With increasing accident trend, focusing on the need to set out standards

17^th April,

There are increasing accident cases reported from using vibration device such as rock drills, chain saws and grinders.

OSHRI in KOSHA(President : Baek, Hunki)pointed out the importance of setting out the standards on the use of and exposure to the vibration device through its report on ‘state of workers in the vibration work’.

According to the report, grinders give workers the most vibration a day followed by rock drills, chain saws and impact wrenches, among six vibration device including power hammers.

The result of the study shows that workers using grinders and rock drills at work in Korea are exposed to vibration twice at most those of their European peers, which is 5.0㎨. In addition, the research released six workers out of seventeen(35%) are over-exposed to the vibration.

The EU’s limits on vibration exposure at work is 5.0㎨ and every product imported and exported with over 2.5㎨ must notify information about their vibration level.

Meanwhile, OSHRI’s research on notifying information on the vibration level in 10 businesses revealed that eleven domestic products among twenty vibration equipment and device fail to demonstrate information on their vibration with only four imported products that notified the information.

This research targeted 20 types of vibration making equipment or device from ten enterprises in the coal mining, ship building and repairing industry which use more vibration equipment or device than other sectors.

The number of victims from vibration related accidents in Korea has been on the rise since 2008 reporting 70 cases for the past five years. By sectors, the coal mining industry witnessed the most cases followed by shipbuilding and repairing sectors.

OSHRI underlined the importance of setting out standards on vibration exposure at work to prevent accidents from vibration device or equipment, saying that businesses by themselves have to manage the vibration equipment and device and notify the information on the vibration level.

Mr. Kim, researcher from OSHRI said that with only wearing the gloves, the level of vibration is lowered adding that employers should provide vibration-proof gloves to workers.

<<Accident cases>>

case1. A worker who has worked around 20 years with the impact wrench and grinder at the shipbuilding site in Ulsan, complained of vibration hazard from using them but did not get the job transfer, ending up with his fingers problem which was designated as occupational injury as of January, 2012.

case2. A coal miner for over 18 years using rock drills in Kang-won province developed Raynaud’s disease in his hands, designated as occupational injury in February, 2012.

* Raynaud's phenomenon is a vasospastic disorder causing discoloration of the fingers. It can be caused with overusing of vibration device or equipment. Chronic, recurrent cases of Raynaud phenomenon can result in atrophy of the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and muscle.