Evaluation of Noise Exposures and Hearing Loss at a Forging Company

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brueck, Scott E. ; Eisenberg, Judith S. ; Krieg, Edward Jr. ; Morata, Thais C. ; Murphy, William J. ; Zechmann, Edward L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from company management and union representatives. The requestors were concerned about forge shop employees' exposures to noise and their risk of hearing loss. Forging equipment included pneumatic single-action die hammers, counter-blow hammers, mechanical forging presses, hydraulic presses, trim presses, and furnaces. Our evaluation consisted of measuring employees' noise exposures as well as impact noise and noise levels across noise frequencies, interviewing employees about noise exposures and hearing loss, and analyzing employees' hearing tests. We found noise levels near the forge hammers were very high (sometimes above 100 decibels). Most of the noise was caused by metal-to-metal contact, compressed air, and background noise from furnaces. Peak sound pressure levels during hammer strikes were above the NIOSH recommended ceiling limit of 140 decibels peak sound pressure level. Nearly all forge shop employees' noise exposures were above the NIOSH noise exposure limit of 85 decibels, A-weighted. Many employees had hearing loss and hearing worsened with years on the job and age. Some employees reported having permanent ringing in their ears because of noise exposure. Some employees did not insert foam ear plugs properly. We recommended noise controls, using dual hearing protection when noise exposures were above 100 decibels, A-weighted, conducting hearing protector fit testing, buying less noisy equipment when replacing or installing new equipment, and using NIOSH recommendations for evaluating employees' hearing tests.
• Subjects:
  Ear Hearing Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs
• Keywords:
  Forge Hammer Forge Hearing Loss Hearing Protection Hydraulic Equipment Impact Noise Impulse Noise Iron And Steel Forgings Metal Industry Workers NIHL Noise Control Noise Exposure Noise Induced Hearing Loss OSHA Region 5 Pneumatic Tools Tinnitus

  More +
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2007-0225-3386, 2022 Dec ; :1-41
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE200702253386
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Wisconsin ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  48 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Achutan, Chandran ; Booher, Donald E. ; Feldmann, Karl D. ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066837
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2022]. Evaluation of noise exposure and hearing loss at a hammer forge ; company. By Brueck SE, Eisenberg J, Zechmann E, Murphy WJ, Krieg E, Morata TC. ; Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease ; Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health ; Hazard Evaluation Report No. 2007-0225-3386,
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  332111 - Iron and Steel Forging - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8f4e737b1074e2a0994a1b328cc16b970e1b8417ed048420593e99da8af34b0e04b2c7acb8afda2132fef7d2724720450a4a2c1fc8ca892e6d2b0eedbf22fc18
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172312/cdc_172312_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.42 MB ]