1.Noise exposure of farmers
Yasuma Fukuchi ; Shinya Watanabe
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1981;29(6):873-878
Noise exposure levels of 40 cases of farmers were measured by use of the equivalent sound level meters (Rion EQ-04).
Legs during all over the day ranged from 74.3 dB-A to 89.3 dB-A. It can be seen that noise exposure levels during all over the day were mostly determined by amounts of the sound energy exposed by agricultural works.
Most of farmers were exposed high level of noise in their home, and even in rest times.
Legs during the agricultural work ranged from 70.4 to 100.6 dB-A, being attributed by agricultural machinary noise.
Legs measured in the present study were compared with the criterion for noise of the Environmental Protection Agency, U. S. and discussed from the viewpoint of hygiene.
2.VIBRATION AND NOISE OF TRACTORS IN AGRICULTURAL USE
Shinya WATANABE ; Kinzo WAKABA ; Yasuma FUKUCHI
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1979;28(4):612-617
Vibration and noise of three types of tractors were measured under various conditions of operation from the viewpoint of occupational health. The other hand, daily records of operation time of tractors were collected from 135 households and exposure time to tractor vibration were estimated from these data.
Vibration spectra are showed in Fig. 1 and noise spectra in Fig. 2. The peaks of vibration spectra of tractor's seats are in the high frequency range corresponding to rev count of the engines. However, components of the low frequency range become often hygienic problem, when compared to ISO's Standard 2631-1974 (E) “Guide for the evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration.”
Vibration acceleration levels of the tractor operating with various accessories are higher in the low frequency range than those without accessories.
Acceration levels of Y and Z directions are higher than that of X direction and unfavorable hygienically. Antivibration countermeasure should be taken to the Y direction not only to the Z direction.
Noise level of tractors exceed the hearing conservation criteria for daily 8 hour exposure, when they run at high speed. More serious problem is that the noise disturb speech communication between the driver and his co-workers or among co-workers. To prevent labor accidents tractor noise should be controlled.
3.An Estimation of Agricultural Work Load by Questionnaire on Subjective Symptoms
Yasuma Fukuchi ; Sinya Watanabe ; Masao Kanamori
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1983;32(4):860-863
There is a great diversity of manner in agricultural daily work compared to other industrial works. Therefore, at the estimation and comparison of farmers' subjective symptoms caused by the work, it should be known the relative grade of the work load of the day compared to those of other working days.
From this viewpoint, in this study, seventy three farmers who had been surveyed the subjective symptoms after daily work 10-16 months before were shown the working record of the day and were made to recall and estimate the grade of the work load and fatigue at that time by five steps rating method. The obtained data were referred to their fatigue symptoms.
4.Work Load, Fatigue and Subjective Symptoms of Female Farmers in Two Advanced Agricultural Areas
Shinya Watanabe ; Yasuma Fukuchi ; Masao Kanamori ; Katsuo Nishiyama
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1983;32(2):101-111
Health problems of the farmers were surveyed in two districts where progressed mechanization, green hause culture or other improved management systems were introduced.
The following results were obtained:
1. Long daily working hours remain as before, therefore, sleeping hours and hausehold hours in female are shortened in busy seasons.
2. By introduction of joint management or cooperative manegement working hours of female farmers were shortened in some cases, but not enough.
3. New health hazards as noise, vibration, toxic chemicals, continuing of forced posture, forced repetitive motion of hands and arms are being marked.
4. High incidence of subjective symptoms relating to their acute or chronic fatigue were obserbed in most type of agriculture, which were considered to indicate that modernization of agricultural production had been promoted in lacking of consideration for farmer's health.