What Can 35 Years and Over 700,000 Measurements Tell Us About Noise Exposure in the Mining Industry?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Neitzel RL ; Roberts B ; Sun K
• Description:
  Objective: To analyse over 700,000 cross-sectional measurements from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) and develop statistical models to predict noise exposure for a worker. Design: Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Two linear regression models were used to predict noise exposure based on MSHA-permissible exposure limit (PEL) and action level (AL), respectively. Twofold cross validation was used to compare the exposure estimates from the models to actual measurement. The mean difference and t-statistic was calculated for each job title to determine whether the model predictions were significantly different from the actual data. Study sample: Measurements were acquired from MSHA through a Freedom of Information Act request. Results: From 1979 to 2014, noise exposure has decreased. Measurements taken before the implementation of MSHA's revised noise regulation in 2000 were on average 4.5 dBA higher than after the law was implemented. Both models produced exposure predictions that were less than 1 dBA different than the holdout data. Conclusion: Overall noise levels in mines have been decreasing. However, this decrease has not been uniform across all mining sectors. The exposure predictions from the model will be useful to help predict hearing loss in workers in the mining industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Environmental Exposure Epidemiology Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Mining Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Activity Levels Analytical Models Author Keywords: Demographics Cross Sectional Studies Demographic Characteristics Exposure Assessment Exposure Levels Hearing Conservation Hearing Loss Instrumentation Mathematical Models Mine Safety And Health Administration Mining Industry Models MSHA Noise Exposure Noise Levels Noise Measurement PELs Permissible Exposure Limits Regression Analysis Statistical Analysis

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• ISSN:
  1499-2027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  56
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050692
• Citation:
  Int J Audiol 2017 Jan; 56(Suppl 1):S4-S12
• Contact Point Address:
  Richard L. Neitzel, University of Michigan, 6611D SPH Tower, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2029
• Email:
  rneitzel@umich.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20130901
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Audiology
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20170831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e541f6cd58f72316c98131abf1056fdd6cff949d9dfa8db8a2608e9868cde2003633851ad198d44682d186984b00f84c9275ea9a6ec3154c9a0694ca881bea72
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210935/cdc_210935_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.12 MB ]