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Noise survey project report

WCB Hearing Conservation Section
March 20, 1997

Are noise exposures in these industries higher than the limits in the new Noise Regulations?

"Borderline" Noise Exposures

This project was initiated as a result of the lowering of the exposure limit in the new Noise Regulations to 85 dBA Lex from 90 dBA Lex. The industries selected for sampling were those where worker noise exposures were suspected to be between 85 and 90 dBA Lex, and therefore were likely affected by the new exposure limit. The consultant obtained 167 personal noise exposure samples for workers in the following nine different types of businesses: autobody, automotive service/repair, brake/muffler, dry cleaners, garment manufacturing, hospitals, laundries, tar/gravel roofing, and tire installers.

Written reports of the sampling were sent to the 29 firms which participated in the project, along with copies of our new hearing conservation publications.

Results of the sampling are summarized below. Mean noise exposures which exceeded 85 dBA Lex are in bold figures. Note that where there was only one person in a particular occupation to sample, no range or standard deviation is reported. This sheet may be given out to employers in these industries, especially if the firm is considering asking for an exemption from noise measurement re: regulation 13.104. Some highlights of the results are:

Occupation
Mean
Lex dBA
S.D.
Sample
Size
Range
dBA Lex
Automobile 065900 Repair/Service
Autobody Technician 90 4.3 13 83-96
Detailer 97   1  
Painter 94 7.7 2 88-99
Customer Service, Manager, and Partsman 80 2.4 8 77-83
Brake/exhaust Mechanic 88 3.6 13 82-95
Auto Mechanic 87 5.2 37 77-102
Tire Installer 87 4.1 10 81-96
Service Manager – Tire Shops 86 1.9 3 84-88
Garment Industry 061800
Presser 79 3.1 4 75-81
Sewing 77 4.9 5 70-82
Cutting/Laying 70   1  
Maintenance 83   1  
Form Topper 82   1  
Button Machine Operator 81   1  
Surveyor 79   1  
Laundry 82   1  
Shipping 78   1  
Plant Foreman 84   1  
Layer 75   1  
Gerber Cutter 86   1  
All samples combined 79 4.3 19 70-86
Laundry Service 062501
Laundry Worker 85 4.5 17 79-94
Vehicle Maintenance 89   1  
Asst. Chief Engineer 86   1  
Production Manager 84   1  
All samples combined 85 4.3 20 79-94
Dry Cleaning 062500
Presser, Shirt Unit, Utility/Foreperson, Front Counter 78 1.7 12 75-81
Dry Cleaner/Pre-spotting 87 .7 2 86-87
All samples combined 79 3.5 14 75-86
Hospitals 062600
Food Services Worker – Food Preparation 80 2.3 4 78-84
Pot Washing/Dishwashing 85 2.2 8 80-88
Sterilization 78 2.2 2 77-80
Physical Plant Engineer/Steam Plant Engineer 88 6.5 3 81-93
Maintenance Worker/Plumber/Electrician 81 6.6 3 76-86
Laundry Worker 86 4.5 2 83-89
Tar/Gravel Roofing 070714
Roofers 91 4.2 5 88-98

Automobile Repair/Service: All occupations had exposures over the limit, except for customer service, managers and partsmen.

Garment Industry: No workers had exposures over the limit, except for the operator of a Gerber Cutting Machine. This computer-controlled fabric cutter has a dust collector/vacuum exhaust (already fitted with a "silencer") which is the dominant noise source.

Dry Cleaning: No exposures over the limit, except for workers using a "spotting" machine, a high pressure steam gun applying solvents to pre-treat stains.

Hospitals: Pot and dishwashing, physical plant engineers and laundry workers had mean noise exposures over the limit.

Glossary

Lex, or noise exposure level, is the sound level, energy averaged over eight hours, which would give the same daily noise exposure as the varying noise over a typical full shift.

Mean is the arithmetic average of a number of noise exposure levels.

Standard deviation, S.D., is a measure of the variance around the mean.