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WATCH OUT FOR WHITE FINGER
00:00 23 Feb 1995
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Workers in the construction, servicing, steel and shipbuilding
industries who operate hand-held vibrating power tools, may be at
risk from certain types of vibration induced injuries.
The majority of hand-held power tools transmit vibrations to the hands and arms. Vibration from certain tools can even affect the lower back shoulders, neck and head. Portable hand-held power tool vibrations consist of a reciprocal motion in the handles which arise when a number of forces with varying directions and magnitude influence the tools and set them in motion. These forces consist largely of reaction forces from the work process. In other words, they arise while the operators perform the tasks that the tools were designed for.
Workers exposed to vibration as a result of operating portable hand-held vibrating tools can, if exposed for a long length of time, usually measured in years, be at risk from injuries collectively known as the Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
One such HAVS injury is Raynaud's Phenomena or Vibration White Finger (VWF). VWF occurs when vibration is absorbed into the hands and arms as a result of operating portable hand-held power tools.
When workers first expose their hands to vibration, they usually report tingling followed by numbness. After further exposure,over a number of years, their fingers feel swollen and movement could be restricted. If their hands are exposed to the cold, their fingertips will whiten.
Symptoms do not appear immediately, for there is an affiliation between the appearance of VWF and the subjected exposure time. This affiliation is called the latent interval. The shorter the latent interval, the more intense the vibration. After years of exposure to vibration the thumbs may become white in an attack and the fingers will eventually turn blue and in some extremities, lead to gangrene.
For most victims of VWF, its immediate effect is to restrict quality of life through of loss of feeling and sensation in the fingers or even hands. All that a doctor can prescribe is a loss of manipulative dexterity. There is no cure or treatment presently available for VWF.
The immediate prognosis is to increase the blood supply and to cure all blanching of the fingers, but without VWF attacks occurring, especially in cold weather. Long-term aspirin therapy is currently being investigated because there is evidence that aspirin raises blood viscosity. Apart from medical research, preventative measures are the only other means of protecting the worker.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, obliges all employers to do everything that is reasonably practicable to prevent an individual from being injured by the hazards at work.
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 5349 (1986), British Standard (BS) 6842 (1987) and the European Community (EC) Machinery Safety Directive 89/392/EEC (1992) all give guidance on preventative procedures for hand-arm vibration.
The Machinery Safety Directive came into effect on 1 January 1993. The directive requires that instructions for Portable Hand Held or Guided Machinery indicate whether or not the operator will be subjected to vibration exceeding 2.5m/sec.
The Directive gives manufacturers and suppliers a two year transitional period within which to comply. The Directive also proposes that the instruction handbooks for hand-held machinery should specify the equivalent acceleration to which the hands or arms are subjected.
Preventative procedures as a means of protecting individuals from hand-transmitted vibrations should not be the only protection. Legislation is also badly needed to reduce vibration exposure.
However, the European Commission (CEC) is proposing that the European Community adopt a directive on 'physical agents'. The CEC's broad aim is to specify a series of levels of vibration exposure above which action has to be taken - the required action increasing with the exposure level.
In addition to ISO 5349 (1986), BS 6842 (1987) and the EC Machinery Directive (1992), and, if we disregard the possibility of legislation and the reduction in exposure time, other fundamental health and safety procedures can be introduced to control hand-arm vibration.
The first procedure when employers are choosing new power tool equipment is to purchase tools that incorporate anti-vibration devices.
Another form of reducing the risk of vibration is to train power tool operatives how to work efficiently in a safe and healthy manner. The essential question, however, is one of the effectiveness of such instruction. The best technique for operator comfort and vibration attenuation should be identified.
Another important preventative measure lies with the individual operative. Individual users of vibrating hand-held power tools must accept the responsibilities needed to maintain good health.
If the operative smokes then that person must minimise their smoking habit because nicotine in tobacco acts on the nervous system and the carbon monoxide lessens the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Nicotine can raise heart rate and increase the effects of high blood pressure. It would therefore appear surprising if prolonged smoking did not have some effect on the blood circulation in the fingers and the symptoms of VWF.
Vibration and VWF are problems that need addressing. Looking forward to the future, portable hand-held power tool vibration damping must go hand-in-hand with legislation.
De Montfort University in association with myself is currently researching a different approach to vibration damping that is both practical and economical. It is developing a vibration or shock damping material which comprises of mouldable materials and particles that attenuate vibrations when applied feed forces are exerted. The material could have immense benefits for making handgrips that can be fitted to vibrating machinery.
