have a consistent basis for analyzing the exposure of
employees and workers performing tasks in the landfill. Therefore, according to
the results obtained in the data collection, as well as the time of exposure of
that in the place, the most common symptoms are the moderate headache, and
dizziness, since the levels of CO emission has on average 77.6ppm.
4.4.
Socio-Environmental
Impacts Caused by the Emission of Carbon Monoxide
The
detection of the carbon monoxide emission in the landfill obtained in the tests
also represents socio-environmental consequences besides the risks to the
health and safety of the civil servants and of who carries out some type of
activity in the place. Thus, it was possible to observe considerable impacts in
the community and in the environment, validating a better study of such
effects.
In
order to analyze the socioenvironmental impacts caused by the emission of CO
from solid waste in the Serrinha dos Pintos dump, it is necessary to observe
several social and environmental factors. Therefore, to close the empirical
analysis of popular methods and thoughts, a socioenvironmental questionnaire
was applied with the ten (10) residents living near the landfill.
Thus,
a qualitative analysis becomes necessary to understand the behaviors and thoughts
of these residents, but it is also necessary a qualitative analysis of some
questions asked.
Graph
2 describes the main socio-environmental aspects addressed in the questionnaire
applied, in addition to other factors that are generally not addressed,
nonetheless which are of public importance.
Graph 2: Socio-environmental Questionnaire: Analysis
of responses
Source:
Group personal archive
The results presented by the graph are simple and
effective, because in all the series the answers were made consistently, that
is, in almost all the questions the residents showed a good performance in
relation to the questions addressed. Thus, with respect to the impacts that the
residues can offer to human health, the interviewees obtained a use of 70.4%,
demonstrating knowledge about the most common diseases caused by garbage, among
them, the ones most cited in the questionnaire were dengue fever and tetanus.
Regarding the environmental impacts that the public
waste disposal site can offer, all the residents presented coherent and
assertive opinions on the subject. Thus, the questioning applied was answered
correctly by 97.2% of respondents. Among the impacts, the most evident were,
according to the interviewees, the deforestation, pollution and aggression to the
fauna, since the place presents a certain variety of wild animals and even
domesticated ones, as the case of the cattle raising.
As far as residents' awareness was concerned, it was
possible to observe that in all of them they showed full awareness of the
proper disposal of waste, as well as the importance and usefulness of a
landfill, as discussed in the questionnaire. Although everyone knows about
these factors, in practice, what happens in some cases is the inappropriate
disposal of household waste, and there are even reports that garbage is
sometimes disposed of in nearby wastelands. However, public officials
responsible do the collection and transport of this waste for the handling of
the waste to the site, through the bucket, which is the vehicle commonly used.
In relation to labor activities, it was reported that
in almost 50% of the cases, there are family members of the interviewees doing
some kind of activity near the dump. In this case, all activities are focused
on agriculture and livestock.
In addition to all these factors, a case of
respiratory disease caused by smoke expelled in the air due to the waste
incineration was also reported in one of the residents closest to the place,
including a problem diagnosed.
Throughout the visits made in the open landfill, it
was possible to observe several factors that are detrimental not only to the
health and to safety of the workers, but also diverse forms of aggression to
the environment. In addition to the great pollution, deforestation and
disturbance to the fauna, a major problem was detected related to the handling
of the remaining waste compounds after incineration.
The public dump of Serrinha dos Pintos is located in a
peripheral area, and due to the city being mountainous and is approximately 615
meters of altitude, the place chosen to deposit the waste is located in a
ravine in the top of the mountain range, and it is precisely for this bank that
the remaining composites from the garbage burning are thrown.
It is possible to observe in Figure 5 the wastes
thrown by the bank, which affects the valley that divides the mountains.
Figure
5: Waste pushed
And according to the reports of the public servants
themselves, this method has always happened since the place was chosen to be
deposited all the garbage produced by the inhabitants of the city, that is,
there is a lot of garbage thrown down for many years, a technique of
immeasurable irresponsibility of the municipality.
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based
on all the results obtained during the period of tests, conversation and
observation, it was concluded that the open-air dump offers numerous risks to
the population of the municipality of Serrinha dos Pintos, being
socio-environmental risks and, mainly, health and safety risks of work. In this
way, it was possible to evaluate such risk factors with a satisfactory and
evident analysis of the high level of carbon monoxide emission. It can thus
measure this agent considered of high unhealthiness.
In
addition, the results are consistent with the unfortunate reality that occurs
in Brazilian cities, especially in small cities where enforcement is lacking,
and methods based on regulatory norms are rarely implemented, such as the lack
of use of most PPE needed to perform activities in places like this.
Another important aspect that should undoubtedly be
discussed and repaired is the public irresponsibility on the part of the
municipality committed in the act of improper displacement of part of the
waste, since, besides the affected land, it is privately owned, the environmental
impact caused by this part act may be irreparable.
Regarding the emission of carbon monoxide in the
working environment, it is necessary to point out the high detected indices of
the gas that is released in the incineration of the solid waste, as shown by
the average of the samples, which is 77,6ppm, which exceeds 99% of the limit tolerated
according to NR 15, leaving the work environment completely covered by clouds
of smoke, making activities practically inaccessible due to the difficulty of
seeing and breathing, and with this the lack of adequate PPE for these
conditions leads to prolonged exposure and risks to workers. And an aggravating
factor for this exposure is the fact that employees stay in place during the incineration
to control firing for an indeterminate time, thus posing a great health risk
due to this exposure to toxic gas.
In this case, there are simple and adaptable
procedures to reduce and inhibit most agents from health, safety and
environmental hazards. The adoption of methods such as: using PPE suitable for
activities in dumps, controlling the amount of waste burned per session, and
even the way the waste is burned can offer better working conditions for those
who carry out some kind of activity in the area. Regarding the garbage that is
pushed from the top of the mountain, there are no plausible explanations for
such an act, since the same is of immense irresponsibility of the municipality.
An act that goes unnoticed due to lack of supervision, but that in the future may
cause countless consequences for the municipality and for the environment.
Therefore,
a more effective solution to this problem would be the construction of a
sanitary landfill, but it would be unfeasible for the municipality to carry
such a large amount of investment. However, there is a project since 2010
regulated by Federal Law 12,305 / 2010, for the construction of a In the municipality
of Pau dos Ferros/RN, which would have delivery deadline in 2014, and would be
used by about 40 municipalities in the region, including Serrinha dos Pintos.
Thus, it would treat a serious problem found in the state, but the project was stopped.
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