NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA No. 2002-0239-2922, United States Postal Service, Norman, Oklahoma

摘要

On April 29, 2002, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request for a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) from the Director of Safety and Health of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in Washington, D.C. The HHE request pertained to the alpha tests being conducted by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to determine if mail could be delivered safely and efficiently using a Segway Human Transporter (HT) on delivery routes throughout the country. The HHE requesters wanted NIOSH investigators to evaluate whether or not use of the HT presented health hazards or risk of injury to its member mail carriers. Potential health hazards contained in the HHE request included fatigue and tension from having to concentrate while operating the HT and wear and tear on the body from riding the vehicle over the many surfaces and terrain encountered while delivering mail. interviews of the postal workers using the HT were also conducted by the NIOSH team.