Hand-arm vibration is a major cause of occupational ill-health. Around 3,000 new claims for Industrial Injury Disability Benefit are made each year in relation to vibration white finger.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations will require employers to take action to prevent their employees from developing diseases caused by exposure to vibration at work from equipment, vehicles and machines.
The proposed Regulations will specify daily levels of vibration exposure where employers will be required to take action to control risks (the exposure action values); and where they must prevent further daily exposure (the exposure limit values). The Regulations must come into force by July 2005.
In its response, EEF will say that the Directive lacks a sound epidemiological rationale and a realistic cost benefit of the whole-body component of the directive was not completed by the European Commission.
The proposals do not lay appropriate emphasis on the ‘uncertainty’ associated with whole-body vibration (WBV) measurement and this particularly in the context of a limit value which is set at 2 decimal places.
It is our view that if the HSC were being open in the proposed guidance they would give some examples of everyday non-mechanical vibration exposures (e.g. running 8 m/s2) to help people appreciate the extremely low levels at which the whole body limit value has been set.
You can download the EEF's Responses to these two directives opposite.
The following are available from the download section or free as hard copies from HSE Books.
- Proposals for new Control of Vibration at Work Regulations implementing the Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive (2002/44/EC) Hand-arm Vibration (ref no CD190), and
- Proposals for new Control of Vibration at Work Regulations implementing the Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive (2002/44/EC) Whole-body vibration (ref no CD191)