ES412

Occupational Health and Safety II

Assist. Prof. Celal GÜNGÖR
2
Environmental Stressors: Noise
 Environmental stressors

Affecting health, performance, and comfort

• Heat and Cold – Part I
• Noise – Part II
• Vibration – Part III
• Illumination – Part IV
• Indoor Air Quality – Part V
 Noise
• Sound is the
acoustical energy that
is transmitted by a
source to a receptor.
• Noise is defined as
unwanted sound that
may adversely affect
the health and
wellbeing of
individuals or
populations.
• Painful

Continuous exposure to noise levels at 85 dB or higher

– 150 dB = (Instantaneous damage): An explosion
– 140 dB = (Damage over a brief period of time):
Gunshot, fireworks 1 m away
– 130 dB = (Threshold of pain): Jet plane take-off 60 m

noise may cause hearing loss.

away
– 120 dB = Operating heavy equipment, jackhammer,
ambulance siren
• Extremely Loud
– 115 dB = Grinding metal
– 110 dB = Rock concert, night club with music,
airplane
– 100 dB = Construction site, chain saw
– 90 dB = Diesel Truck, subway train, boiler room
• Heavy Loud
– 85 dB = Noise in a very busy street
How to measure sound?

1) Sound Level Meter 2) Dosimeter 3) Octave band analyzer

1) Sound level meter
1) Sound level meter
Isopleth Sound level map
 2) Dosimeter
(Personal sound exposure meter)
 3) Octave band analyzer
• Real-time analyzers or octave-band analyzers are special
sound level meters that divide noise into its frequency
components. Electronic filter circuits are used to divide the
sound or noise into individual frequency bands.
 Effects of noise exposure on hearing
• Short term hearing loss • Long term hearing loss
– from limited exposure to high – from continuous or repeated
levels of noise exposure to high levels of noise
– Reversible condition – Irreversible condition
• Temporary threshold shift
• Tinnitus: the perception of
noise or ringing in the ears
 Persons suffering hearing loss
after 10 years of noise exposure

dB(A) Suffering
impairment
115 74 %
110 58 %
105 45 %
100 32 %
95 20 %
90 13 %
80 or less 0%
is assumed
 Non-auditory effects of noise
• Physiological effects • Performance effects
– Lost of balance – Impaired verbal
communications
– Startling response
• Decreased intelligibility of
– Muscle tension response human speech
– Respiratory reflexes – Annoyance
– Changes in the heart beat – Distraction
pattern – Job interference
– Vasoconstriction/ • Decreased ability to
vasodilatation concentrate on tasks
– Increased blood pressure • Inability to perceive audible
alarms (masking)
• A warning sign that your workplace may be
too noisy:
– You hear a humming or ringing in your ears when
you leave your workplace.
– You have to shout to a person who’s an arm’s
length away in order to be heard.
 Sound and human hearing: Frequency
• A young person with normal hearing can hear a wide range of frequencies
of sound, from about 20 to 20,000 Hz (typical range 250 – 8,000 Hz).
– Frequency expressed in Hertz (Hz) - cycles per second

• Frequencies below 20 Hz are felt as vibrations rather than heard as sound.

The effect of these infrasonic vibrations on the hearing mechanism is not
well understood, although they can cause adverse health effects such as
nausea and headaches if they are present at a high enough intensity.

• Frequencies above 20,000 Hz, called ultrasonic frequencies, are not

normally heard by humans but can cause hearing impairment if they are
present at a high enough intensity.
 Frequency weighted sound levels
• Frequency weightings correlate objective sound
measurements with the subjective human response

• The human ear can hear sounds between 20 to 20,000 Hz, but
our ears are very sensitive to normal frequencies (between
1,000 Hz and 4,000 Hz) compared with lower and higher
frequencies. A-Weighting emphasizes these frequencies.
 What is A-scale and C-scale?
• Frequency weightings:
– Electronic filters within the instrument that are
used to adjust the way in which the instrument
measures the noise.
• The A-weightings and C-weightings refer to
different sensitivity scales for noise
measurement.
 A and C scales/weighting
• If a sound is produced with equal
sound pressure across the whole
frequency spectrum, it could be
represented in the graph alongside
by the Z-Weighting line.

