User:Purplebug1/Hand arm vibrations

Occupations at Risk
Occupations at risk of Hand and Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVs) includes Mining, Foundry, and highest exposure being within construction. One unexpected occupation that is associated with HAVs is dentistry. Dentistry is mainly concerned with Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD). Consequently, HAVs is also linked this field's ergonomic health issues due to the frequent use of dentistry hand-piece tools. As reported by the Vibration Directive of European Legislation, real-time or one-time use of the dental tools does not surpass the exposure limit. However, a long history of frequent handling of these tools has later been associated with Dental workers experiencing HAVs with inclusion of outside factors, such as high Body Mass Index (BMI). While these workplace industries more prominently affect men in the working population, there are still a significant number of women who also experience HAVs. According to a study conducted in Sweden, about 2% of all women and 14% of all men utilize vibrating tools for work. Women are more likely to experience the symptoms for HAVs at a higher prevalence than men.

Suggested guidelines
While OSHA has yet to supply these values, other countries agencies have. The Health and Safety Executive of the British Government suggests to use an Exposure Action Value of 2.5 m/s2 and an Exposure Limit Value of 5.0 m/s2. which is based on the EU directive from 2002. However, it has been shown that those exposure levels still are not safe as 10% of a population would get sensorineural injuries after 5 years at action level exposure. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety promotes the ACGIH Threshold Limit Values shown by the adjacent table. When the time-weighted acceleration data exceeds these numbers for the duration, damage from HAVS begins.

There have been additional recommendations based from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to minimize exposure of vibrating tools. '''Workplaces and Physicians' offices should not only view HAVs as a serious condition but should also look into implementing change. These implementations include engineering control, medical surveillance, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to mitigate vibration exposure. Another implication refers to administrative controls, an example being limiting the amount of hours/days a worker is using the vibrating tools. Furthermore, companies could provide adequate training to workers on the hazards and protocols of handling vibrating tools, along with supplying tools that generate the least amount of vibration while still completing the assignment.'''

Health Impacts on Industrial Workers
Hand arm vibrations can affect anyone that uses them for a prolonged period of time. There are many types of tools that use hand arm vibrations including chainsaws, engineering controls, and power tools.¹᠈⁵  Many industrial workers use these power tools when working with construction or shaping materials. There are many side effects, some of which include pain in the head, jaw, chest, and changing speech.²  Depending on the way the hand arm vibration instruments are held, it can influence the vibration effects. This includes the grip force that the worker uses on the tool, the density of the material the tool is being used on, and the texture of the material the tool is used on.³  If the material is harder, the vibrations would shake more vigorously compared to a softer material. Hand arm vibrations can also affect people daily with the pain of using these tools such as disturbing sleep, inability to work in certain conditions, and having a hard time doing daily tasks.⁴  Hand arm vibrations can affect the daily lives of workers that use these tools.

References


 * 1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, June 6). Vibration syndrome (83-110). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/83-110/default.html
 * 2) Forouharmajd, F., Yadegari, M., Ahmadvand, M., Forouharmajd, F., & Pourabdian, S. (2017). Hand-arm vibration effects on performance, tactile acuity, and temperature of hand. Journal of medical signals and sensors. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5691565/
 * 3) Government of Canada, C. C. for O. H. and S. (2023, June 13). Vibration - health effects. https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/vibration/vibration_effects.html.
 * 4) Hand-arm vibration. Assessed October 30, 2023.  https://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/topics/vibration.htm#:~:text=Case%20study-,Introduction,may%20cause%20carpel%20tunnel%20syndrome.
 * 5) Starr, D. O. (2023, August 2). Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Patient.info. https://patient.info/bones-joints-muscles/hand-arm-vibration-syndrome-leaflet