Noise exposure assessment of occupational health and safety (OHS) consultants: A preliminary study

• Published in: Archives of environmental & occupational health Vol. 77; no. 2; pp. 161 - 164
• Main Authors: Hon, Chun-Yip, Randhawa, Jaskaren, Fairclough, Craig
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Kirkpatrick Jordon Foundation 2022
• Subjects: Best practice; Consultants; Dosage; Exposure; Exposure limits; Hearing; Hearing loss; Hearing protection; Humans; Noise; Noise assessments; Noise levels; Noise, Occupational; Occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Occupational Exposure - standards; Occupational Health; Occupational safety; Preliminary Data; Risk Assessment; OHS consultant; risk assessment; Noise exposure; noise-induced hearing loss
• ISSN: 1933-8244; 2154-4700
• DOI: 10.1080/19338244.2020.1854164

No published noise exposure assessment of occupational health and safety (OHS) consultants exists. An assessment was performed to quantify the noise level of OHS consultants while they were on site at a client's facility. OHS consultants wore a dosimeter set to A-weighting, slow response, 60 s log interval and a criterion level of 85dBA with a 3 dB exchange rate. Both the projected time-weighted average (TWA) and projected dose were recorded. Of the 32 noise assessments collected, three had projected TWAs that exceeded the occupational exposure limit of 85 dBA. Nearly 75% of the projected TWA measurements were equal or greater than the Action Level of 80 dBA. According to best practices, occupational noise levels greater than 80 dBA present a risk for noise-induced hearing loss and, therefore, a hearing loss prevention program should be implemented.