Documents truck 9 results

"Haul truck drivers at surface mines are exposed to whole-body vibration for extended periods. Thirty-two whole-body vibration measurements were gathered from haul trucks under a range of normal operating conditions. Measurements taken from 30 of the 32 trucks fell within the health guidance caution zone defined by ISO2631-1 for an 8 h daily exposure suggesting, according to ISO2631-1, that “caution with respect to potential health risks is indicated”. Maintained roadways were associated with substantially lower vibration amplitudes. Larger trucks were associated with lower vibration levels than small trucks. The descriptive nature of the research, and small sample size, prevents any strong conclusion regarding causal links. Further investigation of the variables associated with elevated vibration levels is justified."

"Long-haul truck drivers in North America function in a work context marked by excess physical and psychological workload, erratic schedules, disrupted sleep patterns, extreme time pressures, and these factors' far-reaching consequences. These work-induced stressors are connected with excess risk for cardiometabolic disease, certain cancers, and musculoskeletal and sleep disorders, as well as highway crashes, which in turn exert enormous financial burdens on trucking and warehousing companies, governments and healthcare systems, along with working people within the sector. This article: 1) delineates the unique work environment of long-haul truckers, describing their work characteristics and duties; (2) discusses the health hazards of long-haul trucking that impact drivers, the general population, and trucking enterprises, examining how this work context induces, sustains, and exacerbates these hazards; and (3) proposes comprehensive, multi-level strategies with potential to protect and promote the health, safety, and well-being of truckers, while reducing adverse consequences for companies and highway safety."

Background Diesel exhaust is considered a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The epidemiologic evidence rests on studies of lung cancer among truck drivers, bus drivers, shipyard workers, and railroad workers. The general public is exposed to diesel exhaust in ambient air. Two regulatory agencies are now considering regulating levels of diesel exhaust: the California EPA (ambient levels) and the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) (occupational levels). To date, there have been few quantitative exposure-response analyses of diesel exhaust and lung cancer based on human data. Methods We conducted exposure-response analyses among workers in the trucking industry, adjusted for smoking. Diesel exhaust exposure was estimated based on a 1990 industrial hygiene survey. Past exposures were estimated assuming that they were a function of 1) the number of heavy duty trucks on the road, 2) the particulate emissions (grams/mile) of diesel engines over time, and 3) leaks from trucks' exhaust systems for long-haul drivers. Results Regardless of assumptions about past exposure, all analyses resulted in significant positive trends in lung cancer risk with increasing cumulative exposure. A male truck driver exposed to 5 g/m3 of elemental carbon (a typical exposure in 1990, approximately five times urban background levels) would have a lifetime excess risk of lung cancer of 1-2%, above a background risk of 5%. Conclusions We found a lifetime excess risk ten times higher than the 1 per 1,000 excess risk allowed by OSHA in setting regulations. There are about 2.8 million truck drivers in the U.S. Our results depend on estimates about unknown past exposures, and should be viewed as exploratory. They conform reasonably well to recent estimates for diesel-exposed railroad workers done by the California EPA, although those results themselves have been disputed.

"This paper explores the safety consequences of increasing truck driver pay. The test case the authors examine involves a large over-the-road truckload firm that on February 25, 1997, raised wages an average of 39.1%. An analysis that controls for demographic and operational factors, including prior driving experience and experience acquired on the job, suggests that for drivers employed during the lower pay regime and retained in the higher pay regime, crash incidence fell. A higher pay rate also led to lower separation probability, but this indirect effect only translated into fewer crashes by increasing the retention of older, more experienced drivers. These findings suggest that human capital characteristics are important predictors of driver safety, but that motivational and incentive factors also are influential."

