Noise exposure among federal wildland fire fighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Broyles G ; Butler, Corey R. ; Kardous CA
• Description:
  Wildland fire fighters use many tools and equipment that produce noise levels that may be considered hazardous to hearing. This study evaluated 174 personal dosimetry measurements on 156 wildland fire fighters conducting various training and fire suppression tasks. Noise exposures often exceeded occupational exposure limits and suggest that wildland fire fighters may be at risk of developing noiseinduced hearing loss, particularly those operating chainsaws, chippers, and masticators. The authors recommend a comprehensive approach to protecting these fire fighters that includes purchasing quieter equipment, noise and administrative controls, and enrolling these fire fighters into a hearing conservation program. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Firefighters Fires Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Wildfires

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• Keywords:
  Equipment Design Exposure Levels Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Fire Fighting Equipment Hazards Hearing Conservation Hearing Impairment Hearing Loss Noise Control Noise Exposure Noise Induced Hearing Loss Noise Levels Occupational Exposure Limits OELs Risk Factors Tools

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• ISSN:
  0001-4966
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Idaho ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WSD - Western States Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  141
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049405
• Citation:
  J Acoust Soc Am 2017 Feb; 141(2):EL177-EL183
• Contact Point Address:
  George Broyles, Technology and Development Program, USDA Forest Service, Boise, Idaho 83705
• Email:
  gbroyles@fs.fed.us
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:aa3fef9907e9ea7d7f49cc59c5c29cc7a496907fce5d7e79fa297154bc637557fd090df7501ff5bc9cebf713ec81689c5d8d31d6ac7dda8edc04ffc8417affc2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203857/cdc_203857_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 705.54 KB ]