The recent work of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Technical Committee 108, Mechanical Vibration and Shock, Subcommittee 4 (ISO/TC 108/SC4, Mechanical Vibration and Shock Acceptable to Man) has established guidelines (Draft International Standard ISO/DIS 2631) for the evaluation of human response to whole-body vibration in the range of 1-80 Hz. These guidelines, which are subject to revision and to extension of the frequency range in the light of new and better data, provide a current consensus as to the limits of acceptable human exposure to whole-body vibration in vehicles, buildings, and workplaces, according to selected criteria: comfort, working efficiency, and protection from injury. The limits are expressed in terms of acceleration as a function of direction and frequency of vibration and daily duration of exposure. Other work in hand by ISO/TC 108/SC4 includes the preparation of a similar document covering the special problem of hazards to man due to hand-transmitted vibration in the range 8-2000 Hz from hand-held power tools. This paper briefly reviews and comments on these draft international standards, the work leading up to their formulation, and their areas of application. The need for further field and laboratory research to provide better supporting data for standardizing limits of human exposure to vibration is also mentioned.
