Occupational Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss Prevention: A Technical Report and Guidebook for Sheet Metal Manufacturing Companies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daniell W ; Swan S ; Daniell W ; Swan S
• Description:
  What is this guidebook about? Researchers at the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences conducted a three-year study, evaluating noise levels and hearing loss prevention programs at companies in nine different industries in Washington State. This guidebook contains the study results and recommendations for one of those industries, sheet metal manufacturing. The study included ten companies that make products such as electronic casings, ventilation ducts, and construction items. Field installers at three companies were also included. This guidebook can guide sheet metal manufacturing companies as they improve the effectiveness of their hearing loss prevention programs. The report will be most useful for company owners and managers, hearing loss prevention program coordinators, safety personnel, and supervisors. How this affects you: Our study concluded that most, if not all, sheet metal manufacturing companies are noisy enough to need a hearing loss prevention program under the Washington State OSHA (WISHA) Hearing Loss Prevention rule, also called the Noise rule. The complete WISHA Hearing Loss Prevention rule is available online or as a free printed copy from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. Contact information is on the inside front cover of this guidebook. What is noise and how is it measured? Noise is unwanted sound. Sound is measured in decibels (dB). The "A" weighting scale (dBA) gives extra weight to some frequencies and mimics how humans hear noise. This scale is required by WISHA for most noise measurements. Small differences in decibels are very important. If two noise levels differ by only five decibels, WISHA considers the louder level to be twice as high as the lower level: 85 dBA is twice as high as 80 dBA, 90 dBA is twice as high as 85 dBA, and so forth. What is an unsafe level of noise? A worker who is repeatedly exposed to noise at 85 dBA without hearing protection faces a significant risk of hearing loss. The risk is greater at louder noise levels, but noise levels are probably not safe unless they are under 80 dBA. The WISHA Hearing Loss Prevention rule requires employers to maintain a hearing loss prevention program for any employee whose full-day average exposure might be 85 dBA or higher. What is an "equivalent" noise exposure and what is the TWA8? Workplace noise can vary greatly during a work shift, and employees may move from one work area to another. This means that a worker's noise exposure can be longer or shorter than eight hours, depending on how long the shift is and how long noisy operations last. The TWA8 is the equivalent eight-hour time-weighted average sound level. The WISHA rule uses the TWA to calculate the average level of a worker's noise exposure, allowing for different patterns and durations of exposure. Short periods of time spent in very high noise levels can be as harmful as longer periods of time at lower levels of noise. Figure 1 (page 9) illustrates exposures that are equivalent to a constant exposure at 85 dBA for eight hours, according to the WISHA rule. Colors and signal words for noise levels We use colors and specific "signal" words to show differences in noise levels among various jobs and noise sources (Figure 2, page 9). Companies can use these colors and signal words to: train employees; help select the most appropriate hearing protection; improve signs to make it easier for employees to know what to do in noisy areas. Organization of this guidebook: The organization of this guidebook matches the major requirement areas of the WISHA Hearing Loss Prevention rule. Under this rule, an employer with a noisy workplace must provide: noise monitoring; noise controls and warning signs; employee training; hearing protection; audiometry (hearing tests); documentation and evaluation. We will discuss each of these requirement areas in the following chapters. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Hearing Loss Prevention Hearing Protection Manufacturing Metal Industry Workers Noise Exposure Noise Levels Occupational Hearing Loss
• Publisher:
  University of Washington
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Report ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057817
• Citation:
  Seattle, WA: University of Washington, 2005 Nov; :1-24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss ; Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational noise exposure and hearing loss prevention: a technical report and guidebook for sheet metal manufacturing companies
• End Date:
  20030929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:265bf2ce74476409073613a555d181b9004546e8183d50e172edf1b7624493aef5209d18918bb065ac10fb884588a4d055f91d06c94099c88b854b8604dcf823
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215038/cdc_215038_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.89 MB ]