Viegas, CarlaDias, MartaAlmeida, BeatrizCarolino, Elisabete2020-07-282020-07-282020-07Viegas C, Dias M, Almeida B, Carolino E. Personal protective equipment used as sampling methods to assess exposure to bioburden: an added value to be considered? In: SHO 2020 – International Symposium Occupational Safety and Hygiene, Porto (Portugal), July 16-17, 2020.http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/12102Project EXPOsE. Project nº 23222 (02/SAICT/2016).Project Waste Workers’ Exposure to Bioburden through Filtering Respiratory Protective Devices. Project IPL/2018/WasteFRPD_ESTeSL.Waste from non-biodegradable materials is sorted in waste sorting units to produce dry recyclables raw materials, leading to direct access and exposure of workers to waste and its contaminants. The organic residues present in waste serve as a substrate for numerous microorganisms, increasing workers’ exposure to microbial contaminants, with previous studies associating health risks with these environments. In Portugal, mechanical protection gloves (MPG) are of mandatory use. During their use, sweat is released, and, consequently, the humidity of the material increases. Additionally, the temperature inside the glove leads to conditions favorable to the growth of microorganisms. This study intends to assess the bioburden present in MPG and discuss the possibility to be considered as potential passive sampling methods to assess occupational exposure to microbial contamination.engOccupational healthOccupational exposurePersonal protective equipmentBioburdenPortugalProject EXPOsEProject nº 23222 (02/SAICT/2016)Project Waste Workers’ Exposure to Bioburden through Filtering Respiratory Protective DevicesProject IPL/2018/WasteFRPD_ESTeSLconference object