Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-82-065-1664: Carpet and Floorlayers; Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Tanaka, Shiro ; Thun, Michael J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The occurrence of knee disease among carpetlayers was examined in three ways: Worker's Compensation claims were reviewed
  
  the ergonomic forces transmitted to the knee during use of a knee kicker (carpet stretching tool) were determined
  
  and a medical study of knee disease in construction workers was conducted. The evaluation was requested by Local 873, Cincinnati, Ohio, of the Resilient Floor Layers and Decorator's Union, because of the frequency of knee injuries resulting in accumulation of fluid and damage to cartilage. The Local represents approximately 170 members. Carpetlayers and floorlayers submitted a disproportionately large fraction of claims for knee joint inflammation attributed to kneeling, leaning, repetition of pressure or striking against a stationary object. The ergonomic study determined that using a knee kicker may generate a force of up to 3200 newtons, transmitted directly to the suprapatellar area. A questionnaire study indicated that carpetlayers and floorlayers reported an increased frequency of bursitis, needle aspiration of knee fluid, skin infections of the knee, and other knee symptoms compared to millwrights and bricklayers. Tile, terazzo and marble setters reported similar problems. Chronic kneeling and the use of the knee kicker are considered to be associated with occupational knee trauma. The authors recommend that workers wear knee pads and use a power stretcher rather than a knee kicker when possible. It is also recommended that further research be conducted to develop a carpet stretching device that will be mobile and efficient and yet will reduce ergonomic trauma to the knee.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Arthritis Bricklayers Bursitis Carpet And Soft Tile Lnstallers Carpetlayers Disability Floor Layers Hazard-Confirmed HETA-82-065-1664 Knee Injury Millwrights Musculoskeletal-system-disorders NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupation OSHA Region 5 Osteoarthritis Repetitive Trauma Tilesetters

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA820651664
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  37 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Lee, Shiu T. ; Smith, Alexander B. ; Halperin, William E. ; Luggen, Michael E. ; Hess, Evelyn V.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00163104
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-225661
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 82-065-1664, 1986 Feb ; :1-30
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  6162 - Mortgage bankers and correspondents - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7b412c9b1e1ef75f22e5dc5c63843e269ffaf80ff5fb07401b4c537c7ce2778cce9e6516442e0862709a65d44ca998333f4bfb2522edc2278a46f826c04681be
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172240/cdc_172240_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.03 MB ]