Ergonomic Assessment of Manual Material Handling and Work – Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Miners (Kermanshah, 2001)

History & Objective: Regarding the high prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) among miners and  lack of information concerning Manual Material Handling (MMH), this research was designed to identify these disorders and their risk factors through active surveillance process and 1991 revised NIOSH lifting equation for assessment of MMH surface stone mines in Kermanshah during 2001.

Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 36 surface miners.The data collecting tool was a health risk /symptom survey questionnaire which was completed through direct interviews. The MMH  tasks were assessed  by observation and 1991 revised NIOSH lifting equation. The results which was processed by descriptive statistics analyzed by Pearson Correlation test .Results: The subjects of the study included 36 miners between 23-55(35.39 + 8.98) with a work history of 11 + 7.7 years . All the workers had experienced musculoskeletal discomfort in the previous year. The causes of discomfort were said to be heavy manual lifting and work pressure. The severity of injury was equal to missing of 5469 full or  limited work days in 36 workers during the previous year, totally equivalent to 17.5 work forces. The average Recommended Weight Limit(RWL) among miners was 19.79 lb(6.69Kg). There was a significant positive correlation between age and degree

of discomfort of the subjects during the interview and their worst discomfort episods, the duration of  and frequency of  discomfort episodes(P<0.05).

Discussion : This research indicated that high prevalence rates of MSDs miners can be attributed to frequent load handling. The quality of MMH was not ideal among population of the study. Precise analysis of working conditions in mines along with identification of risk factors and ergonomic training programs will help to reduce discomfort among miners.