• What humans are physically capable

of hearing is represented by the A-
Weighting curve. A-Weighting is
most used weighting since it is based
on human ears.

dB(A)
 A and C scales/weighting

• Acoustic sound contains more lower

and higher frequencies than
humans perceive. The A-weighting
curve is used extensively for general
purpose noise measurements but
the C-weighting correlates better
with the human response to high
noise level.
• This weighting scale is useful for
monitoring sources such as engines,
explosions, and machinery.

dB(C)
 Sound and human hearing: Intensity
• Sound or noise intensity is typically measured
in Watts per meter squared (W/m2).
• A normally hearing person is capable of
responding to an enormous range of sound
pressures, from about 20 x 10-6 Pascals (Pa) to
about 200 Pa, a range of 10,000,000 to 1.
– Reference air pressure is 20 micropascals and is
the threshold intensity for a healthy adult (for a
1,000 Hz pure tone) (lowest perceivable sound).
Micro (µ) = 10-6
 Sound is measured on a logarithmic scale.

• Since the variation in intensity is so large, we use a logarithmic scale

to measure sound intensity. This logarithmic scale is called the Bel
scale and is the ratio of the sound intensity to a reference sound
intensity (the “threshold of hearing”).

• A tenfold change in the intensity of sound is called 1 Bel. Because of

its large size, the Bel is usually divided into decibels (dB = one tenth
of a Bel).
– Bel: unit of sound intensity.
– The deciBel (dB) is 0.1 Bel.

• Therefore; Decibel (dB) is a dimensionless unit used to express the

logarithm of the ratio of a measured quantity to reference quantity.
 Sound Intensity Level
• Since directly measuring intensity is very difficult,
we measure the pressure (or sound pressure
level) which is easier to accurately measure.
• Sound pressure level is typically measured and
used to determine sound intensity.

• The reference pressure used is 20 μPa (2x10-5Pa

or 20x10-6Pa). This is the assumed “threshold of
human hearing.” It is a baseline or reference for
comparative measurements.
Micro ( µ) = 10-6
 • How many decibel is 0.02 Pa?
SPL (dB) = 20 log ( 0.02 ÷ 0.00002)
= 60 dB
• How many decibel is 0.01 Pa?
SPL (dB) = 20 log ( 0.01 ÷ 0.00002)
≈ 54 dB
• How many decibel is 0.45 Pa?
SPL (dB) = 20 log ( 0.45 ÷ 0.00002)
≈ 87 dB (exposure limit)
94 dB SPL (Sound Pressure Level) =
1 pascal (Pa) = 1 newton(N)/m2 = 1 kg/m.s2 = 10 dyne/cm2 = 10 microbar
 Pascal
90

80

70

Decibel Pascal Ratio

60
85 0.356 1.122
86 0.399 1.122
87 0.448 1.122 50
88 0.502 1.122
89 0.564 1.122
90 0.632 1.122 40
91 0.710 1.122
92 0.796 1.122
93 0.893 1.122 30
94 1.002 1.122
95 1.125 1.122
96 1.262 1.122 20
97 1.416 1.122
98 1.589 1.122
10
99 1.783 1.122
100 2.000 1.122
dB
0
1
5
9
13
17
21
25
29
33
37
41
45
49
53
57
61
65
69
73
77
81
85
89
93
97
101
105
109
113
117
121
125
129
 Sound power level (dB) vs.
Sound power (Watts)
• 120 dB = 1 Watt
– 10 dB increase in sound power level increases
10 times the sound power (W)
• 130 dB = 10 W
..
..
• 170 dB = 100,000 W
– 10 dB decrease in sound power level decreases
10 times the sound power (W)
• 110 dB = 0.1 W
• 60 dB = 10-6 W
• 0 dB = 10-12 W
The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale, so an increase of 10 dB means
10 times increase in sound power.
 Adding sound levels
• 1. method: Sound levels measured in decibels cannot
be simply added to one another. They must be
converted back into sound pressure levels (or intensity
levels), then added, and finally converted back into
decibels. The following equation can be used to add
sound levels.

dBtotal = 10 log Σ 10 dBi / 10

• 2. method: There are also approximate methods which

can be used to estimate the sum of sound levels.
 Adding sound levels (1. Method)
• dBtotal = 10 log Σ 10 dBi / 10

• If there are two engines and each emits 80

dB(A) noise when they run, what would be the
total noise level (dBA) when both run?
80 dB(A) + 80 dB(A) = ?
• SPL Total = 10 log Σ 10 dBi / 10
= 10 log (10 80/10 + 10 80/10 )
= 83 dB(A)
 Approximate method for
adding sound levels (2. Method)

75 77 85 68 78 80

Difference in Add to
Levels (dB) higher Noise
Level (dB)

0 – 1.5 3
1.5 – 3 2
3–5 1.5
5–9 1
9≤ 0
 Permissible occupational noise exposures
from Noise Protection Standard (1910.95)

OSHA requires that workers be included in

a Hearing Conservation Program when
noise exposures exceed 85 dB(A) time
weighted average (TWA).

