Environmental Officers Have 19 Times Higher Incidence of Pulmonary Disease Than General Public
Replace Exhaust Pipe from Horizontal to Upward Direction
Gangdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Su-hee) is changing the exhaust pipe structure of garbage trucks from rear horizontal type to front vertical type to protect the health of environmental officers working for the residents. On the 23rd, the district announced that it recently installed vertical exhaust pipes on a total of three compression-type garbage trucks and recycling collection vehicles using diesel.
Environmental officers have been exposed to health risks such as lung diseases by inhaling exhaust gases emitted directly from garbage trucks during waste loading operations. However, this problem is improved when the exhaust pipe of the garbage truck faces upward.
In addition, it is expected to reduce the scattered dust inevitably generated from the existing exhaust pipes, thereby alleviating the inconvenience experienced by residents in low-rise residential areas due to exhaust smoke.
Backgroundsuk, head of the Cleaning Administration Division of Gangdong-gu, said, “I am glad that the working environment of environmental officers, who suffered from exhaust fumes and heat, has improved,” and added, “We will actively strive to create a better working environment for environmental officers.”
According to the 'Survey on Working Environment and Health Checkup of Environmental Cleaners' published by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute in 2020, environmental officers have a lung disease incidence rate 19 times higher than that of the general public.
More than 3,000 environmental officers participated in signing for the vertical installation of garbage truck exhaust pipes, and subsequently, the revision of the 'Waste Management Act Enforcement Rules' and work guidelines made the vertical structural change of garbage truck exhaust pipes mandatory.
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