UNVEILING BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS AMONG WORKERS HANDLING DRY SLUDGE AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES (REVIEW ARTICLE)

In Egypt, the accumulation of dry sludge in wastewater treatment plants stands as a persuasive challenge and presents a crucial hazardous domain within the realm of waste management sector. Accelerated population growth has parallel increase in wastewater generation that needs sustainable solutions. Workers handling dry sludge are exposed to a wide variety of occupational hazards among which the biological hazards due to direct dermal exposure or inhalation of air contaminated with microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Therefore, dry sludge workers are at high risk of experiencing a broad range of adverse health impacts. Strict measures can control such exposure through engineering, medical and legislative means. Annual periodic medical examination should be performed to ensure general wellbeing and to detect early manifestations of infectious diseases, respiratory, gastrointestinal or skin disease. Proper handling and standardized regulations, establishing a comprehensive Work Plan, guidelines for sludge disposal, developing and implementing a “Site Safety” and “Health Sustained Strategic Plans” to eliminate exposure to such hazards. Egypt can adopt alternative methods for the best use of dry sludge and convert it to valuable resource to be incorporated in circular economy principles where the resource is fed back into the economy as a raw material with higher priority needs to be given to reuse and recycling. The diverse array of biological hazards facing dry sludge workers necessitates proactive measures of effective disinfection and stabilization of sludge such as by lime stabilization, heat treatment or thermophilic aerobic digestion prior to manual handling and strict adherence to safety protocols and practices to safeguard the .health and well-being of workers