Transcript OCCUPATIONAL NOISE EXPOSURE STANDARD The standard implements a three-pronged approach to RECOGNITION

OCCUPATIONAL NOISE EXPOSURE STANDARD
The standard implements a three-pronged approach to
addressing industrial noise.
RECOGNITION
EVALUATION
CONTROL
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CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
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Study shows hearing health unchanged
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Most Americans hear no better and no
worse than adults did 35 years ago, despite
changes in society and technology,
according to new data from NIOSH.
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One potential factor for this is that hearing
protection was not widely available in the
early 1970s, researchers speculate. Another
reason may be that fewer Americans work
in noisy factory jobs, potentially offsetting
the effects of newer noise sources.
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The study also found non-Hispanic blacks
have the sharpest ears of any ethnic group
(non-Hispanic whites have the worst), and
women in general hear better than men.
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RECOGNITION
I.
Determine whether an employee is being exposed to an
unsafe level of noise.
i.
Unsafe level 90 (dB) based on an eight-hour (TWA)
i. Implement control measures to below 90db.
ii.
Action level 85 (dB) based on an eight-hour (TWA)
i. Establish hearing conservation program.
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NOISE LEVEL MONITORING
• Monitor noise levels:
– Does it indicate that employee’s exposure is equal to or
exceed the 8 hour TWA average of 85 decibels?
GENERAL RULE: if an individual’s voice must be
raised to converse at a distance of three feet, the noise
level probably exceeds 85dB.
• Frequency – is the number of vibrations per second a noise
contains.
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EVALUATION
• Audiometric Testing – hearing test.
– Base line
– Annual
• The annual is compared to the base line:
– Evaluate whether an employee has experienced any RECORDABLE
hearing loss.
– Standard Threshold Shift – required to wear hearing protection.
• Administrative Controls: job rotation, work assignment, or periods
away from the hazard.
• Engineering Controls: modifying the source or reducing the quantity
of noise (contaminants) released.
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PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
(PPE)
• Available in two basic formats:
– Earmuffs, which fit over the entire ear and seal against the side of the
head.
– Ear plugs, which are inserted directly into the ear canal.
• Noise Reduction Rating (NRR)
– Method of gauging the adequacy of a hearing protector’s noise-reducing
capacity.
– Printed on the package, i.e..NRR of 26.
Formula: the 26dB is subtracted from 100dB, leaving the worker with a
74dB TWA exposure.
– 50% rule, shall be applied at CSULA.
– Double your hearing protection – earmuffs and ear plugs.
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NOISE LEVELS in Db’s
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HOME PRODUCTS
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Mowing the lawn
Alarm clock
Leaf blower
Power tools
Outboard motor
Snowmobile
Chain saw
Automobile horn
Shotgun
Normal conversation
Portable sander
Vacuum Cleaner
86
80
105
90
110
90
118
119
158
65
95
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INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
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Pneumatic riveter
Air hammer
Spray painting
Diesel engine
Drop hammer
Compressor
Jet engine at 1000 ft.
Jack hammer
Sand blaster
Oxygen torch
130
100
105
83
110
94
102
130
110
121
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