Pneumatic Rock Drill vs. Electric Rotary Hammer Drill: Productivity, Vibration, Dust, and Noise When Drilling into Concrete

Details

• Personal Author:
  Antonucci A ; Barr A ; Cooper MR ; Martin B ; Neitzel RL ; Rempel D
• Description:
  OBJECTIVES: Both pneumatic rock drills and electric rotary hammer drills are used for drilling large holes (e.g., 10-20 mm diameter) into concrete for structural upgrades to buildings, highways, bridges, and airport tarmacs. However, little is known about the differences in productivity, and exposures to noise, handle vibration, and dust between the two types of drills. The aim of this study was to compare these outcomes with similar mass electric rotary and pneumatic rock drills drilling into concrete block on a test bench system. METHOD: Three experiments were conducted on a test bench system to compare an electric (8.3 kg) and pneumatic drill (8.6 kg) on (1) noise and handle vibration, (2) respirable silica dust, and (3) drilling productivity. The test bench system repeatedly drilled 19 mm diameter x 100 mm depth holes into cured concrete block while the respective exposure levels were measured following ISO standards. RESULTS: Productivity levels were similar between the electric and the pneumatic drill (9.09 mm/s vs. 8.69 mm/s ROP; p = 0.15). However, peak noise (LPeak: 117.7 vs. 139.4 dBC; p = 0.001), weighted total handle vibration (ahw: 7.15 vs. 39.14 m/s2; p = 0.002), and respirable silica dust levels (0.55 vs. 22.23 mg/m3; p = 0.003) were significantly lower for the electric than the pneumatic drill. DISCUSSION: While there were no differences in drilling productivity between an electric and pneumatic drill of similar mass, there were substantial differences in exposure levels of noise, handle vibration, and respirable silica dust. Structural contractors should switch from pneumatic rock drills to electric rotary hammer drills for structural drilling into concrete in order to reduce worker exposures to the hazards of noise, hand vibration, and silica dust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Environmental Exposure Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Dioxide Vibration Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Concrete Concretes Drilling Dust Exposure Dusts Electrical Equipment Exposure Levels Hand-arm-vibration Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome Hand Tools HAVS Masonry Noise Exposure Pneumatic Tools Respirable Dust Risk Factors Rock Drillers Silica Silica Dusts Silicosis Statistical Analysis Tools Vibration Exposure Work Environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Maryland ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  31-36
• Volume:
  74
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055008
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2019 Jan; 74:31-36
• Contact Point Address:
  David Rempel, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1301 S. 46th Street, Building 163, Richmond, CA
• Email:
  david.rempel@ucsf.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:29016e8de4670884d5f6be1614631d44d8c2ebc4203670230777b38c61cefeba53aec450012834651a7deea2469019d9029bb44d2907ce5e2c6cd3ca2727e9b9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217412/cdc_217412_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 553.79 KB ]