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Environmental noise regulations usually specify a maximum outdoor noise level of 60 to 65 dB(A), while occupational safety organizations recommend that the maximum exposure to noise is 40 hours per week at 85 to 90 dB(A). For every additional 3 dB(A), the maximum exposure time is reduced by a factor 2, e.g. 20 hours per week at 88 dB(A).
OSHA's PEL for noise exposure is 90 decibels (dBA) for an 8-hour TWA. Levels of 90-140 dBA are included in the noise dose. PEL can also be expressed as 100 percent “dose” for noise exposure. When the noise exposure increases by 5 dB, the exposure time is cut in half. According to OSHA, a 95dBA TWA would be a 200 percent dose.
To preserve the hearing from birth until the age of 18 years, it was recommended that noise exposures be limited to 75 dBA over a 24-hour period. Other researchers recommended that the weekly sound dose be limited to the equivalent of 75 dBA for 40 hours/week for children and users who are sensitive to intense sound stimulation.
A noise or sound dose is the amount of sound a person is exposed to in a day. The dose is represented by a percentage. A noise dose of 100% means that a person has exceeded the permissible amount of noise. Any noise exposure after the 100% noise dose may damage hearing. The exchange rate is the rate at which exposure accumulates.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 place a duty on employers within Great Britain to reduce the risk to their employees health by controlling the noise they are exposed to whilst at work. [1] The regulations were established under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and implement European Council directive 2003/10/EC.
Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of which are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems. [1] [2] [3] Poor urban planning may give rise to noise ...
Threshold limit value − time-weighted average (TLV-TWA): The average exposure on the basis of a 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week work schedule. Threshold limit value − short-term exposure limit (TLV-STEL): A 15-minute TWA exposure that should not be exceeded at any time during a workday, even if the 8-hour TWA is within the TLV-TWA.
Occupational noise exposure at or above this level are considered hazardous. The REL is based on exposures at work 5 days per week and assumes that the individual spends the other 16 hours in the day, as well as weekends, in quieter conditions. NIOSH also specifies a maximum allowable daily noise dose, expressed in percentages.