There are many dangers of working with power tools and many protective elements that you need to have or use to reduce the risk of danger to yourself and others. Solutions such as protective eye wear will prevent the loss of sight, overalls should be used to protect your clothes or uniform from being damaged and Breathing apparatus should be worn allowing you to be protected from breathing in various hazardous materials and chemicals. Each one of these measure are ideal for short term exposure to possible health problems.
Long term problems are always a lot less apparent. The symptoms don't always show instantly and sometimes it can be later down the line that these problems surface and pose a health risk.
Random Sander
Take for example Raynauds Disease also known as White Finger or hand/arm Vibration Syndrome. The symptoms consist of tingling in an area of the body such as the fingers or hands as well as numbness then followed by blanching attacks, in which the effected body part goes white. These symptoms usually get worse when exposure to the cold is added in to the equation.
The problem is usually located in the fingers, hands, wrists and arms and usually effects workers who have used vibrating machinery, rotating tools and percussion hand held power tools. It is the prolonged exposure to these tools that causes the problems and causes poor circulation to happen in these effected body parts which can lead to damage to the nerve supply as well as musculo-skeletal damage.
Each employer and employee should be aware of the regulations surrounding the use of such equipment and should follow these working regulations. It's the employers job that these regulations are made known to the employees. Failure to do so could result in legal action.
It is better to take steps to prevent this rather than suffer the consequences. If effected by this the damage is permanent and can not be rectified.
Due to the severity of these problems employees and ex-employees are now able to take legal action and obtain compensation for any such injuries sustained whilst working with these machines.