Abstract
In many activities, chainsaw users are exposed to the risk of injuries and several other hazard factors that may cause health problems. In fact, environmental and working conditions when using chainsaws result in workers’ exposure to hazards such as noise, vibration, exhaust gases, and wood dust. Repeated or continuous exposure to these unfavourable conditions can lead to occupational diseases that become apparent after a certain period of time has elapsed. Since the use of electric tools is increasing in forestry, the present research aims to evaluate the noise and vibration exposure caused by four models of electric chainsaws (Stihl MSA160T, Stihl MSA200C Li-Ion battery powered and Stihl MSE180C, Stihl MSE220C wired) during cross-cutting. Values measured on the Stihl MSA160T chainsaw (Li-Ion battery) showed similar vibration levels on both right and left handles (0.9–1.0 m s−2, respectively) and so did the other battery-powered chainsaw, the Stihl MSA200C (2.2–2.3 m s−2 for right and left handles, respectively). Results showed a range of noise included between 81 and 90 dB(A) for the analysed chainsaws. In conclusion, the vibrations and noise were lower for the battery chainsaws than the wired ones, but, in general, all the values were lower than those measured in previous studies of endothermic chainsaws.
Highlights
Motor-manual tree felling, processing, and pruning by chainsaws, powered by internal combustion engines, are still very common in many countries [1,2,3,4,5] due to its multifunctional use and low financial investment [6,7,8]
The first clear result of our study was that the average acceleration values recorded for electric chainsaws are lower than those in that previous studies acceleration for endothermic chainsaws was
Our findings showed that the maximum values of acceleration were well below the daily exposure limit of 5 m s−2 reported in the EU Directive 2002/44/CE “Vibration” for each model of electric chainsaw considered
Summary
Motor-manual tree felling, processing, and pruning by chainsaws, powered by internal combustion engines, are still very common in many countries [1,2,3,4,5] due to its multifunctional use and low financial investment [6,7,8]. Chainsaw use shows one of the highest accident rates in professional and non-professional work [11,12,13,14] and causes several types of occupational diseases due to the repeated or continuous exposure to unfavourable environmental conditions. Some of these hazards, such as vibrations and noise, are underestimated by workers since they do not represent an immediate risk to human health. The signs and symptoms related to the use of chainsaws in forests are reported in many studies [16,17,18,19]
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