Reconstruction of employee noise exposure history at a large automotive manufacturer.
Authors
Brueck-S; Prince-MM; Woskie-S
Source
NHCA Spectrum 2003 Feb; 20(1):24
Abstract
An ongoing NIOSH study to evaluate hearing loss risk for workers with long term exposure to high noise levels required reconstruction of employee noise exposure history. The following steps which were used for the process of noise exposure reconstruction will be presented. a) Sound level measurements, documented during plant-wide surveys in 1970-71, and 1985-86, were linked to plant departments based on measurement locations. b) Based on company documents indicating when plant process or equipment changes occurred, two time periods having different exposure conditions were identified: 1970-84, and 1985-90. c) Average sound levels for each department were calculated for the two time periods. d) Work histories for each job code, which included department/job task locations and task times, were developed based on employee interviews and current job code information. e) Using work history information and calculated department sound levels a time-dependent job exposure matrix was developed for each department/job code combination.
Keywords
Industrial-hygiene; Noise-induced-hearing-loss; Noise; Noise-analysis; Hearing-loss; Hearing-conservation; Exposure-assessment
Document Type
Abstract; Conference/Symposia Proceedings
Priority Area
Disease and Injury: Hearing Loss
Source Name
NHCA Spectrum, National Hearing Conservation Association Meeting, Dallas, Texas, February 21, 2003
