Dose-response relationships for hand-transmitted vibration.

Few dose-response relationships have been reported for signs and symptoms resulting from occupational exposure of the hand to vibration. For population groups whose members operate the same vibrating power tool or industrial process throughout the workday, a simple model may be constructed to provide functional dose-response relationships for the onset of episodes of finger blanching. In such groups, the latency interval for various population percentiles may be expressed in terms of a frequency-weighted, root-mean-square, component acceleration at a surface in contact with the hand. Of the two constitutive equations required by the model, one appears to be supported by epidemiologic data published since its derivation, but the second may require modification to be applicable to very short daily exposure durations.