Time-weighted Average Noise Levels Research Articles

Air Quality Assessment in Petroleum Flow Station: A Case Study of Oredo Flow Station

Air quality is a vital aspect of environmental health and a key determinant of human wellbeing. This study was carried out to assess air quality parameters and noise levels around Oredo Flow Station in Edo State, Nigeria. Parameters measured during the study were temperature, suspended particulate matter (SPM), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and noise. Each parameter was measured using appropriate equipment. Measurements were done at three points: Point A (300m from the flare site), Point B (200m from the flare site) and Point C (100m from the flare site) and in triplicates with mean values recorded. The result showed that temperature ranged from 28.60±0.3°C to 29.22±0.3°C; SPM ranged from 17.16±3.9 μg/m3 to 60.74±14.6 μg/m3 ; SO2 ranged from 0.01±0.0 ppm to 0.03±0.0 ppm; CO concentrations ranged from 0.03±0.0 ppm to 4.45±1.3 ppm; and VOC concentrations ranged from 0.01±0.0 ppm to 1.87±0.2 ppm. The mean noise levels ranged from 56.24±2.8dB to 87.78±2.8dB. Time-weighted average noise level ranged from 56.2dB to 87.8dB. For all parameters, there was a general decreasing trend in values as distance to the flare site increased indicating that air quality parameters in the area were influenced by gas flaring activities. Recommendations made include routine air quality monitoring, alternative use of natural gas and implementing noise control measures.

Determination of Traffic Induced Noise Pollution and Its Impact on The Citizens in The Zakho City Area

The current paper deals with determining the level of noise pollution in the area of ​​the Zakho city and its regions Impact on city residents. In this study, noise levels were measured with a digital sound level meter in seven different places in Zakho from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM during working days. The time-weighted average noise level was measured on the roadside. The data collected was analyzed to calculate the average, maximum, and minimum noise level in decibels (dB) with respect to traffic volume. It was observed from the study that the highest roadside noise level in Zakho city was 96.1 dB found in the traffic (A) at the evening, which exceeded the acceptable limit of 60 dB set by the Government of Iraqi region and the minimum sound level of 51.5 dB was recorded in Traffic (D) area at the morning. The highest mean value is 88.63dB found in traffic (A) at the evening and the lowest median value is 66.5dB found in the Traffic (D) at the morning. During the study and according to Questionnaire survey, Noise health effects are the health consequences that high levels of noise have on health. It causes hearing loss, high blood pressure, and decreased blood flow to the heart, bowel movements, sleep disturbance, and an increase in work accident rates.

Industrial noise monitoring using noise mapping technique: a case study on a concrete block-making factory

Noise mapping can be effective in visualizing and monitoring noise pollution levels in industrial facilities. Therefore, this study aims to measure the occupational noise at a concrete block-making factory, create hazard noise maps, assess the potential impact on employees, and to suggest appropriate Hearing-Loss Prevention Program. The noise levels at 42-mesh points distributed over all the production area are measured using a sound level meter, then Geostatistics technique is used to generate temporary noise contour maps. The daily noise dose and Time-Weighted Average noise levels are calculated. The results revealed that the Time-Weighted Average noise level at all points, based on 8-h exposure, is higher than the Recommended Exposure Limit of 85 dBA set by NIOSH. Moreover, the daily noise dose is extremely higher than 100%. Based on the results of this work, a Hearing-Loss Prevention Program is suggested, where short-term and long-term circulations of workers are advised. Additionally, it is found that, if the employees wear earplugs with Noise Reduction Ratings of 31 dB everywhere in the production area, their daily noise dose can be kept within the safe limit; however, employees working in the control room and close to the noise source are required to wear dual hearing protection device to further reduce their daily noise dose over 8-h noise exposure. The results from this case study confirmed that noise mapping can provide decision-makers with the necessary information to control and maintain safe noise exposure levels in any manufacturing plant.

Lead and noise exposures at eight Chinese registered electronics recycling facilities.

