In an instant

The human cost of preventable workplace injuries and deaths is “incalculable,” according to Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health in the United States. However, compensation costs alone are likely to be more than a staggering $1 billion per week. Sadly, in the recycling industry, we have a safety record that is poor compared with other sectors.
 

Present danger

The amount of trash generated each year in the U.S. weighs in at nearly 250 million tons. As we increase our efforts to protect the environment, the percentage of this material that is recycled or composted has increased dramatically. The most recent figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indicate that only about 50 percent of garbage generated in the country goes to landfill compared with about 90 percent in 1980.

As this trend continues, the recycling industry is ever growing, which leads to more recycling and processing plants, more jobs, more pressure to work faster and, unfortunately, more accidents causing injury and death.

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the waste management and remediation services industry has an annual fatality rate of roughly 20 deaths per 100,000 workers. This is more than five times the fatality rate for all industries. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics reports more than 50 workplace deaths per year where conveyors are the primary source of injury.

Throughout the country, many companies and municipal authorities use compacting machines to reduce the volume of paper, cardboard and plastic. In a typical setup, as most readers will know, material is loaded onto a conveyor, which leads to a baling press. The baler has an extremely powerful ram that operates automatically when a sensor detects the presence of material. But the baler can’t tell the difference between scrap material and a human being.

Although most conveyors have guard rails or side panels or use a combination of the two, there has to be at least one access point where material is introduced. And the access point is the principal hazardous area. What happens when a worker falls onto the conveyor and ends up in the baling press is just too horrific to contemplate.
 

The ugly truth

Traditional methods of preventing this kind of accident include emergency stop buttons, pull-cords, video monitors and a buddy system. But if you’re injured, unconscious or trapped, you may not be able to hit the e-stop or pull the cord. And however vigilant your co-workers may be, their attention can be distracted, with disastrous results.

Most workers are aware of the danger. Yet, some of the accidents are caused by people deliberately walking up the conveyor to free a blockage without first stopping the machinery.

Numerous accidents also have been caused by misunderstood instructions or inadequate training. A worker asked a colleague to switch off the machinery while he cleared blocked material, but his buddy only switched off the conveyor, not the baler. When the man entered the baling chamber, the sensor detected him and operated the ram.

We’ve learned about some horrendous incidents. One group of recycling workers returning from a break discovered a fresh paper bale with the bloody shirt of a worker's uniform wrapped around the side. When they opened the bale, they found what was left of their co-worker. Apparently, he had stayed behind so he could loosen a paper jam. He had neglected to shut down the baler. He probably stomped on the jammed material, which gave way. He fell into the chamber, causing the machine to cycle.

In another incident, workers found two severed legs lying in a baler chamber long after the emergency medical technicians had taken the victim to the hospital.

The appalling truth about baler accidents is that virtually no one survives; most accidents result in death. And the few people that have survived a direct impact from a ram will almost certainly have severe physical problems.
 

Extra protection

In addition to the traditional methods mentioned earlier, companies with baling operations may want to consider installing an automatic personnel protection system. An effective system will monitor when a worker is in danger and will stop all the machinery, preventing further injury and death.

System reliability is an important feature. Because recycling facilities can be cold, damp and prone to high levels of electrical interference, personnel detection equipment has to be fine-tuned for optimum performance. There needs to be a foolproof way of distinguishing human beings from material on the conveyor, and the fact that the equipment is usually constructed of metal can make this difficult.

One such system designed specifically to work in these conditions is the Guardian by Safetech, Sunderland, England. With this system, individuals working in the hazardous area wear a detector belt containing two tiny transmitters. The detector belts are designed to be light, comfortable and easy to wear, are constructed to withstand harsh industrial environments and are typically visually distinctive to help safety enforcement.

An antenna device in the form of a frame mounted on the conveyor is at the entrance to the hazardous area. The frame is constructed so as not to impede the flow of material on the conveyor.

If anyone wearing a detector belt approaches the antenna frame, it is designed to pick up the signal, activating the emergency stop procedure and sounding an alarm. It also can send a signal to a remote control room or security post. The conveyor and baler are stopped before the person is harmed.

Essential fail-safes often are built in to these systems. For example, the machinery can’t be started unless the safety system is in operation. And one system can offer protection for several conveyors, which can lead to dramatic cost savings.

These systems are designed to protect workers even if they are injured or unconscious, trapped beneath material or otherwise unable to escape the hazard. It doesn’t matter if they’re concealed from view. It doesn’t matter if no one notices their predicament.

These systems can be used in a wide range of processes, including applications in refuse recycling, plants handling paper, board, plastic, metal, textiles, furniture and electrical appliances and many manufacturing and engineering functions.
 

Use caution

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that when the operation of a machine may result in a contact injury to the operator or others in the vicinity, the hazards must be eliminated or controlled. The Occupational Safety and Health Act goes further. It requires employers to comply with hazard-specific safety and health standards. Employers must provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Employers can be cited for violating the General Duty Clause if there are recognized hazards that they do not take reasonable steps to prevent or abate.

An automatic personnel protection system can be an essential safety component in a recycling facility and could prevent a heavy fine for noncompliance. An automatic system has other benefits too. As it eliminates the need for a buddy system, there can be savings on staffing costs; and insurance premiums also can be reduced. However, the greatest benefit surely is knowing that you’ve done everything possible to prevent an unthinkable accident.

Robert Smith is managing director of Safetech, Sunderland, England, which has been designing and manufacturing automatic personnel protection systems since 1986. He can be contacted at robert@safetechsystems.com.