Vibrations and Controls Mini Project: Occupational Exposure to Noise and Vibration

Vibrations and Controls Mini Project: Occupational Exposure to Noise and Vibration
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Vibrations and Controls Mini Project: Occupational Exposure to Noise and Vibration
Introduction
Noise refers to extreme, unpleasant, and upsetting sound, which often results in hearing impairment. For instance, impulse noise containing sudden and powerful impact sounds is particularly harmful and is the leading cause of occupational disorders. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 22 million American workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at their work places every year (OSHA, n.d). Vibrations from machines have also been shown to result in numbness of fingers, reduced strength of grip, and lower back pain. For these reasons, work place safety programs seek to protect workers from extreme noise and vibration to reduce the risks of health complications. This paper discusses the effects, permissible limits, and mitigation measures for occupational exposure to noise and vibrations.
Effects
Several studies have found a link between significant hearing impairments and tinnitus and the duration of years spent in noisy occupations among older men (Palmer et al., 2002). Even low levels of noise can become disturbing to people, especially among people working in settings such as open-plan offices, which demand concentration. Therefore, the experiences of sound as noise can be relative depending on an individual. Harmful vibrations occur when body vibrations caused by a tool one is holding to their hands or whole-body vibrations transferred from a given platform such as from a seat of a vibrating machine to the entire body. Dangerous vibrations such as whole body vibrations (WBV) where vibrations are transmitted to the whole body by the surface the supports it can cause digestive problems cardiovascular diseases, reproductive organ damage, and vision impairment (SafeWork SA, 2016).
Permissible Limits
Noise has serious impacts on not only the hearing, but also other physiological processes such as blood pressure, cardiac, and respiratory functions. Disturbing noise can also be unsettling and affect the quality of sleep and general concentration. Research has also shown that occupation noise and vibration exposure can result in eyestrain and headache among workers (Kim et al., 2017). In a bid to mitigate negative impacts due to noise, there have been action limit values, which define various levels of impulse noise and even noise at work place. Such evaluations are predicated mainly on daily dosages.
Lower exposure action value being 80 dB (A) and peak values for levels of impulse of sound pressure being 135 dB (C) when assessed without any hearing protection (The Center for Occupational Safety, n.d). Therefore, employers have to supply workers with personal hearing protection to prevent cases of hearing impairment such as permanent ringing, tinnitus or loss of hearing (AstraZeneca, n.d). It is also recommended for employees to take a hearing test to check if their hearing functions are working at optimum. On the other hand, upper exposure action values range from 85 dB (A) to 137 dB (C) where workers must ear hearing protection. The organization’s manageme...