OSHA News

AIHA Urges OSHA To Take Action On Noise Exposure

(April 2, 2007)--One of the greatest challenges and concerns now faced in the United States is the hearing loss occurring in our work force. More than 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels, and noise-induced hearing loss has become one of the most common occupational diseases. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) sent a letter to the Honorable Edwin G. Foulke Jr., Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) assistant secretary of labor, to take immediate action to lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for occupational noise exposure to 85 dBA (as an 8-hour time-weighted average, TWA) and to adopt the 3 dB exchange rate.

AIHA urges OSHA to take immediate action on this issue to ensure that American workers are afforded the same level of protection from hazardous noise that the majority of the world’s nations, and our military, provide their workers. Hearing loss significantly affects the ability to communicate and negatively impacts a worker’s quality of life. AIHA strongly believes the 85 dBA limit and 3 dB exchange rates are appropriate for both general industry and construction standards.

Review of the damage risk estimation on which the current regulation is based indicates that even a currently compliant hearing conservation program–that is, one where workers are exposed up to 90 dBA TWA with no hearing protection–will yield up to 26% excess risk of material hearing impairment over the course of a working lifetime. It is unimaginable that any other regulated hazard would permit 20-30% of the exposed population to have material impairment. Lowering the PEL to 85 dBA would reduce the number of workers at risk by at least half.

Many agencies and organizations in the United States have adopted an occupational exposure limit of 85 dBA, with a 3 dB exchange rate. Both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) have long recommended such exposure limits. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) and all three branches of the military use the 85 dBA exposure limit. In addition, DoD endorses the use of the 3 dB exchange rate, the Army and Air Force have adopted this rate, and the Navy is in the process of adopting it.

The majority of nations regulate workers’ noise exposures at lower levels than the United States. In fact, the United States is one of only two nations that still uses the 90 dBA PEL and is one of three nations that uses the 5 dB exchange rate. American workers are exposed to higher noise levels than the rest of the world, which results in more hearing loss.

AIHA has supported this position for some time through the work of the AIHA Noise Committee. This committee provides health and safety professionals, the industry, and the community a forum for disseminating and exchanging ideas and information about the effects of exposure to noise and vibration, the control thereof, and methods of hearing conservation.

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