Occupational deaths and injuries by the types of street cleaning process

Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2017 Mar;23(1):76-82. doi: 10.1080/10803548.2016.1199500. Epub 2016 Jul 13.

Abstract

This study aims to obtain an overall picture of occupational injuries by the types of street cleaning process. Three hundred and fifty-four injured persons were analyzed in terms of the company size and details of the injured persons and accidents. Results show that 'roadway cleaning' was the most common type of cleaning process for injuries, followed by 'sidewalk cleaning,' 'going/returning to work by bike' and 'lifting/carrying.' The findings also show that most accidents which occur when 'going/returning to work by bike' are in the form of traffic accidents, while in other processes they happen most often in the form of slips. Most of the accidents related to 'lifting/carrying' affected workers in their 50s or younger while other processes had a large portion of injured persons in their 50s or older. The findings of this study can be used as baseline data for preventative policies.

Keywords: accident prevention; occupational accident; street cleaner; street cleaning process.

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Occupational / statistics & numerical data*
  • Bicycling / injuries
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lifting / adverse effects
  • Male
  • Occupational Injuries / epidemiology*
  • Occupational Injuries / mortality
  • Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Transportation / statistics & numerical data