When 90 dB(A) TWA is exceeded, exposed

employees are required to wear hearing
protection devices to lower their effective
exposure below 90 dB(A) and employers are
required to implement feasible
engineering controls.

An 8 hour TWA: Time-weighted average, the average of exposure level for 8 hours
 When exposures vary during the workday, a computed time-
weighted average noise (TWAN) is required

• TWAN = C1/T1 + C2/T2 + …... + Cn/Tn

– Cx is the total time of exposure at a specified noise level and
– Tx is the total time of exposure permitted at the specified noise level.

For ex: A worker is exposed to the following:

Noise Level Duration

(dBA) (hr)
110 0.25
100 0.5
90 1.5

Is the OSHA limit (8 hr work at 90 dB) exceeded?

 Noise Level Duration
(dBA) (hr)
110 0.25
100 0.5
90 1.5

• TWAN = 0.25/0.5 + 0.5/2 + 1.5/8

= 0.938
Because 0.938 is less than 1.0, the exposure is
allowable.
OSHA: 90 dB(A) Threshold,
90 db(A) 8hr TWA permissible exposure limit,
15 min exposure 115 dB(A)
Turkish Regulations
 Maximum exposure level and
Action level in Turkey
• Maximum exposure limit:
– LEX, 8 hr = 87 dB(A) or
– Ppeak = 200 Pa [140 dB(C) reference 20 μPa]
• Action limit max:
– LEX, 8 hr = 85 dB(A) or
– Ppeak = 140 Pa [137 dB(C) reference 20 μPa]
• Action limit min:
– LEX, 8 hr = 80 dB(A) or
– Ppeak = 112 Pa [135 dB(C) reference 20 μPa]

How many decibel is 112 Pa?

SPL (dB) = 20 log ( 112 ÷ 0.00002)
≈ 135 dB
 Action limit min vs.
Action limit max

PPEs should be ready. vs. PPEs have to be worn.

Training have to be provided if the min exposure limit is exceeded.
Hearing test is suggested at the min action limit.
Hearing test is required at the max action limit.
Noise Control
Source-path-receiver model
 Most
Hierarchy of hazard control
Effective

Eliminate the hazard altogether

For ex: Get rid of the hazardous machine

Substitute the hazard with a safer alternative

Effectiveness

For ex: Replace the machine with a safer one

Use engineering controls to reduce the risk
For ex: Attach a guard to the machine to protect users

Use administrative controls to reduce the risk

For ex: Train workers how to use the machine safely

Use personal protective equipment (PPE)

For ex: Wear gloves and goggles when using the machine

Least
Effective
Most Hierarchy of noise control
Effective

Physically remove the noise emitter

Replace noisy machinery with quieter alternatives

Effectiveness

Isolate the noise emitter by enclosures, barriers made

from sound-absorbent material, or vibration isolation
mounting, isolate the user
Increase the distance from the source, change work
schedule and/or rotate employees to reduce duration to
noise exposure, limit entry to the noise area, provide
training
Use ear muffs, ear plugs

Least
Effective
Sound barriers/Shields
Sound curtains
Sound curtains
Machine guarding
Operator room
 Noise reduction by distance
• Noise intensity decreases proportionally with
the distance square. If the distance doubles,
the intensity will decreases by 6 dB.
– An engine is 25 m far from the worker and emits
80 dB(A) noise. The noise will be felt as 74 dBA if
the worker goes to 50 m far from the
source/engine.

𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝟐
𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 = 𝟐𝟎× 𝐥𝐨𝐠
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝟏
 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• PPE is used when other controls/measures are not
feasible and where additional protection is needed.
• Workers must be trained to use and maintain the
equipment properly.
• The employer is required to provide PPEs and make
sure workers use their equipment whenever it is
needed.
• Care must be taken to ensure that equipment is
working properly.
• Otherwise, PPE may endenger workers’ health by
providing an illusion of protection.
Earmuffs Earplugs
 Attenuation
• Attenuation is a general term that refers to any reduction in
the strength of a signal.
• Attenuation Rating or Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is a unit
of measurement used to determine the effectiveness of
hearing protection devices to decrease sound exposure within
a given working environment.
Thanks