Abstract:
Mechanical recycling in small scale plastic recycling plants in Thailand with mechanical and thermal driven stages may lead to various occupational hazards. This study aimed to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) by reducing these risks to acceptable levels from hazard identification and risk assessments which were mainly associated with indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure. Accordingly, heat, noise, and VOCs were identified as potential hazards in the hazard identification from four selected small-scale plastic recycling plants in Thailand with polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) recycling practices. In exposure assessment, almost all the exposure levels of heat stress exceeded the Thai OSH regulation limit of 30oC for heavy workers, which was not acceptable according to the risk evaluation in the preliminary study. Also, these values showed a significant difference (p
