Ohio BWC Division of Safety and Hygiene • John Canning • Cleveland Service Office • Lausche Office Building • 216-787-3060 (office) • 216-469-6396 (cell) • [email protected] 1
Dec 16, 2015
Ohio BWC Division of Safety and Hygiene
• John Canning
• Cleveland Service Office
• Lausche Office Building
• 216-787-3060 (office)
• 216-469-6396 (cell)
Hearing Conservation
and
Noise Control
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WHY??????
• It’s the LAW
• Quality of Life
• Gradual / Painless
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Anatomy of the Ear
Semi-Circular Canals
Auditory Nerve
Pinna
Hammer-Anvil-StirrupCochlea
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Types of Hearing Loss
• Conductive
• Central
• Sensorineural
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Degree of Risk
• Frequency
• Intensity
• Duration
• Individual Variability
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How Loud is Loud?
• Jet engine 140 db
• Threshold of Pain 125 db
• Pneumatic hammer 110 db
• Compressed Air 105+ db
• Punch Press 95 db
• Lawn Mower 90 db
• Conversation 65 db
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Noise Thermometer
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Personal Protective Equipmentadvantages / disadvantages
• Cotton Balls
• Canal Blockers
• Ear Muffs
• Ear Plugs• NRRs (example on next page)
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NRRs
• EPA protocol
• For “A” scale measurements NRR – 7
Noise exposure 92 dBA
Manufacturer’s NRR 32
32 – 7 = 25 (effective noise exposure reduction)
92 – 25 = 67 dBA
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Exposure Limits
• ACGIH 85 dBA (3 dBA)
• NIOSH 85 dBA (3dBA)
• OSHA 84 dBA (5 dBA)
(Action Level) 85 - 89 dBA
90 dBA
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Noise Monitoring
• Required by the OSHA standard to identify all noise above 80 dBA
• Monitoring must be performed whenever there is an increase in production or equipment is added that could increase the noise level
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Audiograms
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Training requirements
• Annual Training
• Hearing Conservation Elements
• Hearing Protectors
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Recordkeeping
• Monitoring records
• Audiometric testing records
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Noise Control
• Engineering
• Administrative
• Personal Protective Equipment
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What we’re doing to control noise
• Fill in here what you’re company is doing to reduce exposure to noise……..
• Reducing air pressure,
• Enclosing loud operations or the operator,
• Slowing cycle times,
• Rotating workers,
• Insulating equipment, breaking the path….
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Resources (with some Free Stuff)
•http://www.ear.com/hearingconservation/images/OSHA_Poster2.pdf• http://www.howardleight.com/bestpractices/educate
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