McDowell Thomas W, Welcome Daniel E, Warren Christopher, Xu Xueyan S, Dong Ren G
Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Ann Occup Hyg. 2013 Jan;57(1):43-53. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/mes049. Epub 2012 Sep 5.
Motorized vibrating manure forks were used in beach-cleaning operations following the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2010.
The objectives of this study were to characterize the vibration emissions of these motorized forks and to provide a first approximation of hand-transmitted vibration exposures to workers using these forks for beach cleaning.
Eight operators were recruited to operate the motorized forks during this laboratory study. Four fork configurations were used in the study; two motor speeds and two fork basket options were evaluated. Accelerations were measured near each hand as the operators completed the simulated beach-cleaning task.
The dominant vibration frequency for these tools was identified to be around 20 Hz. Because acceleration was found to increase with motor speed, workers should consider operating these tools with just enough speed to get the job done. These forks exhibited considerable acceleration magnitudes when unloaded.
The study results suggest that the motor should not be operated with the fork in the unloaded state. Anti-vibration gloves are not effective at attenuating the vibration frequencies produced by these forks, and they may even amplify the transmitted vibration and increase hand/arm fatigue. While regular work gloves are suitable, vibration-reducing gloves may not be appropriate for use with these tools. These considerations may also be generally applicable for the use of motorized forks in other workplace environments.
2010年夏季墨西哥湾深水地平线石油大规模泄漏后，电动振动粪叉被用于海滩清理作业。
本研究的目的是描述这些电动粪叉的振动排放特征，并初步估算使用这些粪叉进行海滩清理的工人手部所接触的振动情况。
在这项实验室研究中，招募了8名操作员来操作电动粪叉。研究中使用了四种粪叉配置；评估了两种电机速度和两种粪叉篮选项。当操作员完成模拟海滩清理任务时，在每只手附近测量加速度。
确定这些工具的主要振动频率约为20Hz。由于发现加速度随电机速度增加，工人应考虑以刚好足以完成工作的速度操作这些工具。这些粪叉在空载时表现出相当大的加速度。
研究结果表明，粪叉空载时不应操作电机。防振手套在衰减这些粪叉产生的振动频率方面无效，甚至可能放大传递的振动并增加手部/手臂疲劳。虽然普通工作手套适用，但减振手套可能不适用于这些工具。这些考虑因素也可能普遍适用于在其他工作场所环境中使用电动粪叉。
