This study intended to characterize work environment contamination by particles in 2 waste-sorting plants.
Material and Methods: Particles were measured by portable direct-reading equipment. Besides mass concentration in different
sizes, data related with the number of particles concentration were also obtained. Results: Both sorting units showed
the same distribution concerning the 2 exposure metrics: particulate matter 5 (PM5
) and particulate matter 10 (PM10)
reached the highest levels and 0.3 μm was the fraction with a higher number of particles. Unit B showed higher (p < 0.05)
levels for both exposure metrics. For instance, in unit B the PM10 size is 9-fold higher than in unit A. In unit A, particulate
matter values obtained in pre-sorting and in the sequential sorting cabinet were higher without ventilation working.
Conclusions: Workers from both waste-sorting plants are exposed to particles. Particle counting provided additional information
that is of extreme value for analyzing the health effects of particles since higher values of particles concentration
were obtained in the smallest fraction