Summary of vibration exposure of study populations
| Occupational group | Exposure (years)* | Total operating time (hours)* | ah,w(eq,T) (ms−2) | ah,uw(eq,T) (ms−2) | Principal tools and pattern of use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results expressed as median (interquartile range). | |||||
| Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance: *p<0.001. | |||||
| ah,w(eq,T) = total equivalent frequency-weighted r.m.s. acceleration. | |||||
| ah,uw(eq,T) = total equivalent unweighted r.m.s. acceleration. | |||||
| Stone grinders | 13 (7–23) | 10368 (2640–25319) | 2.65 (1.73–3.80) | 34.3 (28.8–40.2) | Angle grinders (daily) |
| Stone carvers | 15 (7–32) | 13501 (4960–28512) | 15.1 (10.8–18.3) | 85.4 (67.2–105) | Stone hammers (daily) |
| Quarry drillers | 15 (6–32) | 13200 (3974–28512) | 18.4 (17.0–19.5) | 87.6 (83.3–108) | Rock drills, breakers (daily) |
| Dockyard painters | 10 (3–17) | 2114 (645–5224) | 19.1 (15.4–22.8) | 115 (98.7–124) | Needle, piston, and chisel scalers (seasonal daily use) |
| Dockyard boilermakers | 24 (14–32) | 9819 (4032–16900) | 3.79 (3.19–4.52) | 34.9 (24.0–47.1) | As for caulkers, but infrequent use |
| Dockyard caulkers | 13 (7–33) | 15243 (6764–47044) | 5.41 (4.36–7.19) | 58.7 (44.6–81.2) | Chipping hammers, vertical, angle, and die grinders, drilling machines (daily use of one or more tools) |
| Forestry workers | 10 (5–15) | 5228 (2460–8598) | 5.22 (5.07–5.95) | 49.2 (42.5–51.4) | Chain saws (daily) |