Evaluation of Potential Noise Exposures in Hospital Operating Rooms

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brueck, Scott E. ; Chen, Lilia
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On July 11, 2008, NIOSH received a management request from West Virginia University Hospital to assess employee exposures to noise in the ORs, especially during procedures where loud surgical instruments were used. On April 22-23, 2009, NIOSH investigators evaluated employee exposures to noise in the ORs during surgeries. Nine employees (surgical technicians, registered nurses, and a surgeon) contributed 12 full-shift noise dosimetry measurements over 2 days. None of the measurements exceeded the OSHA or NIOSH noise exposure limits. Certain intermittent activities that usually lasted less than 30 seconds at a time generated sound levels measured at over 90 dBA. Noise-generating activities include drilling, surgery preparation, and clean up. The employer and employees identified surgeries where loud instruments were used, and sound level measurements were taken during those procedures. Results from the spectral analysis indicated that noise levels in the OR were higher than levels recommended by ANSI and ASA and may cause speech interference for employees. Reducing noise exposures in an OR can be challenging because some sounds are required during surgery (e.g., vital sign monitors, alarms, and employee communication) whereas other sounds, especially from drilling and sawing instruments, could be reduced. Using quieter powered surgical instruments would be the most effective way to reduce noise exposures in ORs and to minimize speech interference and risk of NIHL.
• Subjects:
  Ear Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Hospitals Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Operating Rooms Radiation Dosimeters Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Dose Dosimetry Drills General Medical And Surgical Hospitals Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel Hearing-conservation Hearing-impairment Hearing-loss Intermittent Noise Loud Music Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Noise-measurement Noise-sources Operating-rooms Operating Rooms Sound Surgery

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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 2008-0231-3105, 2010 Mar ; :1-13
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200802313105
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Evans, Stefanie M. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Smith, Robin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036531
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-107384
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2010]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of potential noise ; exposures in hospital operating rooms, Morgantown, WV. By Chen L, Brueck ; SE. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for ; Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and ; Health, NIOSH HETA No. 2008-0231-3105,
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  622110 - General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:be71657076d22946af0829d8ad6babd0280efe86c34af0a90fb8667ee918c462cd0e042485c205988ddd7dbac8bf5d2b9c7fc13d672d495b8887e2fcbb9f346e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172535/cdc_172535_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.78 MB ]