Vibration exposure in mechanical olive harvesting: workers’ perception

In manufacturing, forestry and agricultural work, mining and construction, public works, among others, portable tools are used, and expose the hands of the workers to excessive levels of vibration. Currently it is recognized that exposure to harmful Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) on a regular basis can induce different health problems, especially in the upper limbs. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the HAV exposure risks of workers performing seasonal olives picking for oil, especially regarding vibrations arising from the mechanic olive harvester, and how these risks are perceived by the exposed workers. To this end we interviewed 75 workers (33 exposed to HAV) and 11 different models of mechanic olive harvester were assessed in terms of HAV. Twenty two (66%) of the 33 workers exposed to HAV reported symptoms related to exposure and 21% of the evaluated harvesters presented vibration exposure values above the legally prescribed exposure action value. However, only a fraction of the exposed operators (12.1%) perceived a whitening of the fingers during the workday.This work was partially funded with Portuguese national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in the scope of the R&D project PEst-OE/EME/UI0252/2011.