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Exploratory interview study on health and safety management in Swedish metal recycling industry : preliminary results

Ek, Åsa LU orcid ; Stajnko, Anja LU orcid ; Dock, Eva LU ; Linder, Robert LU orcid ; Engfeldt, Malin LU ; Leeman, Mats ; Åkerberg Krook, Else LU ; Assarsson, Eva LU ; Dahlqvist, Camilla LU and Bodin, Theo , et al. (2026) 34th Annual Conference of the Society for Risk Analysis: Europe: Advancing Risk Science for a Safer and Fairer Future - Alicante, Spain
Abstract
The green energy transition and circular economy is dependent on a growing and more efficient metal waste stream to address the future increasing demand for metal resources. The drive for increased metal recycling can conflict with occupational health and safety, and the metal recycling industry exposes workers to hazards that can lead to potential health effects such as respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal, and risks for work injuries. However, there is only limited knowledge of the workers' exposure and experienced health effects, as well as on the practical health and safety management work in the Swedish metal recycling industry. The cross-sectional GreenMetalWaste project aimed to study exposures to toxic metals, organic... (More)
The green energy transition and circular economy is dependent on a growing and more efficient metal waste stream to address the future increasing demand for metal resources. The drive for increased metal recycling can conflict with occupational health and safety, and the metal recycling industry exposes workers to hazards that can lead to potential health effects such as respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal, and risks for work injuries. However, there is only limited knowledge of the workers' exposure and experienced health effects, as well as on the practical health and safety management work in the Swedish metal recycling industry. The cross-sectional GreenMetalWaste project aimed to study exposures to toxic metals, organic chemicals, and dust, and risks from repetitive or physically demanding tasks in the metal waste handling setting. The aim was also to get increased understanding about the practical health and safety management work and its strengths and weaknesses, being the focus of the current presentation. Investigating proactive health and safety management is crucial for identifying occupational risks, reducing harm, and supporting sustainable industry growth. Ten semi-structured, explorative interviews were conducted with health and safety managers in ten metal recycling companies. Interviews focused on insight and awareness of risk and safety, health and safety management practices, incident reporting systems, learning processes, health and safety education and training, and desired future changes and improvement of the work environments. The ten companies were diverse in company size and some received and processed metal objects of different sizes (general cargo), and of different types, e.g. fluorescent tubes, mobile phones and e-waste, and cars. Preliminary interview results show that dust and chemical exposures were prevalent, with high awareness of some risks but gaps in knowledge about chemical risks. Ergonomic improvements and automation were in focus to minimize manual waste handling and exposure. Exposure control was mainly focused on personal protective equipment (PPE), with efforts to strengthen compliance and routines, while the principle of hierarchy of control was less prominent. High-quality PPE was a priority, with challenges in finding optimal solutions, and ensuring maintenance and education. Companies generally felt equipped for health and safety work but sometimes faced fragmented responsibilities and unclear coordination, especially regarding exposure measurements and occupational health care. Incorrect worker risk perceptions were seen as leading to lacking or improper use of PPE. Hygiene practices were mostly individual-driven. Ongoing efforts to strengthen safety culture included incident reporting systems, leadership engagement, and employee participation. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Metal recycling, Worker exposure, Health and safety management, Risk awareness, Safety culture
pages
1 pages
conference name
34th Annual Conference of the Society for Risk Analysis: Europe: Advancing Risk Science for a Safer and Fairer Future - Alicante, Spain
conference location
Spain
conference dates
2026-05-26 - 2026-05-29
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0176dd0d-5c32-4aca-8a6e-c737c715739e
date added to LUP
2026-09-08 15:28:46
date last changed
2026-09-21 11:55:00
@misc{0176dd0d-5c32-4aca-8a6e-c737c715739e,
  abstract     = {{The green energy transition and circular economy is dependent on a growing and more efficient metal waste stream to address the future increasing demand for metal resources. The drive for increased metal recycling can conflict with occupational health and safety, and the metal recycling industry exposes workers to hazards that can lead to potential health effects such as respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal, and risks for work injuries. However, there is only limited knowledge of the workers' exposure and experienced health effects, as well as on the practical health and safety management work in the Swedish metal recycling industry. The cross-sectional GreenMetalWaste project aimed to study exposures to toxic metals, organic chemicals, and dust, and risks from repetitive or physically demanding tasks in the metal waste handling setting. The aim was also to get increased understanding about the practical health and safety management work and its strengths and weaknesses, being the focus of the current presentation. Investigating proactive health and safety management is crucial for identifying occupational risks, reducing harm, and supporting sustainable industry growth. Ten semi-structured, explorative interviews were conducted with health and safety managers in ten metal recycling companies. Interviews focused on insight and awareness of risk and safety, health and safety management practices, incident reporting systems, learning processes, health and safety education and training, and desired future changes and improvement of the work environments. The ten companies were diverse in company size and some received and processed metal objects of different sizes (general cargo), and of different types, e.g. fluorescent tubes, mobile phones and e-waste, and cars. Preliminary interview results show that dust and chemical exposures were prevalent, with high awareness of some risks but gaps in knowledge about chemical risks. Ergonomic improvements and automation were in focus to minimize manual waste handling and exposure. Exposure control was mainly focused on personal protective equipment (PPE), with efforts to strengthen compliance and routines, while the principle of hierarchy of control was less prominent. High-quality PPE was a priority, with challenges in finding optimal solutions, and ensuring maintenance and education. Companies generally felt equipped for health and safety work but sometimes faced fragmented  responsibilities and unclear coordination, especially regarding exposure measurements and occupational health care. Incorrect worker risk perceptions were seen as leading to lacking or improper use of PPE. Hygiene practices were mostly individual-driven. Ongoing efforts to strengthen safety culture included incident reporting systems, leadership engagement, and employee participation.}},
  author       = {{Ek, Åsa and Stajnko, Anja and Dock, Eva and Linder, Robert and Engfeldt, Malin and Leeman, Mats and Åkerberg Krook, Else and Assarsson, Eva and Dahlqvist, Camilla and Bodin, Theo and Snigireva, Anastasiia and Levi, Michael and Grahn, Karin and Rydenstrand, Gunilla and Amir Taher, Evana and Runström Eden, Gunilla and Bertilsson, Helen and Wiebert, Pernilla and Dahlman-Höglund, Anna and Modig, Lars and Albin, Maria and Broberg, Karin}},
  keywords     = {{Metal recycling; Worker exposure; Health and safety management; Risk awareness; Safety culture}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  title        = {{Exploratory interview study on health and safety management in Swedish metal recycling industry : preliminary results}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}