Noise Exposures and Hearing Protector Use at Small Logging Operations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Autenrieth DA ; Brazile WJ ; McLain SC ; Yang X
• Description:
  The study objective was to characterize noise exposures and hearing protector usage at small-scale logging operations. Noise dosimeters were used to measure exposures of 31 loggers at two cable operations and five mechanized operations in the United States. Activity cards were employed to evaluate hearing protector usage. Ninety-two percent of cable operation loggers were overexposed to noise according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended criteria, but only 46% of cable loggers wore hearing protection. Six percent of mechanized operation loggers were overexposed to noise over the 8-h shifts observed, but this number increased to 33% when working 12-h shifts, which was a common practice among the participant companies. Only 6% of mechanized loggers wore hearing protection. Mean noise exposures and the proportion of hearing protection usage were both significantly greater at cable operations than at mechanized operations. None of the logging operations had hearing conservation programs in place. Despite the use of mechanized logging equipment and methods, the potential for noise-induced hearing loss remains a concern for workers employed at small-scale operations in the logging industry. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ear Forestry Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Protective Clothing Safety Sense Organs

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Hearing Loss Ear Protectors Forestry Workers Forest Safety Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Protection Logging Industry Noise Exposure Noise Protection Occupational Noise Tree Harvesting

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• ISSN:
  1873-7617
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Montana ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• Volume:
  20
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066362
• Citation:
  Small-Scale For 2021 Mar; 20(1):1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  Daniel A. Autenrieth, Safety, Health, and Industrial Hygiene Department, Montana Technological University, 1300 West Park Street, Butte, MT, 59701, USA
• Email:
  dautenrieth@mtech.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Montana Technological University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Small-Scale Forestry
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e280b3a8b3c8651cb14e8273a47e8c1b20116396f7bc6bfac7dacbc326e1130c74339e2935c411e280f90fd0768651fab6a13adbbfb980d7e599fb5ffdbe19e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212827/cdc_212827_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 340.41 KB ]