Health and safety: Get rid of all those bad vibrations, says Europe

The Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament was due last week to consider a draft directive designed to protect workers from the damaging effects of vibration caused by equipment such as powered and industrial tools.

The council of ministers reached a 'common position' in June on the draft vibration directive which recognises the need for risk assessment, health surveillance, and controlling the risk at source.

'Action values' where certain steps must be taken to reduce risk, and 'limit values' beyond which exposure must not take place, are proposed under the draft, which is supported by the government in Britain.

Hand-arm vibration is caused by the use of powered tools like jackhammers and chainsaws, while cleaners can be exposed to vibration through cleaning machines and others through equipment such as industrial sewing machines.

The draft directive is also designed to tackle whole body vibration, which affects agricultural workers, for example through driving tractors.

According to the TUC, in Britain alone over one million workers are exposed to vibration above the level where risk reduction steps are required under British health and safety laws. While it supports the broad thrust of the proposals, the TUC would like to see tighter action and limit values for both whole body and hand-arm vibration.

The TUC is also concerned that proposals to allow employers to conduct risk assessments 'by observation' are not strong enough. Instead it wants to see a requirement for risk assessments to include measuring the real vibration dose which workers will be exposed to.

Vibration is said to affect the human body in many ways, causing musculo-skeletal diseases, vascular problems and neurological effects. It can lead to low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritic conditions.

The draft directive is due to go to the full European Parliament for a second reading.

 The Health and Safety Commission wants to see a reduction of 30 per cent in the number of working days lost per 100,000 workers from work related injury and ill health by 2010.

In its three-year strategic plan for 2001/2004, the HSC also says the incidence rate of fatal and major injury incidents must be cut by 10 per cent.