Sudbury miners to get boots that protect from vibration damage

Miners in Sudbury will soon have boots that will protect their feet from vibration-induced damage.

Sustained exposure to vibrations from machinery like jumbo drillscan cause nerve and circulatory damage, occupationalhealth expert Tammy Eger says.

Eger,with the Centre for Research for Occupational Health and Safety,saidminers tested various insoles this summer while on the job.

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She has chosen one and is now working with a manufacturer on a design.Egersays theinsoles are already available and she's hoping a boot with an integrated insole will be available in 18 to 24 months.

"You've got a boot that's already dealing with vibration reduction without having to purchase a separate insole and that would be the ideal from our perspective," she said.

Egar says one comment she received was, "I needed this boot and insole combination thirty years ago."