The purpose of this study was to assess employees' exposure to lead and noise, and to recommend control strategies for reducing these exposures at eight registered electronics recycling facilities in Eastern China. Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (JSCDC) performed a walkthrough and review of health and safety programs during a first visit and conducted full-shift personal and area air monitoring for lead, as well as personal noise exposure measurements on a second visit. Monitoring was performed over two work shifts for a total of 168 employees. Results indicated that employees working at glass breaking and cathode ray tubes dismantling were overexposed both to noise and lead. Airborne lead concentration ranged from 0.1 to 148μg/m3; and 4 of the 101 samples were above the Chinese permissible exposure limit of 50μg/m3. Overexposures to lead involved cathode ray tubes dismantling and glass breaking. Employees working at plastics shredding and glass breaking areas were overexposed to noise. Full-shift time-weighted average noise levels ranged from 64 to 107 dBA; and 85 of the 123 samples were above the Chinese permissible exposure limit of 85 dBA. Control measures to reduce exposure to lead and noise, including improvements in their lead protection and hearing conservation programs, at these electronics recycling facilities were recommended.

Noise exposure and childhood asthma up to adolescence

ObjectiveIncreasing evidence indicates aggravation of immune-mediated diseases due to physiological and psychological stress. Noise is a stressor, however, little is known about its effects on children's respiratory health. This study investigates the association between pre- or postnatal road traffic or occupational noise exposure and asthma as well as related symptoms from infancy to adolescence. MethodsThe study was conducted in the Swedish birth cohort BAMSE, including over 4000 participants followed with repeated questionnaires and clinical tests until 16 years of age. Pre- and postnatal residential road traffic noise was assessed by estimating time-weighted average noise levels at the most exposed façade. Maternal occupational noise exposure during pregnancy was evaluated using a job-exposure-matrix. The associations between noise exposure and asthma-related outcomes were explored using logistic regression and generalised estimating equations. ResultsWe observed non-significant associations for asthma ever up to 16 years with residential road traffic noise exposure in infancy ≥55 dBLden (adjusted OR = 1.22; 95% CI 0.90–1.65), as well as prenatal occupational noise exposure ≥80 dBLAeq,8h (1.18, 0.85–1.62). In longitudinal analyses, however, no clear associations between pre- or postnatal exposure to residential road traffic noise, or average exposure to noise since birth, were detected in relation to asthma or wheeze until 16 years. ConclusionWe did not find a clear overall association between exposure to noise during different time periods and asthma or wheeze up to adolescence.

Stress, health, noise exposures, and injuries among electronic waste recycling workers in Ghana

BackgroundElectronic waste (e-waste) recycling workers in low and middle-income countries have the potential for occupational injuries due to the nature of their work at informal e-waste sites. However, limited research exists on stress, noise, occupational injuries, and health risks associated with this work environment. This study evaluated injury experience, noise exposures, and stress risk factors among e-waste workers at the large recycling site in the Agbogbloshie market, Accra, Ghana.MethodsParticipants completed a survey addressing their work, health status, stress, exposures to several occupational hazards (including noise), use of personal protective equipment at work, and injury experience. A subset of participants also completed personal noise dosimetry measurements. Poisson regression was used to evaluate the association between the number of injuries experienced by participants and various factors evaluated in the survey.ResultsForty-six male e-waste workers completed the survey, and 26 completed a noise dosimetry measurement. Participants experienced an average of 9.9 ± 9.6 injuries per person in the previous 6 months (range: 1–40). The majority of injuries were lacerations (65.2%), and the most common injury location was the hand (45.7%). Use of personal protective equipment was rare. The mean time-weighted average noise level was 78.8 ± 5.9 dBA. Higher perceived stress, greater age, poorer health status, not using gloves, and involvement in dismantling activities were associated with an increased number of injuries. After controlling for each of these risk factors, perceived stress level and perceived noise exposure were associated with a significantly greater number of injuries.ConclusionsOur study identified a large number of injuries among informal e-waste recyclers, and we found that higher levels of perceived stress and perceived noise were associated with an increased number of occupational injuries, even after controlling for other injury risk factors.

