Jarring/Jolting Exposure and Musculoskeletal Symptoms Among Farm Equipment Operators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ambrose, Dean H. ; Kittusamy, Nanda K. ; Legault M ; Mayton, Alan G.
• Description:
  This paper discusses a recently completed NORA-sponsored project that examined the vehicle jarring/jolting effects and exposure levels for operators of farming equipment. This research included collecting and analyzing field data, and collecting health and work history data from farm equipment operators. Researchers collected field data at two of the four farms at The Pennsylvania State University. Operations studied included mowing, raking, baling, chiseling, tilling, and road traveling for different model tractors, along with spraying using a sprayer machine and shrub removal using a skid-steer loader. All of the field data operations exceeded the 0.5-meters-per-second-squared action level for overall weighted total RMS acceleration (sum of values for three axes--x, y, and z) recommended by ISO 2631-1 and the Commission of European Communities. Smaller utility tractor mowers (at 3.3 meters per second squared) and the skid-steer loader (at 1.7 meters per second squared) had the highest acceleration values. Focus group discussions conducted at the 2003 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting and Convention provided the forum for collecting data from attendees who operated farm equipment. Major findings show 96% of participants reported having to bend or twist their necks, although 24% reported neck symptoms. Because this is an awkward, yet common operating posture practiced almost universally by farm equipment operators, it is obvious that the risk of injury relates directly to the severity of and how often bending or twisting of the neck occurs. Injury symptoms in various body parts were reported by 72% of participants. Sixty-four percent of participating operators reported experiencing back symptoms. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Farmers Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Vibration
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-machinery Agricultural-workers Back-injuries Equipment-operators Hazards Injuries Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Neck-injuries Occupational-exposure Posture Tractors Vibration-exposure Whole-body-vibration

  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Farm Safety, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRL - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory ; SRL - Spokane Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026678
• Citation:
  NIFS paper No. 04-10, 2004 Jun; :1-15
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Farm Safety, Inc., paper No. 04-10
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:233d57fe1b48289f5f25755109b2a320f21a8608d19b7fe3bb3a205fa715438a891fa76a4b3cb1ed0c110ff69a8a831638807e870e83f67d42f9c69fa41a344f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221004/cdc_221004_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.20 MB ]