Who is affected by sanding-related risks?
Sanding-Related Risks a Hazard for Many
Clearly, the worker doing the sanding and those nearby will be most immediately affected by hazards such as noise and dust. If the risks are not reduced or minimised, they can have direct personal effects on workers and their families, and a wider effect on project success and company profits.
For small company owners with only a few employees, the impact caused by injury of this nature happening to just one employee can have a significant impact. In larger companies, the manager, the company, the shareholder, and even the wider community have a vested interest in the wellbeing of the worker.
Noise
Long exposure to noise can lead to long-term irreparable damage. It is perhaps less well known that the first measure employers must take is not simply to issue hearing protectors to their workers.
Learn more how you can protect your health when sanding in our white paper
When sanding with a hand-held power tool
Vibration
Regular exposure to vibration can lead to two types of permanent ill health: carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
The symptoms and effects of CTS can include tingling, numbness, pain, and weakness in the hands. CTS can affect the ability to carry out work safely and to do everyday tasks.
Early signs of HAVS include:
- Tingling and numbness in the fingers.
- Lack of feeling in the fingers.
- Loss of strength in the hands.
- “Vibration white finger”: in cold and wet conditions the tips of the fingers go white, then red, and are painful.
Vibration from portable sanders increases the risk of of musculoskeletal disorders
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are an ill-understood “pandemic” and they are defined as ”any affliction of the musculoskeletal system that appears at work and causes discomfort, difficulty or pain when performing work”.
The term covers a wide range of issues that are caused by many factors – not just the movements of the body required by the work tasks undertaken. The causes include the mechanical ones such as force, load, movement, and vibration, but also organisational arrangements that result in increased casualisation of work (e.g., speed, just-in-time, lean production), and psychosocial factors such as culture and organisational relationships.
As an example, the furniture industry is characterised by numerous manual tasks often requiring awkward posture, repetitive movement, and undue force, which along with vibration are all risk factors of interest.