Relationship Between Subjective Reports of Temporary Threshold Shift and the Prevalence of Hearing Problems in Military Personnel.

Traditional hearing conservation programs are based on the premise that noise dose, as measured by the time-weighted average noise level, is the primary risk factor associated with occupational hearing loss and that permanent threshold shifts are the most relevant outcome measures for determining when a noise-related hearing loss has occurred. However, recent studies in animal models have suggested that significant neurological damage to the hearing system can occur from noise exposures even when they are not severe enough to result in permanent threshold shifts. This has led to a number of studies attempting to relate subjective measures of noise exposure to subjective measures of hearing difficulty and suprathreshold measures of hearing performance (e.g., speech-in-noise tests). In this study, 3,330 U.S. service members volunteered to complete a survey on noise exposure, subjective hearing complaints, and tinnitus in conjunction with their annual hearing tests. Two questions were also included about the frequency and duration of temporary hearing losses that may have been experienced by the service member. The results show that subjective reports of temporary threshold shifts were substantially more predictive of tinnitus and other hearing complaints than more traditional questions based on the frequency of noise exposure.

Noise Exposure Assessment and Estimated Excess Risk of Cabin Personnel in the Locomotive-CC205

Train is one of the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation. However, currently there are still some types of locomotive designed to be opened (such as CC201); hence, the generated noise can potentially affect the health of the workers, particularly cabin personnel (i.e. train driver and assistant of driver). The objective of this study are to analyze the noise levels exposed to cabin personnel and to estimate the excess risks of occupational noise-induced hearing loss in the locomotive. The cabin personnel were considered as exposed group while the office workers of the train station (Poncol Station) was the control group. The noise levels were measured continuously during the working hours using noise dosimeter. The audiometry test was also conducted to both case and control group. The data were analyzed using chi-square statistical test and NIOSH 1998 method of excess risk estimation. The measured noise exposure level in the locomotive-CC205 during the working hours (4-5 hours) ranged from 71.2 dBA until 123.4 dBA. However, the excess risks of the respondents were only 0.75% higher than the control group. This might be due to the short working period of the participants (no more than 10 years). The noise exposure to the case group workers were higher than time-weighted average noise level. Based on the chi-square statistical test, it is concluded that the noise levels affect the noise-induced hearing loss of the cabin personnel.

Noise Pollution at Health Care Centers in Mymensingh City of Bangladesh

The study was conducted at the health care centers in Mymensingh city of Bangladesh during the period from March 2015 to November 2015 to find out the level of noise pollution and its severity to the associated health effects. In the study, time-weighted average noise levels were measured at indoor and outdoor of three hospitals namely Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital, Rajdhani Hospital (Pvt.) Limited and Shawdesh Hospital (Pvt.) Limited and two clinics such as Popular Diagnostic Centre Ltd, Safeway Diagnostic Centre Ltd. of Mymensingh city. The highest noise level was found in Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital and the lowest level was found in Shawdesh Hospital (Pvt.) Limited, Sarda Gosh Road. All of these noise levels were exceeded the acceptable limit of 45 dB set by the Department of Environment (DoE), Government of Bangladesh. Simultaneously a survey study was conducted with doctors, students, nurse/staff and patients. Most of the common problems occurred from noise pollution were identified as conversation, headache, hearing problems, and increased heartbeat. To resolve the problem 28% of the respondents suggested for sound harriers, 25% suggested for awareness of doctors, 22% suggested for awareness of visitors, 13% suggested for controlling visitors and 4% suggested for banning of hydraulic horn. However, the role of NGOs, researchers and professionals, media and concerned individuals is significant in minimizing the environmental hazards of noise pollution.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 9(1): 87-90 2016

Traffic Induced Noise Pollution and its Impact on Human Health in Chittagong City Corporation

