Assessment of occupational risk in workers in the extractive sector due to exposure to whole body vibrations: a case study on the influence of the anthropometric characteristics on the measured vibration dose

The aim of this study is to investigate the possible correlation between the value of occupational risk from whole body vibrations and the main anthropometric characteristics of the subjects exposed to such vibrations. Directive 2002/44/EC, which defines the minimum requirements in order to guarantee the health and safety of workers exposed to such a risk, states that Risk Assessment may be conducted without resorting to taking any measurements on site, rather by simply referring to general information either from a database or that provided by the manufacturer of the machinery.The general parameters regarding the real exposure, such as for example the model of the machinery, the operating conditions and the duration of exposure, the nature of the terrain and the driving style in the case of vehicles or moving machinery, as well as the characteristics of the workplace must be declared in the final evaluation report (Standard EN 14253:2003). However, none of these parameters are directly connected to the final value of the risk assessment, nor are the worker's inertial or anthropometric parameters taken into account.The study is conducted through an analysis of a representative sample of workers who are exposed to a signal generated by various heavy site vehicles typically used in the extractive sector. The research attempts to highlight the way in which exposure to a Whole Body Vibration (WBV) vibratory signal depends heavily on the inertial characteristics of the person exposed and even more so on his or her anthropometric parameters. Of the latter the height and weight of the individual certainly appear to be the most important parameters.Lastly a possible general law of correlation between the input signal and the physical characteristics of the person exposed to vibrations, with a view to predict a statistical dependence of anthropometric parameters with the risk value to be assessed.