Exposure Assessment to Musculoskeletal Load of the Upper extremity in Repetitive Work Tasks

AbstractThe aim of this study was to measure ash removal and maintenance workers’ exposure to metals, and assess the suitability of different methods to evaluate metal exposure during these work tasks. Whole-body samples and hand-washing method were used in workers’ dermal exposure assessment, and biomonitoring methods of metals in total exposure assessment. The greatest levels of Al, Pb, Cd, Cu, S, and Zn on workers’ hands were measured in recycled fuel-fired power plants. The median concentrations of lead on workers’ whole-body samples were 4.5 ng/cm2, 17.0 ng/cm2, 11.3 ng/cm2, and 58.4 ng/cm2 in pellet-, peat-, wood- and recycled fuel-fired power plants, respectively. In recycled fuel-fired power plants, workers’ excretions of Al, Pb, and Mn exceeded the reference values of non-exposed population in 33%, 100%, and 50% of samples, respectively. The dermal exposure results clearly showed that power plant ash can significantly contaminate workers’ hands and bodies. The fact that the workers’ urinary excretions of metals exceeded the reference values proved intake of metals during these work tasks. Biomonitoring methods take into account exposures from different sources and, due to that, they are the most recommended approach for estimating the total metal exposure of workers. Hand-washing and whole body sampling were the most recommendable methods for assessing the protection efficiency of gloves and coveralls.

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Physical Exposure Assessment in a Large Prospective Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders Study

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193120204601303 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 46 (13) ◽

pp. 1017-1021

Author(s):

Stephen Bao ◽

Peregrin Spielholz ◽

Ninica Howard ◽

Barbara Silverstein ◽

Caroline Smith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exposure Assessment ◽

Upper Extremity ◽

Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽

Assessment Methods ◽

First Year ◽

Physical Exposure ◽

Reduction Methods ◽

Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽

Physical Exposures

This paper describes a battery of physical exposure assessment methods used in a large prospective upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders study. Different from some previous prospective studies, this study collects health and physical exposure data for each study subject rather than at a group level. Subjects are recruited from different job categories based on their hand activity exposure categories. Multiple exposure assessment methods are used to measure job physical exposures such as force, repetition, and work posture. This will allow us to compare the sensitivity of different exposure assessment methods in predicting the risk for upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Procedures have also been taken to monitor inter-observer reliability for some observational analyses. During the first year of the study, baseline exposure measurements have been collected from 607 volunteers at 11 different worksites. Follow-up measurements have also been collected in these worksites. Whenever a participant has a significant job change, a new exposure assessment is conducted at the new job. This paper will primarily discuss the various exposure assessment methods used in this study, and use some preliminary results to demonstrate some of the data reduction methods.

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