Estimation of Sound Pressure Level Exposures from Sound Power Level Measurements of Powered Hand-Tools

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hayden, Charles S. II ; Zechmann EL
• Description:
  As part of a long-term goal to reduce noise-induced hearing loss in the construction industry, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) estimated the A.-weighted sound pressure level at the operator's ear (LpA,est) from the A-weighted sound power (LwA) measurements of 118 various model powered hand tools using the diffuse-field point source model Eyring theory. LpA,est from the model are compared to sound pressure measurements (LpA,meas) acquired from a microphone located in the nominal hearing zone of a simulated powered hand tool operator. This paper provides a basis for the direct substitution of LwA for LpA,meas and a comparison of LpA,est to LpA,meas. The magnitude of LwA is found to be a reasonable predictor of the magnitude of sound pressure level exposure, or LpA,meas, that a powered hand tool operator might experience across a variety of acoustical environments. As such, LwA can be used directly to select appropriate hearing protection and estimate worker' noise exposure. LwA can be measured for all power tools with appropriate loading conditions; however, measuring the sound pressure levels for all combinations of powered hand tools and acoustical environments in the construction industry is not feasible. Purchasers and users of those tools deserve a viable method of estimating noise exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Construction-equipment Construction-industry Hearing-loss Hearing-protection Mathematical-models Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Power-tools Sound-attenuation Work-environment

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• ISSN:
  0736-2501
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  379-389
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032534
• Citation:
  Noise Control Eng J 2007 Jul-Aug; 55(4):379-389
• Contact Point Address:
  NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway, C27, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  CHayden@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Noise Control Engineering Journal
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:572ea1a2634f7e7c977603832962bf87e0832469add21174c2a480cc662ed6c46d192df96e4858d52fcfde211381191990b741db1a8ace3b47cb7f948293a1a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186471/cdc_186471_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.72 MB ]