Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) 

Hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is a debilitating health condition. In your 20s and 30s its hard to imagine the intense skeletal pain in your hands and fingers at the merest hint of cold: the frustration of not being able to hold a cup of tea or use a knife and fork or in worst cases not being able to do some of the most basic of tasks for yourself but these are all common effects of HAVS.

Research we have conducted at HSE suggests that around five million British workers have been exposed to HAV from using hand held power tools in the workplace. 1.7 million of these workers were believed to be exposed at levels above the Exposure Action Value (EAV) set out in the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.

The regulations require employers to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to vibration at work. This means:
• Assessing vibration risk to employees
• Taking action to reduce vibration exposure that produces those risks
• Deciding if employees are likely to be exposed above the daily EAV and, if they are:-
− introduce a programme of controls to eliminate risk, or reduce exposure to as low a level as is reasonably practicable
–take immediate action to reduce their exposure below the limit value
• Making sure the legal limits on vibration exposure are not exceeded
• Providing information and training to employees on health risks
• Carrying out health surveillance
• Consulting trade union safety representatives or employee representatives on proposals to control risk and to provide health surveillance
• Keeping a record of risk assessment and control actions
• Keeping health records for employees under health surveillance and
• Reviewing and updating the risk assessment regularly

At HSE we are actively working with stakeholders to get ninety percent of workplaces complying with the 2005 HAV regulation exposure values by 2010.

You can find out more information at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/index.htm

Noise

Over 1 million workers in Great Britain are exposed to levels of noise which puts their hearing at risk. Hearing loss that is caused by work is preventable but once your hearing has gone it won’t come back.

Over 170,000 people in the UK are suffering from deafness, tinnitus − a permanent ringing in the ears − or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work.

Employers have a duty to ensure that employees are protected from excessive exposure to noise and there are many practical, cost-effective ways of doing this.

The most efficient and effective ways of controlling noise are by technical and organisational means that protect workers at source, for example reducing the time they spend in noisy areas, changing processes and reducing vibration (damping).
The noise at work regulations 2005 require employers to:
• assess the risks to employees from noise at work;
• take action to reduce the noise exposure that produces those risks;
• provide employees with hearing protection if it is not possible to reduce the noise exposure enough using other methods;
• make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded;
• provide employees with information, instruction and training;
• carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.
However, it is not just the employer that must comply with the Noise at Work Regulations, employees must take responsibility too. They must wear hearing protection when required, take care of hearing protection and noise control equipment and report any defects or difficulties using them.
Some workers also have a duty to present themselves during working hours for health surveillance. Hearing tests are vital to detect and respond to early signs of damage.

If the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 are followed, it is anticipated that occupational noise-induced hearing loss will be eliminated by 2030, with no new cases reported.

Further information can be found by visiting:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/index.htm

At HSE we are encouraging workers to recognise that they aren’t invincible and ‘bad things’ don’t just happen to other people. The worker involvement programme asks workers to think about safety in the work place, help to manage the risks and not take any chances.

Further information can be found by visiting: www.hse.gov.uk/involvement

Colin Chatten - Senior Policy Advisor, HSE Workplace Transport Team