Underground » Health and Safety
Hydraulic equipment is a well-known and significant occupational safety risk. While the instance of a high pressure injection injury from a hydraulic system is rare, the outcome can be severe for the recipient of such an injury (Hogan and Ruland, 2006). The previous phase of this ACARP Project C16011 determined that the type of hydraulic fluid had an effect on the damage caused to the patient's tissue over time (Wallace, Gill, Walsh and Oliver, 2007). The results presented in this initial study showed that the hydraulic fluid type was significant in differentiating the extent of tissue damage in a HPI injury at the acute stage, up to 24 hours post-injection (Walsh and Oliver, 2007).
Based on the histological results from the acute study, we chose three fluids and five time points to extend observation through the chronic inflammatory stages and tissue healing cycle of 21 days. The animal testing model from the acute study was used to conduct examinations over an extended period (up to 21 days) to support potential changes in:
- Determining possible hydraulic fluid use in the mining industry;
- Determine tissue impact by varying fluid types;
- Determine potential treatment timing; and
- Provide additional information pertaining to possible treatment protocols in a future study.
The study found that the sample of water-based hydraulic fluid tested, Fluid 1, took longer to trigger cell necrosis than Fluid 4 and Fluid 6, the petroleum-based products. However, tissue death was induced by all fluid samples by day 21.