Cardiovascular conditions, hearing difficulty, and occupational noise exposure within US industries and occupations

Introduction: Noise exposure has long been an occupational health concern and has been an important area of focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since its founding. Nevertheless, it remains unclear what effects OSHA's noise standards have had on employer efforts to reduce risks. Consequently, a review of OSHA noise standard violations was performed to clarify the violation trends between 1972 and 2019. Methods: Using the OSHA Information System, researchers identified 119 305 violations involving four noise standards between 1972 and 2019: 29 CFR 1910.95, occupational noise exposure in general industry; 1926.52, occupational noise exposure in construction; 1926.101, hearing protection in construction, and 1904.10, recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss. Violation frequencies of noise standard subparagraphs and relationships to factors such as industry differences were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t tests.Results: The most commonly violated noise standard was 1910.95 in manufacturing.Such violations rose between 1972 and 1985 and then declined steadily. Whether in general industry or construction, four noise standards were most-frequently cited: lack of feasible administrative or engineering controls (1910.95[b] and 1926.52[d]) and inadequate hearing conservation program (1910.95[c] and 1926.52[b]). These violations were more highly penalized (mean = $1036.50) than other subparagraph violations (mean = $915.80). Programmed and unprogrammed inspections generated similar violation quantities except between 1980 and 1985, when programmed inspections exhibited a sharp spike in violations. Conclusion:The study identified trends in OSHA noise standard violations and possible explanations for those trends. The study findings can support development of more practical noise-exposure protection policy.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) noise standard violations over 50 years: 1972 to 2019

Park

Johnson

Hong

2020

“…Noise is a ubiquitous occupational exposure with an estimated 22 million workers in the United States exposed at hazardous levels each year 1 . While occupational noise exposures are associated with hypertension 2–4 and elevated cholesterol, 2 it is noise‐induced hearing loss (NIHL) that accounts for the highest burden of disease from occupational noise exposure, and is one of the most prevalent occupational conditions in the United States 5 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Noise is a ubiquitous occupational exposure with an estimated 22 million workers in the United States exposed at hazardous levels each year. 1 While occupational noise exposures are associated with hypertension [2][3][4] and elevated cholesterol, 2 it is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) that accounts for the highest burden of disease from occupational noise exposure, and is one of the most prevalent occupational conditions in the United States. 5 The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates a hearing conservation program (HCP) when workers are exposed to noise at or above the threshold action level, an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of 85 dBA, and defines a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 90 dBA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and application of a noise‐hazard scheme for road maintainers

Cavallari

Garza

DiFrancesco

et al. 2020

Background Transportation road maintenance and repair workers, or “maintainers,” are exposed to hazardous and variable noise levels and often rely on hearing protection devices (HPD) to reduce noise‐exposure levels. We aimed to improve upon HPD use as part of the HearWell program that used a Total Worker Health, participatory approach to hearing conservation. Methods Full‐shift, personal noise sampling was performed during the routine task of brush cutting. Work activities and equipment were recorded and combined with 1‐min noise measures to summarize personal noise‐exposure levels by equipment. Using noise‐monitoring results, HPD noise reduction ratings, and input from worker‐based design teams, a noise‐hazard scheme was developed and applied to the task and equipment used during brush cutting. Results Average (standard deviation) and maximum Leq 1‐minute, personal noise‐exposure levels recorded during brush cutting included chainsaws at 92.1 (7.6) and max of 111 dBA, leaf blowers at 91.2 (7.5) and max 107 dBA, and wood chipper at 90.3 (7.3) and max of 104 dBA. The worker‐designed noise‐hazard scheme breaks down noise exposures into one of three color bands and exposure ranges: red (over 105 dBA), orange (90‐105 dBA), or yellow (85‐90 dBA). The scheme simplifies the identification of noise levels, assessment of noise‐hazard, and choice of appropriate hearing protection for workers. Conclusion Combining noise‐exposure assessment with intervention development using participatory methods, we characterized noise exposure and developed an intervention to educate and assist in protecting workers as they perform noisy tasks.

“…Fourteen percent of workers in the US report exposure to hazardous noise each year . Hazardous noise (≥85 decibels A‐weighted [dBA]), along with ototoxic chemicals exposures, can lead to hearing loss (HL) attributable to employment, also known as occupational hearing loss (OHL).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic physical conditions in the US, surpassed only by hypertension and arthritis . Of the 12% of the working US population that experience hearing difficulty, 58% of the cases are attributable to occupational noise exposure . Twenty‐three percent and 15% of noise‐exposed workers have hearing difficulty and tinnitus (ringing in the ears), respectively .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of hearing loss among noise‐exposed workers within the Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction sectors, 2006‐2015

Lawson

Masterson

Azman

2019

Self Cite

Background: The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss (HL) among noise-exposed US workers within the Mining, and Oil and Gas Extraction (OGE) sectors. Methods: Audiograms of 1.9 million workers across all industries (including 9389 in Mining and 1076 in OGE) from 2006 to 2015 were examined. Prevalence and adjusted risk as compared to a reference industry (Couriers and Messengers) were estimated for all industries combined and the Mining and OGE sectors and subsectors.Results: The prevalences of HL in Mining and OGE were 24% and 14%, respectively, compared with 16% for all industries combined. Many Mining and one OGE subsector exceeded these prevalences and most had an adjusted risk (prevalence ratio) significantly greater than the reference industry. Some subsectors, particularly in OGE, could not be examined due to low sample size. The prevalences in Construction Sand and Gravel Mining and Natural Gas Liquid Extraction were 36% and 28%, respectively. Workers within Support Activities for Coal Mining had double the risk of HL than workers in the reference industry.Conclusions: The many subsectors identified with high prevalences and/or worker risks for HL well above risks in the reference industry need critical attention to conserve worker hearing and maintain worker quality of life. Administrative and engineering controls can reduce worker hazardous noise exposures. Noise and ototoxic chemical exposure information is needed for many subsectors, as is audiometric testing results for OGE workers. Additional research is also needed to further characterize exposures and improve hearing conservation measures.