Hand tools' created hand - Arm vibration levels evaluation in Latvian work environment

Vibration is one of the most important risk factor in sectors such as forestry, woodworking, metal industry, machinery repair, construction, etc. Hand - arm vibration causes "white finger" syndrome, which is the most common problem of employees who works with vibrating hand tools. Occupational diseases rate from the vibration impact are increased from 16,6 cases on 100 000 employees in 2005 to 33,4 cases in 2009. So in order to avoid occupational diseases employers need to provide risk assessments and laboratory measurements. Aim of the work: to evaluate the most frequently used hand tools' hand - arm vibration levels, depending on the tools type. Materials and methods: Measurements database of Laboratory of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases. The results: Database data shows that the number of measurements is increasing every year. During the period from 2007 to 2010 year were made 1195 hand-arm vibration measurements, of those 55,5% (n = 660) were hand tools' measurements. Most commonly used hand tools in different sectors are grinders, punches/ demolition hammers, vibratory plates / rammers, hand-held angle grinders, pneumatic screwdrivers, asphalt and concrete saws, chainsaws, drills, brush cutters (including trimmers, lawn mowers), pneumatic nailers and pneumatic staplers, hand-held cutters, electric cutting knives, medical equipment (dentists, orthopaedists, physiotherapists), portaible vibroinstruments for compacting concrete, high-pressure cleaners, shot peening equipment. Conclusions: The measurements levels vary at great range and it depends on the instrument technical condition, the work material and employees experience.