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What can 35 years and over 700,000 measurements tell us about noise exposure in the mining industry?
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Nov 22 2016
Source: Int J Audiol. 56(SUP1):4-12.
[PDF-781.67 KB]
Details:
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Alternative Title:Int J Audiol
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Personal Author:
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Description:Objective
To analyze 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 summarize the data. Two linear regression models were used to predict noise exposure based on MSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) and action level (AL) respectively. Two-fold cross validation was used to compare the exposure estimates from the models to actual measurements in the hold out data. The mean difference and t-statistic was calculated for each job title to determine if the model exposure 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 the average noise measurement 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 came in to effect. Both models produced mean exposure predictions that were less than 1 dBA different compared to 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 from the mining industry.
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Source:
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Pubmed ID:27871188
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Pubmed Central ID:PMC5712437
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