Noise Assessment

Noise

Why is a Noise Assessment important?

• Ontario Ministry of Labour recognizes that hearing loss can occur at exposures below 85 dBA for 8 hours and recommends hearing protection and a comprehensive hearing conservation program for workers exposed to sound levels of 85 dBA or greater.
• It is also valuable to consider that when the noise control measures reduce employee exposures below the action level (or better), the other of the hearing conservation program elements including audiometry, training, hearing protection, recording keeping, and all associated ongoing administrative costs can be saved, which often fully offset the initial noise control costs.

Health effects

• Occupational deafness has been shown that workers have experienced excessive hearing loss in many occupations associated with noise.
• Noise-induced loss of hearing is an irreversible, exposure to noise produces hearing loss greater than that resulting from the natural aging process.
• This noise-induced loss is caused by damage to nerve cells of the inner ear (cochlea). Typically, it begins to develop at 4000 or 6000 Hz (the hearing range is 20 Hz to 20000 Hz) and spreads to lower and higher frequencies.
• Both NIOSH, in its Criteria for a Recommended Standard, and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), in their Threshold Limit Values (TLVs), propose an exposure limit of 85 dBA for 8 hours.
• The degree of an intruding unwanted noise depends essentially on time fluctuations of the noise and three things:
  1. The amount and nature of the intruding noise,
  2. The amount of background noise already present before the intruding noise occurred and
  3. The nature of the working or living activity of the people occupying the area in which the noise is heard.

Solutions

• Contact GEP to schedule a free consultation to determine what type of contaminants are of concern and what is the most effective type of testing you need to achieve your goals.
• All measurements are completed with windscreens installed on the real-time noise and sound level measurements are completed using industry recognized Sound level measurement instruments to meet Ontario Ministry of Labour noise compliance standards.