Exposures of Helicopter Pilots and Gunners to Firearm Noise and Lead During Gunnery Target Training Exercises

Details

• Personal Author:
  Aristeguieta, Carlos ; Brueck, Scott E. ; Ramsey, Jessica G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program received a technical assistance request from managers in the flight safety office of a federal agency. Managers were concerned about helicopter crews' exposures to gunshot noise, vibration, and lead during airborne offshore and ground range gunnery training exercises. The helicopter crews (50 pilots and 25 gunners) assisted in the interception and disabling of drug- and contraband-running watercraft. They flew MH-65C "Dolphin" helicopters. In response to this request, NIOSH investigators measured pilots' and gunners' exposures to noise from shooting weapons and from helicopter flights during gunnery target training. We measured exposures to lead from shooting lead-containing ammunition and took surface wipe samples for lead inside helicopter cabins. We also spoke with pilots and gunners about the health symptoms they had while training and during actual missions. We found that helicopter pilots and gunners were exposed to high noise levels during gunnery target training
  
  peak noise levels (exceeding 150 decibels) during weapons shooting were high enough to damage hearing. In our review of audiometric test results, we found that some pilots and gunners had evidence of threshold shifts using NIOSH criteria, but did not have standard threshold shifts using OSHA criteria. Helicopter pilots reported headache and fatigue from gun blast, especially after flights for gunnery target training. Airborne lead exposures were below occupational exposure limits, but surface lead was found inside helicopter cabins. To address the potential for noise exposure among helicopter crews, NIOSH investigators recommended the employer (1) install a partial noise barrier in the helicopters between the pilots and gunner, (2) install a window in the helicopter cabin that can be opened to reduce blast pressure when high caliber weapons are shot, (3) continue to require double hearing protection for everyone in the helicopter cabin when they shoot weapons and during gunnery target training flights, and (4) test employee hearing and report results using NIOSH and OSHA criteria. To address the potential for lead exposure among helicopter crews, we recommended the employer (1) consider using non-lead bullets and non-lead primers as they become economically feasible, (2) clean the inside of the helicopter cabins to help remove surface lead accumulation, and (3) advise helicopter crews to maintain good hand hygiene and thoroughly wash their hands after handling guns or bullets that contain lead and after gunnery target training exercises.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Aircraft Dust Ear Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Law Enforcement Lead Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Aircrews Blast Pressure Firearms Hearing-conservation Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Hearing Loss Helicopter Impact-noise Impulse Noise Impulsive Noise Law-enforcement Lead Lead-dust National Security Noise-control Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Noise-sources OSHA Region 4 Overpressure Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Rifle

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• 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, HETA 2009-0216-3201, 2014 Mar ; :1-27
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200902163201
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  34 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Brown, Stefanie M. ; Feldmann, Karl D. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Hartle, Greg
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044072
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2014-105961
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2014]. Health hazard evaluation report: exposures of helicopter pilots and ; gunners to firearm noise and lead during gunnery target training exercises. By ; Brueck SE, Aristeguieta C, Ramsey J. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and ; Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for ; Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HHE Report No. 2009-0216-3201,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  928110 - National Security - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a34d449ac2446c4d363e76d13e758564fc3438086f2c513f36df49845032c55e11ba193c28c9f110c0b55c0b88ab83fd00595a99ad23b8e8e31bf0e3e0be5ef7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172450/cdc_172450_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.92 MB ]