Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
21 Oct 2004
Next year sees the arrival of a new piece of legislation that will impact on every company in the construction industry.
Dr Dan Hegarty reports. The PHYSICAL AGENTS (VIBRATION) DIRECTIVE is aimed at controlling the problem of HAVS (Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome), one of the hazards which workers in industrialised countries face. Exposure to vibration is often through hand-held power tools, hand-guided machinery and holding materials that are being processed by machines.
At least five million workers in the UK are believed to be exposed to dangerous levels of vibration and risk permanent damage to their hands and fingers. It is estimated that over 300,000 workers have already got established HAVS. Vibration White Finger (VWF) is a component of HAVS and is the single most commonly recorded disease under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations). In fact, up to 40% of cases reported under RIDDOR are due to HAVS. 800,000 workers have symptoms of VWF.
20,000 workers suffer very advanced disability because of VWF. Compensation claims, and payouts, in excess of £100,000 are common. Huge amounts of compensation have already been paid to miners whose hands were damaged by being exposed to excessive amounts of vibration. Examples of vibrating tools that may contribute to the development of HAVS in workers include the following: - drills, percussive hammers, chain-saws, grinders etc. In order to meet the requirements of this important new legislation, employers will be required to put in place a health surveillance programme. This is best undertaken by a professional occupational health provider (or in-house occupational health department).
It is likely to involve the following: - 1. A questionnaire, using simple questions to identify those individuals who are experiencing hand-finger symptoms which might indicate HAVS / VWF. 2. A clinical examination of the hands. 3.Referral to a special HAVS laboratory for some specialised tests. Such screening will be done at the pre-employment stage and then annually. If they work closely together, then a company’s management and its occupational health provider will be able to achieve a major impact in reducing the number of workers suffering a permanent disability of the hands and fingers.
The Faculty of Occupational Health regards HAVS as an important issue and thus a well - attended conference, ‘Recent Advances and Impending Legislative Requirements’, was held at the Royal College of Physicians on 28 April, 2004. Now is a good time to start implementing your own company’s HAVS / VWF surveillance programme. For details contact us on 020 7394 1788 at ‘Express Medicals Ltd.’ - www.expressmedicals.co.uk