Noise is one of the most pervasive environmental problems. Excessive noise has become one of the major concerning of urban life. Chittagong, the port city of Bangladesh, is one of the nosiest cities of the country. With economic development, the situation is expected to worsen farther. Motor vehicles are the principal source of noise pollution in the city. This study illustrates the level of noise pollution in Chittagong city corporation and its impacts on city dwellers. The noise level is measured at 25 locations of Chittagong city road areas. Time-weighted average noise levels have been measured at the roadside. From the study it was observed that the highest noise level in the roadside in Chittagong city was about 93dB found at AK Khan Circle and Agrabad circle, which far exceeded the acceptable limit of 60 dB set by the Government of Bangladesh. The level of noise pollution is closely related with traffic volume, particularly with the number of heavy vehicles like trucks, buses as well as auto rickshaw have been observed during the study. Questionnaire survey was done during the study to determine the health impacts on the city dwellers. Most of the common problems, the dweller suffering from noise pollution are headache, bad temper, sleeplessness, aggravation, hearing problems etc.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(2): 37-40 2015

Workplace Noise Exposure and Its Consequent Annoyance to Dentists

Background High-frequency noise from handpieces has caused concerns of hearing loss among dentists. However, data on dentists' workplace noise exposure are inconsistent and the literature on the consequent annoyance is limited. Aim This study evaluated dentists' workplace noise exposure and investigated its role in causing annoyance and its role in communication function in daily life. Methods The workplace noise levels were measured in dental clinics in a hospital. The dentists' personal noise doses and the 8-hour time-weighted average noise levels were also measured. The communication difficulties and annoyance because of workplace noise exposure were furthermore evaluated by using a self-reported questionnaire. Results In this study, the average age of the participating dentists was 30.1 ± 7.2 years (age range, 24–50 years) and the service seniority was 5.4 ± 6.8 years (range, 1–26 years). The general noise level in dental clinics was moderate with an average equivalent sound pressure level of 64.2 ± 2.4 decibels (dB). Nearly all participants were annoyed by dental noise sources (prevalence, 93.6–96.8%). A low average score (1.73) showed no communication difficulty among dentists. The level of seniority was not correlated with scores of communication function or annoyance resulting from workplace noise. Conclusion In the studied dental clinics, the dentists exposed routinely to a low workplace noise and the risk of workplace noise-induced hearing loss should be low. However, the high prevalence of annoyance resulting from dental noise sources need to be investigated in the future.

Evidence for a Dose-Response Relationship between Occupational Noise and Blood Pressure

In this study, we investigated the role of occupational noise exposure and blood pressure among workers at 2 plants. A noise-exposed plant (plant 1, > or = 89 dBA) and a less-noise-exposed plant (plant 2, < or = 83 dBA) were chosen. Exposure was based on department-wide average noise measures; on the basis of job location and adjusting for layoffs during their employment at the plant, a cumulative time-weighted average noise level was calculated for each worker. The study population comprised 329 males in plant 1 and 314 males in plant 2. Their ages ranged from 40 to 63 y (mean ages = 49.6 and 48.7, respectively), and they had worked at least 15 y at the plant. The clinical examination was administered prior to the workday and measured height, weight, pulse, and blood pressure. In addition, we noted medical and personal-habits histories, including alcohol intake and cigarette smoking patterns. We used a questionnaire to determine in-depth occupation, military history, noisy hobbies, and family history of hypertension. When individuals who took blood-pressure medication were removed from the analysis, t tests for differences in average blood pressure between plants showed a mean systolic blood pressure of 123.3 mm Hg in plant 1 versus 120.8 mm Hg in plant 2 (p = .06) and a mean diastolic blood pressure of 80.3 mm Hg versus 77.8 mm Hg in Plant 1 and 2, respectively (p = .014). On the basis of data from the combined plants, multivariate analysis revealed that age, body mass index, cumulative noise exposure, current use of blood pressure medications, and alcohol intake were significant predictors for systolic blood pressure. Cumulative noise exposure was a significant predictor of diastolic blood pressure in plant 1 but not in plant 2, possibly reflecting a threshold effect.