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Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access originally published online on January 17, 2007
Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2007 51(3):305-310; doi:10.1093/annhyg/mel082
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society

Rock Drills used in South African Mines: a Comparative Study of Noise and Vibration Levels

J. I. PHILLIPS1,*, P. S. HEYNS2 and G. NELSON3

1 National Institute for Occupational Health, National Health Laboratory Service PO Box 4788, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2000;
2 Dynamic Systems Group, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 0002;
3 School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand 7 York Rd, Parktown, South Africa, 2000

*Author to whom correspondence and reprints should be addressed. Tel.: +27-11-712-6473; fax: +27-11-712-6450; e-mail: jim.phillips{at}nioh.nhls.ac.za

Objectives: To compare the noise and vibration levels associated with three hand-held rock drills (pneumatic, hydraulic and electric) currently used in South African mines, and a prototype acoustically shielded self-propelled rock drill.

Methods: Equivalent A-weighted sound pressure levels were recorded on a geometrical grid, using Rion NL-11 and NL-14 sound level meters. Vibration measurements were conducted on the pneumatic, hydraulic and electric drills in accordance with the ISO5349-1 (2001) international standard on human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration, using a Brudigrel and Kjær UA0894 hand adaptor. PCB Piezo accelerometers were used to measure vibration in three orthogonal directions. No vibration measurements were conducted on the self-propelled drill.

Results: All four drills emitted noise exceeding 85 dB(A). The pneumatic drill reached levels of up to 114 dB(A), while the shielded self-propelled drill almost complied with the 85 dB(A) 8 h exposure limit. Vibration levels of up to 31 m s–2 were recorded. These levels greatly exceed recommended and legislated levels.

Conclusions: Significant engineering advances will need to be made in the manufacture of rock drills to impact on noise induced hearing loss and hand arm vibration syndrome. Isolating the operator from the drill, as for the self-propelled drill, addresses the problems of both vibration and noise exposure, and is a possible direction for future development.

Keywords: mining • noise • vibration • rock drills • South Africa


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