A study of occupational injuries among domestic trash collectors was conducted in 667 persons, 662 males, mean age 41 years (yr), employed during 1993 by a domestic trash collection company in Copenhagen, Denmark. Injuries sustained by the workers during 1993 were identified from supervisor's records and from linkage of the subjects to the Danish Registry of Occupational Accidents. The details of each injury were reviewed. A total of 125 injuries were reported during 1993. Eleven persons received more than one injury. Eliminating these double injuries reduced the number of injured workers for analysis to 114. Eighty eight percent of the injuries occurred outside the company on the collection routes. Of the remainder, 9% of the injuries occurred in the company's maintenance department or garage. The area of the remaining 3% could not be determined. The largest proportion of injuries (33%) occurred in workers with less than 3yr of service. Seventy seven percent of the injuries occurred between 7am and 1pm. Half of the injuries, 25% of the total occurring on each day, occurred on Mondays and Thursdays of a typical work week. Over the year, the largest proportion of the injuries, 14 to 16% of the total, occurred in May and September. Only 11 to 12% of the injuries occurred during the winter months. The back, knees, and feet were the most frequently injured body parts, accounting for 15, 12, and 11% of the total, respectively. Twisting, soft tissue trauma, lacerations, and teeth damage were the four most frequent types of injuries, accounting for 29, 19, 18, and 9% of the total, respectively. The most frequent causes of injury were being struck by trash, vehicles, or other objects, falls to a lower level, strains, and stepping on or contacting sharp objects. These accounted for 23, 19, 18, and 13% of the total, respectively. Regression analysis showed that the risk of injury decreased significantly with increasing seniority and nonsignificantly with increasing age. The authors conclude that being employed as a trash collector is associated with a high risk of sustaining an occupational injury. Better education of trash collectors might reduce the injury risk.

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