Evaluation of Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) Exposure Levels Among Grounds Maintenance Workers: An Observational Human Exposure Measurement Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Oh, Je M.
• Description:
  Long-term, excessive exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAV) through vibrating hand tools can induce hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) which is a complex of peripheral vascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal disorders. The development of HAVS depends on a variety of factors such as vibration magnitude, frequency, direction, exposure duration, posture, and contact force. However, there are no standardized methods for HAV exposure assessment. Many studies traditionally have measured acceleration values directly from tools by mounting an accelerometer on the tool handle while more recent studies have measured vibration magnitude at the hand-handle interface using hand-held/hand-mounted adapters in which an accelerometer is attached to or inserted. Most recently, vibration dosimeters integrated with hand adapters are available which enable to obtain daily exposure dose while minimizing interference with job activities. Pneumatic tools such as rock drills, grinders, and riveters, and hammers are associated with HAVS. Gasoline-powered grass trimmers, brush cutters, leaf blowers, and chainsaws utilized in many industries including agriculture, forestry, and grounds maintenance are also significant sources of HAV, putting the workers at risk of HAVS. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were near 1.3 million grounds maintenance workers in 2020 with a projected growth of 8% (2020-2030). Groundskeeping jobs mainly involve periodic weeding using grass trimmers along with leaf blowers but HAV exposure assessment of groundskeepers has not been performed in the United States to date. In the present study, the HAV exposure of groundskeepers was investigated using vibration dosimeters which could account for the effects of many of the individual and work-related factors to evaluate daily vibration exposure and tool-specific vibration characteristics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety Vibration
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Backpack Blower Daily Vibration Exposure Exposure Assessment Grass Trimmer Groundskeeping Workers Hand-arm Vibration Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome Hand Tools HAV HAVS Landscape Services Workers Vibration Exposure

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• ISSN:
  2398-8835
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  5
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067022
• Citation:
  Health Sci Rep 2022 Jul; 5(4):e731
• Contact Point Address:
  Jonghwa Oh, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, RPHB 524B, 1720 2nd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, USA
• Email:
  jonghwa@uab.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Health Science Reports
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a091a1993c0571247fdc87856a8692939f2bbe8f83c1a7013534bed90bd6493ddfec33c8b71a7932d582714f44eef80c45526f274990210ce085b1fae23a892e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231249/cdc_231249_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 673.50 KB ]