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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS
Volume 9 Number 3, 2003
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CONTENTS:
Articles:
  PROTECTION OF HUMAN IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
- Biomechanical Stresses in Computer-Aided Design and in Data Entry
François Cail & Michel Aptel, 235-255 
- Application and Neural Networks in Active Noise Reduction Systems
Leszek Morzyński & Grzegorz Makarewicz, 257-270
- Evaluation and Quantification of Manual Materials Handling Risk Factors
Richard Sesek, David Gilkey, Philip Drinkaus, Donald S. Bloswick, & Robin Herron, 271-287
- Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), Ethylene Glocol Dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-Butanediol Dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA)
Emma-Christin Lönnroth & I. Eystein Ruyter, 289-299
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PROTECTION OF HUMAN AT THE WORKSTATION
NOTES
Biomechanical Stresses in Computer-Aided Design and in Data Entry
François Cail & Michel Aptel
A study of the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper limbs was carried out on 2 populations, 1 performing a computer-aided design (CAD) task and the other performing a data entry task. A questionnaire on MSD complaints and working life was completed by a sample of each population. Biomechanical measurements of the forces, the angles, and the repetitiveness of movements of the upper limbs were carried out on some operators in each sample. It emerged that complaints of the upper limbs seem to be linked to the use of input devices. The grip forces exerted when using the keyboard and mouse were higher in CAD than in data entry.
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Application and Neural Networks in Active Noise Reduction Systems
Leszek Morzyński & Grzegorz Makarewicz
Active noise reduction systems based on a control unit in the form of a finite impulse response filter assume the linearity of every single component. Neural networks, which have so far been seldom used in this field, are a kind of a filter with the ability to project nonlinear characteristics of an active noise reduction system. This paper presents some simulation research studies of active noise reduction systems based on neural networks. Also presented are results of the operation of systems with different levels of complexity as well as the influence of different parameters of a neural network and of the system itself on those results.
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Evaluation and Quantification of Manual Materials Handling Risk Factors
Richard Sesek, David Gilkey, Philip Drinkaus, Donald S. Bloswick, & Robin Herron
This study investigated the ability of the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) to measure the risk of low back injury as verified by employee health outcomes. In addition, several basic risk factors and combinations of risk factors presumed related to low back disorders were explored. The RNLE was modified to allow analysis of one-handed and two-handed, asymmetric lifts. Predictive performance was not changed. Simplifying the RNLE by removing several variables did not significantly reduce the RNLE’s predictive performance. These modifications to the RNLE show promise for increasing both the usability and utility of the RNLE.
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Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), Ethylene Glocol Dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-Butanediol Dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA)
Emma-Christin Lönnroth & I. Eystein Ruyter
Gloves afford hand protection by minimizing skin contact. The effectiveness of medical gloves to protect against permeation of the monomers, methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA), was assessed focusing on permeation rates and degradation of glove materials caused by monomer contact. Fifteen different brands of gloves were tested using a European Standard procedure. Surface images of glove materials before and after exposure to the monomer mixture were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. The standard is not applicable as the only method for estimating the safety of gloves, but it is useful as guideline together with the cumulative permeation of acrylic monomers. Monomer contact on the outside resulted in substantial swelling of most glove materials, and structure changes of the inside surface.
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Adsorption Air Cleaning From Ozone
Pranas Baltrenas, Dainius Paliulis, Saulius Vasarevičius, & Ramutis Šimaitis
Not much has been written about air cleaning from ozone. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the possibility of adsorption air cleaning from ozone. The second aim was to investigate the dependence of the efficiency of ozone removal from the air on the height of the adsorber layer and on concentrations of ozone, and to obtain empirical formulas for calculating the efficiency of ozone treatment. Equipment for air cleaning from ozone and nitrogen and sulphur dioxides is suggested.
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Test Method for Retractable Type Fall Arresters Designed for Horizontal Use
Krzysztof Baszczyński & Zygmunt Zrobek
Retractable type fall arresters are designed to protect against falls from a height of people who need freedom of vertical movement. The practice of fall protection shows that the devices are also used to protect people who work on flat roofs. This application creates quite different operating conditions for the devices. In some situations those conditions can be dangerous for users. The article presents a theoretical analysis of phenomena occurring during a fall arrest with retractable type fall arresters arranged horizontally. The analysis was verified with laboratory tests. The article presents a proposal for the construction of a test stand and a test method for estimating retractable type fall arresters intended for horizontal use.
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Emission of Dust and Gases in Tubular Cored Wire Welding of Steel
Jolanta Matusiak & Beata Rams
The emission of dusts and gases, which are generated during tubular cored wire welding and which are hazardous to health and the environment, were studied. Tests included various kinds of tubular electrode wires used for welding steel, that is, rutile flux cored wires, basic flux cored wires, and metal cored wires for welding unalloyed, low-alloy, and high-alloy steels as well as selfshielded flux cored wires used for welding low-alloy steels. The research results make it possible to assess the influence of the type of wire and welding conditions on the emission volume and to compare chemical hazards generated during tubular cored wire welding with those typical for other arc welding processes.
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Noise Emission—A Part of Risk Assessment With a View to Machine Safety
Hans Lazarus & Patrick Kurtz
For specific machinery groups standards on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) levels describe safety aspects, technical data, or test methods. Problems with the implementation of noise aspects in safety standards are discussed. The reduction of emissions from machinery (noise, vibration, radiation, hazardous substances) has to date clearly been almost neglected, due, it seems, to the unsuitable approach of classical risk reduction. The concepts of the ISO/IEC Guide 51:1999 (ISO, 1999), Standards No. EN 292 (CEN, 2000c, d), and the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council 98/37/EC (the so-called Machinery Directive) to reduce risks are compared and specific requirements to safety standards according to emission, especially of noise, are presented.
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Report on an International Event
The second international conference on Safety of Industrial Automated Systems was held in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany, from 13th to 15th November 2001. The event was organized by the BG Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BIA) in conjunction with the ISSA Machine and System Safety and Research sections, and by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE, UK), the Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité (INRS, France) and the Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé (IRSST, Quebec, Canada). It was attended by 250 participants from 16 countries.
The conference focussed upon the use of new technologies for the safe design of machine and plant control systems. The subject was not restricted to the reliable design of automated systems alone, but was extended considerably by the subjects Learning From Mistakes and Focus on the Human Factor. The systematic inclusion of human interests, abilities, and limits (human factors) was also regarded in the specialist discussions as a component worthy of particular attention.
The next conference will be held in October 2003 in France (www.inrs.fr). The conference proceedings of the second conference (in English) can be ordered for a nominal fee from BIA.
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