"This study investigates how different heights and distance of the hand from the body affect the maximal static force that can be either pushed or pulled while seated. Twenty female subjects performed maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) pulls and pushes while seated, at all nine combinations of the three height positions and three distance positions tested. The distances were measured from the seat reference point of the chair and were 18 cm (close), 36.1 cm (medium) and 45 cm (high). The three heights were measured from the ground and were: 41.1 cm (low), 64.3 cm (middle) and 82 cm (high). The subject's sitting and shoulder posture was controlled to prevent torso flexion, rotation or swaying back and forth. Surface EMG sensors were placed over the flexor digitorum profundus, tricep, bicep, anterior deltoid and posterior deltoid to monitor the muscle activity over each of these positions. The average force exerted at each position was analyzed using an s-beam load cell connected to a commercial stick shift handle. The optimal location was selected based on the ‘best position criteria' which was defined as the location with the greatest force output and lowest muscle activity. The furthest distance tested and the middle height best fit these criteria in this experiment. This study also found that seated pushing tasks are more affected by the distance of the hand from the body than the starting height of the hand. This means that the increase in muscle strength is greater when the distance is increased versus when the height is increased. Finally, this study found that muscle strength during a pulling task is affected equally by the distance and height of the hand."

"I interviewed and received written correspondences from truck drivers to gain insight into their lives and to investigate their occupational health and work issues. Drivers discussed money; an interest in trucks, driving, and the truck-driving community; as well as freedom as primary incentives for becoming truck drivers. However, their incentives for becoming drivers were counteracted by concerns such as high fuel costs, sleep deprivation, physical and emotional health problems, safety, company practices, and government regulations. The concerns raised by truck drivers highlight a few of the major health and occupational hazards associated with this profession."

"BACKGROUND: Despite considerable epidemiologic evidence about the health effects of chronic exposure to vehicle exhaust, efforts at defining the extent of risk have been limited by the lack of historical exposure measurements suitable for use in epidemiologic studies and for risk assessment.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to reconstruct exposure to elemental carbon (EC), a marker of diesel and other vehicle exhaust exposure, in a large national cohort of U.S. trucking industry workers.
METHODS: We identified the predictors of measured exposures based on a statistical model and used this information to extrapolate exposures across the cohort nationally. These estimates were adjusted for changes in work-related conditions over time based on a previous exposure assessment of this industry, and for changes in background levels based on a trend analysis of historical air pollution data, to derive monthly estimates of EC exposure for each job and trucking terminal combination between 1971 and 2000.
RESULTS: Occupational exposure to EC declined substantially over time, and we found significant variability in estimated exposures both within and across job groups, trucking terminals, and regions of the United States. Average estimated EC exposures during a typical work shift ranged from < 1 μg/m³ in the lowest exposed category in the 1990s to > 40 μg/m³ for workers in the highest exposed jobs in the 1970s.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide a framework for understanding changes over time in exposure to EC in the U.S. trucking industry. Our assessment should minimize exposure misclassification by capturing variation among terminals and across U.S. regions, and changes over time."

"BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust has been considered to be a probable lung carcinogen based on studies of occupationally exposed workers. Efforts to define lung cancer risk in these studies have been limited in part by lack of quantitative exposure estimates.
OBJECTIVE: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess lung cancer mortality risk among U.S. trucking industry workers. Elemental carbon (EC) was used as a surrogate of exposure to engine exhaust from diesel vehicles, traffic, and loading dock operations.
METHODS: Work records were available for 31,135 male workers employed in the unionized U.S. trucking industry in 1985. A statistical model based on a national exposure assessment was used to estimate historical work-related exposures to EC. Lung cancer mortality was ascertained through the year 2000, and associations with cumulative and average EC were estimated using proportional hazards models.
RESULTS: Duration of employment was inversely associated with lung cancer risk consistent with a healthy worker survivor effect and a cohort composed of prevalent hires. After adjusting for employment duration, we noted a suggestion of a linear exposure-response relationship. For each 1,000-µg/m³ months of cumulative EC, based on a 5-year exposure lag, the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.07 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99, 1.15] with a similar association for a 10-year exposure lag [HR = 1.09 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.20)]. Average exposure was not associated with relative risk.
CONCLUSIONS: Lung cancer mortality in trucking industry workers increased in association with cumulative exposure to EC after adjusting for negative confounding by employment duration."