IRSST Updates Guidance for Hand-Held Pneumatic Tool Use
The Canadian occupational health and safety research center IRSST has updated its fact sheet on protecting users of hand-held pneumatic tools from hazardous noise and vibration. According to IRSST’s website, noise and vibration generated by hand-held pneumatic tools can, over years, cause health effects such as deafness, musculoskeletal disorders, and a condition known as Reynaud’s syndrome, in which fingers turn white due to reduced blood flow. The fact sheet provides charts depicting ranges of noise and vibration generated by tools commonly used in auto repair shops, including sanders, ratchet wrenches, die grinders, impact wrenches, and air hammers, as well as controls recommended by IRSST.
IRSST released the update to reflect a recent amendment to Quebec’s provincial occupational health and safety regulations, which restricts workers’ permissible noise exposures to no more than 85 dBA for eight hours, 88 dBA for four hours, or 91 dBA for two hours. By measuring noise levels near the ears of mechanics in real-world working conditions, IRSST determined that sanders, ratchet wrenches, die grinders, impact wrenches, and air hammers may all generate noise levels exceeding Quebec’s amended noise exposure limits. For the first three tools, and to a lesser extent impact wrenches, the main sources of noise are air outlets, according to the fact sheet. For these tools, IRSST recommends that users consider adding silencers to tools or obtaining models already equipped with silencers to reduce noise exposures. For air hammers, however, silencers are not as useful because “the main source of noise comes from the tool’s impact on the part being worked on,” the fact sheet states.
In the absence of a regulation in Quebec that establishes limits for vibration exposures, IRSST tested vibration exposures for pneumatic hand-held tools against limits set by the European Union: 5 meters per second squared (m/s2) for eight hours, 7 m/s2 for four hours, and 10 m/s2 for two hours. Sanders, ratchet wrenches, die grinders, impact wrenches, and air hammers may all generate vibration exposures above these levels. The fact sheet recommends that users purchase low-vibration tools to reduce health risks.
The fact sheet also includes a list of administrative controls and personal protective equipment that may limit occupational noise and vibration exposures. These include using hearing protection, changing accessories such as grinding wheels and chisels before they become worn, and applying acoustic treatments to work areas. However, IRSST cautions that anti-vibration gloves do not protect against the impacts of hammer tools or vibration lower than 200 hertz in frequency. “They can be useful when using sanders and die grinders, but make sure that they comply with ISO 10819,” the fact sheet states, referencing the international standard for mechanical vibration.
“Hand-Held Pneumatic Tools: Protect Your Ears and Your Hands, Second Edition” may be downloaded in both English and French.
IRSST is also known as the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail. Information about the center’s latest research projects can be found on IRSST’s website.
Related:
Read “How to Buy Safer, Quieter Tools” in The Synergist.