Until the CEC Directive on 'physical agents' is passed and research on vibration attenuation developed, industries associated with power tool use will continue to have problems preventing Vibration White Finger.
The majority of hand-held power tools transmit vibrations to the hands and arms. Vibration from certain tools can even affect the lower back shoulders, neck and head. Portable hand-held power tool vibrations consist of a reciprocal motion in the handles which arise when a number of forces with varying directions and magnitude influence the tools and set them in motion. These forces consist largely of reaction forces from the work process. In other words, they arise while the operators perform the tasks that the tools were designed for.
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Workers exposed to vibration as a result of operating portable hand-held vibrating tools can, if exposed for a long length of time, usually measured in years, be at risk from injuries collectively known as the Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
One such HAVS injury is Raynaud's Phenomena or Vibration White Finger (VWF). VWF occurs when vibration is absorbed into the hands and arms as a result of operating portable hand-held power tools.
When workers first expose their hands to vibration, they usually report tingling followed by numbness. After further exposure,over a number of years, their fingers feel swollen and movement could be restricted. If their hands are exposed to the cold, their fingertips will whiten.
Symptoms do not appear immediately, for there is an affiliation between the appearance of VWF and the subjected exposure time. This affiliation is called the latent interval. The shorter the latent interval, the more intense the vibration. After years of exposure to vibration the thumbs may become white in an attack and the fingers will eventually turn blue and in some extremities, lead to gangrene.
For most victims of VWF, its immediate effect is to restrict quality of life through of loss of feeling and sensation in the fingers or even hands. All that a doctor can prescribe is a loss of manipulative dexterity. There is no cure or treatment presently available for VWF.
The immediate prognosis is to increase the blood supply and to cure all blanching of the fingers, but without VWF attacks occurring, especially in cold weather. Long-term aspirin therapy is currently being investigated because there is evidence that aspirin raises blood viscosity. Apart from medical research, preventative measures are the only other means of protecting the worker.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, obliges all employers to do everything that is reasonably practicable to prevent an individual from being injured by the hazards at work.
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 5349 (1986), British Standard (BS) 6842 (1987) and the European Community (EC) Machinery Safety Directive 89/392/EEC (1992) all give guidance on preventative procedures for hand-arm vibration.
The Machinery Safety Directive came into effect on 1 January 1993. The directive requires that instructions for Portable Hand Held or Guided Machinery indicate whether or not the operator will be subjected to vibration exceeding 2.5m/sec.
The Directive gives manufacturers and suppliers a two year transitional period within which to comply. The Directive also proposes that the instruction handbooks for hand-held machinery should specify the equivalent acceleration to which the hands or arms are subjected.
Preventative procedures as a means of protecting individuals from hand-transmitted vibrations should not be the only protection. Legislation is also badly needed to reduce vibration exposure.
However, the European Commission (CEC) is proposing that the European Community adopt a directive on 'physical agents'. The CEC's broad aim is to specify a series of levels of vibration exposure above which action has to be taken - the required action increasing with the exposure level.
In addition to ISO 5349 (1986), BS 6842 (1987) and the EC Machinery Directive (1992), and, if we disregard the possibility of legislation and the reduction in exposure time, other fundamental health and safety procedures can be introduced to control hand-arm vibration.
The first procedure when employers are choosing new power tool equipment is to purchase tools that incorporate anti-vibration devices.
Another form of reducing the risk of vibration is to train power tool operatives how to work efficiently in a safe and healthy manner. The essential question, however, is one of the effectiveness of such instruction. The best technique for operator comfort and vibration attenuation should be identified.
Another important preventative measure lies with the individual operative. Individual users of vibrating hand-held power tools must accept the responsibilities needed to maintain good health.
If the operative smokes then that person must minimise their smoking habit because nicotine in tobacco acts on the nervous system and the carbon monoxide lessens the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. Nicotine can raise heart rate and increase the effects of high blood pressure. It would therefore appear surprising if prolonged smoking did not have some effect on the blood circulation in the fingers and the symptoms of VWF.
Vibration and VWF are problems that need addressing. Looking forward to the future, portable hand-held power tool vibration damping must go hand-in-hand with legislation.
De Montfort University in association with myself is currently researching a different approach to vibration damping that is both practical and economical. It is developing a vibration or shock damping material which comprises of mouldable materials and particles that attenuate vibrations when applied feed forces are exerted. The material could have immense benefits for making handgrips that can be fitted to vibrating machinery.
Until the CEC Directive on 'physical agents' is passed and research on vibration attenuation developed, industries associated with power tool use will continue to have problems preventing Vibration White Finger.
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