Objective
The study will assist in selecting the most appropriate hearing protection for various categories of steelwork employees and ensure that they are provided with adequate at-work protection without adversely affecting audio communication and job safety.
In accordance with Council Directive 86/188/EEC, hearing protection must be compatible with other safety equipment and reduce noise exposure to a level below the risk threshold laid down at national level.
This project and the work carried out by Hoogovens/TNO-NIPG under Project 7280/02/028 are complementary and provision has been made for regular contacts between the two project teams. The various hearing protectors used in the British steel industry will be examined using a mobile unit whose instrumentation will be modified where necessary so as to measure the at-work attenuation of ear protectors.
The mobile unit is designed to present a series of tonal warning signals and taped steelworks noise.
The octave band assumed protection figures and standard deviation will be compared with the HPD (personal hearing protection device) figures published by the manufacturers.
METHODS AND MEANS BY WHICH THE AIMS ARE TO BE ACHIEVED
16 sites in six different steelworks will be visited by the mobile test unit. At least 20 subjects will be chosen at each site. All workers at each site will be informed of the purpose of the study and will be carefully instructed in the application of the protectors but will not be told which of them will be tested nor when. A standard form of instruction will be given at each site. Subjects will be selected at random and escorted to the test facility without being allowed to adjust their protectors. They will be instructed on the test procedure before the test sequence commences.
Where background levels in the test room permit, the subjects' hearing threshold will be measured at octave band frequencies from 125 Hz to 8 kHz and including frequencies 3.15 kHz and 6 kHz in ascending order of frequency with the protector in place and then repeated to allow for any temporary threshold shift, again with the protector in place. Finally, the test will be repeated either without protectors or using the standard earmuff as in the Hoogoven method.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
S60 3AR Rotherham
United Kingdom