Abstract
ISEE-0351 Background and Objective: According to previous results of our study, the diesel-electric locomotive showed the highest sound level compared with other locomotives of Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA). This investigation chose the Taipei Railway Workshop of TRA investigate the relationships between the noise exposure and hearing loss in the workers. Methods: The study subjects were divided into an exposed group including the workers involved in horsepower test, engine inspection, electrical inspection and repair jobs, and a control group comprised of office administration staff. The sound pressure levels were measured in the workplace near workers by Sound Level Meter (Larson Davis Inc., 824). Moreover, the personal noise dose and hearing were measured by dosimeter (Larson Davis Inc., SPARK 706) and air conduction audiometer (Danplex, AS 42) for the exposed group and control group, respectively. Results: Among the job categories, the horsepower test had the highest sound pressure level average (94.9 dB-A), followed by the engine inspection (81.9 dB-A), the electrical inspection (79.6 dB-A), and finally the repair job (72.6 dB-A). The average personal noise doses of an 8-hour work time of the four job categories were measured and are, in order, the horsepower test (268.4%), the engine inspection (152.6%), the electrical inspection (129.2%), and the repair job (28.7%). By the workers’ audiometric tests, except for 4k, 6k Hz generally appearing in occupational hearing loss, both the exposed group and the control group had hearing loss in low audio frequency. Conclusion: Based on Taiwan’s labor safety and health regulations, the noise doses of the workers of horsepower test, engine inspection, and electrical inspection had already surpassed the standard working level. Although the TRA has implemented exposure time management to conform to the regulatory requirement, it should still pay attention to the hearing protection.
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