OT:Emptying organic rubbish can damage health, say doctors· Danger to skin and l

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Emptying organic rubbish can damage health, say doctors· Danger to

skin and lungs from mould spores in bins

· Families in Germany told to wear facemasks

Guardian - UK*

Kate Connolly in Berlin The Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/10/organics.food

Thursday April 10 2008 Article history

About this articleClose This article appeared in the Guardian on

Thursday April 10 2008 on p26 of the International section. It was

last updated at 00:06 on April 10 2008.

German scientists are warning householders of the health dangers

posed by storing organic waste, saying exposure to it, particularly

to the moulds that develop as the material decays, can cause skin

problems and even breathing difficulties.

Harald Morr, a leading pneumologist, who is also chairman of the

German Lung Foundation, said studies showed that airborne mould

spores from organic waste could lead to allergic reactions, asthma

attacks, hayfever-like symptoms and itchy skin lesions.

" Even just opening the lid of a bin containing organic waste can

cause mould spores to be stirred up which, if breathed in, can

damage the lungs, " said Morr. " The more spores breathed in, the

worse the repercussions on one's health can be. "

These are issues more often associated with environmental pollutants

such as vehicle emissions than with a recycling practice that

households around the world are being encouraged to adopt. However,

as more people do separate their rubbish, concerns about the way

organic waste is stored are growing.

In Germany households are now being warned to empty their organic

bins more regularly and to wear facemasks or hold their breath and

keep a distance while dealing with the rotting material.

One of the most common health problems linked to decaying organic

matter, say scientists, are aspergillomas - fungal balls that fix

themselves inside the lung.

Christian Witt, a professor at the clinic of infectology and

pneumology at Charitié hospital in Berlin, said that while healthy

people with a strong immune system were less at risk when breathing

in fungi and bacteria from decaying matter, transplant patients,

people undergoing chemotherapy and those prone to bronchial

infections should avoid proximity to rubbish bins

altogether. " People with weakened immune systems should avoid

contact with mouldy rubbish, " he said.

Regine Szewzyk, a microbiologist at Berlin's environmental agency,

said: " Basically it should be left to healthy people to take the

rubbish out. "