VIBRATION
WHITE FINGER
CASES INCREASE

BY VERNA LEDGER
Regional Safety Director

Ask a faller if his fingers tingle and go
numb after using his chain saw for a while,
nine times out of ten he’ll say “yes”. Ask him
if his fingers go white when exposed to cold
and then burn when re-heated, at least five
out of ten will certainly reply “yes”. But ask
him if he has an industrial disease, and the
answer will most likely be “no”. The unfor-
tunate problem with Vibration White Fin-
ger disease is that most workers do not yet
recognize its existence, let alone recognize it
as an industrial disease.

Vibration White Finger, sometimes
known as “Raynauds Phenomenon”, is
caused by the prolonged use of vibrating
tools such as chain saws or rock drills.
Studies which have been conducted over the
past ten to fifteen years indicate that the
vibration of hand-held tools causes a contin-
ual constriction of blood vessels to the
fingers inducing swelling of the vessel
walls; eventually the vessels collapse bring-
ing on an attack of “White Finger”. Cold
andnoise, which also act as vasoconstric-
tors, contribute to attacks of the disease as
well. First symptoms of the disease usually
appear as intermittent tingling or numb-
ness of the hands, most likely occurring
shortly after using the vibrating tool. These
symptoms usually last between 15-60 min-
utes, with recovery often signalled by the
appearance of a red flush in parts of the
hand. As use of the vibrating tool continues
these symptoms appear more often.

The second stage, which may develop
anywhere from a few weeks to several
months later, is a blanching or whitening of
some or all finger tips; the numbness at this
stage usually takes much longer to disap-
pear. In the third stage finger blanching
occurs frequently, and there may be a
permanent reduction of flexibility in the
fingers, possibly effecting some of the
workers recreational activities. Mainly
these are outdoor hobbies such as fishing,
hunting, gardening or car maintenance.

Finally if a worker continues to use the
vibrating tool, he will likely have difficulty
with manual work, and in some cases,
gangrene has set in due to the poor circula-
tion in the fingers.

Workers who have recognized the disease
and its occupational relationship (because
they have reached the point where both
their recreational activities as well as their
work is effected), have usually found the
condition is not compensable. In spite of the
fact that “vascular disturbance of the
extremities” is listed as a recognized indus-
trial disease under Schedule “B” of the
Workers’ Compensation Act, the Commis-
sioners of the Compensation Board have a
policy which basically excludes most
chronic and even acute sufferers of the
disease from collecting compensation. They
have determined that the disease will go
into remission if the worker is removed from
the exposure of the vibrating tool, so have
concluded that workers who suffer from the
disease must remove themselves from the
type of work causing the problem. No
concern is given to retraining or alternative
job placement, and only minimal effort at
therapeutic rehabilitation is supplied. Sev-
eral IWA Fallers who are in this category
have actually found themselves “out on the
road”, (The IWA has exhausted all chan-
nels of appeal to the Board and two cases are
now in the hands of a lawyer.)

The event portrayed In this photo took place about the year 1883 In the vicinity of Parrsboro, Nova Scotla, on the Bay of

Fundy. This may have been the forerunner of the present day Davis Raft. It had been decided to bundle the logs In acigar-
shaped raft and tow them to Boston for manufacture Into lumber. This photo shows the raft being launched, and smoke rising

as the launchways caught fire and burned the bindings on
transporting logs apparently was never attempted again.

the raft so the logs were never delivered to Boston. This form of

The B.C-WCB has not developed a
comprehensive specific written guideline
covering medical diagnosis, medical treat-
ment, claims adjudication, pension entitle-
ment, or vocational rehabilitation. There
are apparently unpublished internal memo-
randa, but basically cases appear to be
assessed on an individual basis, resulting in
very few recognized claims. This is blat-
antly obvious from the figures obtained
from the Workers’ compensation Board
Statistics Department showing a total of 24
wage-loss claims paid for Vibration White
Finger from 1972 to 1980, and only four
pensions established in that time.

When we look at a 1979 survey completed
by the IWA and Portland State Univer-
sity, out of 156 replies only 10% reported no
symptoms, approximately 43% of the
respondents reported difficulties under cold
conditions and more recently preliminary
results of a symptomatic survey by Dr. R.
Brubaker U.B.C. shows 51% of B.C. Coastal
Fallers complain of some form of vibration
induced white finger, we begin to realize the
magnitude of the problem.

It seems we are faced with an industrial
disease of major proportions yet the
Workers’ Compensation Board continues to
sit back and rely on outdated medical
information which implies workers who
suffer from the disease almost surely will
completely recover if they are removed from
the exposure.

In fact at a recent International Sympo-
sium on Hand-Arm Vibration presented in
Ottawa, epidemiologists, from most Indus-
trial Nations of the world, recognized the
seriousness of the disease and concluded
that only in the first initial stages (tingling
in fingertips) is there a possibility of total
recovery if a worker discontinues use of the
vibrating tool. These studies in many cases,
also identified some additional health
problems amongst workers using vibrating
hand-held tools such as Bradycardia (slow
heart beat, usually resulting from disease of
the central nervous system) enlarged heart,
orthopedic problems (pain in joints, stiff-
ness in shoulders, and lumbago) osteo-
arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. In
several studies workers complained of
headache, insomnia, forgetfulness, depres-
sion, ringing ear, impotence, etc. Such
objective symptoms can be considered to
induced by the disturbance of the central
nervous system, suggesting there is much
more to learn about the effects of vibration
exposure.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of informa-
tion in the past, both workers who may be
affected, and unions who must pressure on
their behalf, Vibration White Finger has
been treated as a minor nuisance rather
than an industrial-caused disease, which
may also be responsible for many of the
additional health problems suffered by
fallers and others using vibrating tools ona
somewhat regular basis.

Vibration, noise and cold act upon the
human body asstressors, and effect not only
the peripheal nerves and circulatory func-
tions, but also the central nervous system.
In other words vibration disease can be
considered a systemic disease. Its serious-
ness must be recognized by the WCB in
providing workers with decent compensa-
tion (wage-loss and adequate pensions), as
well as retraining and rehabilitation, and
by the industry manufacturers, who must
develop better methods of damping chain
saw vibrations, and by the forest industry
and the union, who must attempt to develop

alternatives.
Spotlight on
LABOUR HISTORY

<>. ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE STRIKES
IN CANADA'S HISTORY OCCURRED WHEN
WOODWORKERS OF
T AMERICA ATTEMPTED TO ORGANIZE.
Ye? THE LOGGERS OF NEWFOUNDLAND

IN 1959.
DURING A POUICE ATTACK ON

STREETS IN AN OPEN MEARE
WHIP UP HYSTERIA AGAINST:

Lumber Worker/September, 1981/21