Analysis and Evaluation of Risks from Exposure to Noise in a Working Environment

Abstract

This paper deals with a proposal of assessment of hearing impairment risk from the point of view of long-term exposure to noise in a selected plant in the Slovak Republic. Measurement and monitoring noise was carried out at two workshops of a mechanical engineering plant: in a "Cutting Center" and in a "Welding Center". A Norsonic sound analyser was used to measure noise exposure. Evaluation of the noise measurement results consisted of the comparison of the measured values with the required values, which are specified, in the relevant legislative regulation (Government Regulation No. 115/2006 Coll., technical standard (STN EN ISO 9612:2010) and Directive (Council Directive 2003/10/EC). The measured results show that the normalized levels of noise exposure, extended by the uncertainty of measurement (U = ± 2,1 dB) at the all workplaces, exceed the limits stipulated by the Slovak Government, all measured professions fall within the fourth category of work activities categorized according to the noise factor. Long-term exposure of the human organism to noise pollution can cause, in addition to hearing impairment, a wide range of other diseases. Very high levels of noise cause hearing impairment, lower levels affect the control system in our body. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at assessing the risks associated with acoustic noise in connection with exposure to noise at the workplace and with its possible negative effects (a risk event) to health and hearing of workers in the engineering industry.

Uncertainty of Temperature Measurement in Working Environment

“…It depends on math model and also on values of covariance. Analogically it is possible to do uncertainty balance also for other type of measurement of other quantities in practice [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Quality of the working environment

“…Limit values are defined for the categorization of types of work in such a way that it is not foreseeable that, according to current scientific knowledge, they will be detrimental to the health of employees. However, these limit values are set for each factor alone and do not take into account the effect of the combined action of individual factors on the human body (Piňosová, Andrejiová, Badida, et al, 2018, Piňosová & Andrejiová, 2017.…”

Impact of Noise Exposure on the Reliability of the Human Factor in the Production Hall

“…The noise determining quantity (i.e., the quantity that quantitatively characterizes noise and is used to assess noise exposure in terms of health and safety at work) is the normalized noise exposure level. It is a time-weighted value (i.e., it is recalculated for a certain period) and represents the employee's exposure for an 8 [3] In carrying out a work activity, the "Exposure Action Value" is the value at which, if exceeded, measures must be taken, whether technical, organizational or otherwise, to reduce working noise to an acceptable level (measures under Section 4, par (1) of the order of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 115/2006 Coll.…”