But the true dangers of the job are probably less well known. Nagle recounts how Michael Bloomberg, in discussing labor negotiations during his first mayoral campaign in 2001, suggested that “being a sanitation worker in this day and age is more dangerous than being a policeman or a fireman.” The comment was considered a gaffe, and the response was furious. But it turns out he was right. As of 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked “refuse and recyclable materials” collection as the nation’s fourth-most-dangerous job. San men, Nagle writes, “are many times more likely than their counterparts in Police or Fire to be killed on the job.” (Reasons include reckless drivers and exposure to toxic substances.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/books/review/picking-up-by-robin-nagle...

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