AIHA Asks OSHA to Lower Noise Exposure PEL

EHS Today, reported by Laura Walter 

In an April 28 letter to OSHA Acting Assistant Secretary Jordan Barab, American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) President Lindsay E. Booher asked OSHA to take immediate action to lower the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for occupational noise exposure.

AIHA requested the PEL to be lowered to 85 dBA (as an 8-hour time-weight average) and to adopt the 3 dB exchange rate, changes AIHA “strongly believes” are appropriate for both general industry and construction standards.

“One of the greatest challenges and concerns we now face in the United States is the hearing loss that is occurring in our work force,” Booher wrote. “Over 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous levels of noise, and noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common occupational diseases. Such hearing loss significantly affects the ability to communicate and negatively impacts a worker’s quality of life.”

According to the letter, even a compliant hearing conservation program – where workers are exposed up to 90 dBA TWA with no hearing protection – “will yield up to 26 percent excess risk of material hearing impairment over the course of a working lifetime.” Lowering the PEL to 85 dBA, however, could reduce the number of workers at risk by at least one half.

“The vast majority of the nations of the world regulate workers’ noise exposures at lower levels than the U.S. In fact, the U.S. is one of only two nations that still uses the 90 dBA PEL and is one of only three nations that uses the 5 dB exchange rate,” Booher wrote. “As a result, American workers are allowed exposure to noise levels that would result in more hearing loss than the rest of the world.”

The letter also pointed out that many agencies and organization in the United States use or recommend the lower exposure limit, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Furthermore, lowering the PEL could help streamline hearing conservation program management by adopting a single threshold for all engineering controls, training, hearing protection and hearing conservation programs.

“AIHA urges OSHA to take immediate action on this issue to ensure that American workers are afforded the same level of protection from hazardous noise that the majority of the world’s nation provide their workers,” Booher wrote.

Both OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) in the U.S. and CCOHS (Canadian Council for Occupational Health & Safety) have similar recommendations for both the types and use of hearing protection devices. They state that the necessity of ear noise protection depends primarily on

• The level of the noise to be eliminated.
• The nature of the noise, sustained or intermittent.
• The work responsibilities and comfort of the person wearing ear protection.

For instance, both agencies recommend the use of hearing protection equipment if you are surrounded by sustained noise levels of more than 85 to 90 decibels during an eight hour day. As the workplace noise level rises, the allowable time period to go without ear plugs or muffs is reduced. For example, if you’re exposed to sustained noise for four hours at a decibel level over 95 dB, you should wear the best hearing protection available.

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This Instruction initiates and establishes a hearing conservation program that complies
with 29 CFR 1910.95 to protect OSHA personnel covered by PER 04-00-003 from the
effects of occupational noise exposure. The Hearing Conservation Amendment to the
OSHA Occupational noise exposure standard, 29 CFR 1910.95, requires that employers
establish a hearing conservation program for employees whose noise exposures equal or
exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of 85 dBA.

Employers are now mandated to have a hearing conservation program that includes:

• Monitoring of work area
• Audiometric testing program
• Employee notification
• Proper PPE
• Training on hearing protectors
• Annual employee training
• Proper Recordkeeping

The Compliance Resource Center reported earlier that NIOSH had developed online tool to allow users to check their hearing protection in a minute or less.  With this new directive employers might want to take a quick look at this online tool.

Last April, The Compliance Resource Center reported that NIOSH, OSHA and NHCA (National Hearing Conservation Assoication), recently signed and agreement  to help prevent work-related hearing loss.
Now researchers at NIOSH’s Pittsburgh Research Laboratory have developed QuickFitWeb, an online tool to allow users to check their hearing protection in a minute or less. The site notes that ear muffs, ear plugs, and other hearing protection devices can reduce the risk of hearing loss, but only if the wearer gets a good fit and wears them properly. The NIOSH sound player tool allows users to perform a quick test of whether they are getting at least a minimal 15 decibel (dB) level of protection.

The test sounds are bands of random noise with a center frequency of 1000 Hz. This is the same type of sound used in standard hearing protector ratings including the “American National Standard Methods for Measuring the Real-Ear Attenuation of Hearing Protectors” (ANSI S12.6). Both tracks are the same, but the second track is 15 decibels (dB) louder than the first. Most hearing protectors will block or “attenuate” sound by more than 15 dB if they are the right size and shape to fit the ears and are worn correctly. A sound that is barely audible at a worker’s threshold of hearing without hearing protection should be inaudible though hearing protection even if it’s boosted by 15 dB.

To use the tool, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/topics/hearingloss/quickfitweb.htm.

Safety Online recently reported that NIOSH, OSHA and NHCA (National Hearing Conservation Assoication), recently signed and agreement  to help prevent work-related hearing loss.  The partners agreement is to provide resources, speakers, recommend best practices and more.

Currently NISOH has a Hearing Conservation Program Evaluation Checklist available.  Over a year ago I reported  on this site, that International Safety Equipment Association petitioned OSHA about reducing the level of noise exposure in the work place.  Now there will be a greater effort to protect workers hearing and make more resources available to employers.