Changes in the exposure to power saw noise during individual partial activities of tree felling in dependence on the stem wood moisture content

Abstract

This study deals with the level of noise to which power saw operators are exposed during partial activities of tree felling and persons moving in its surroundings. It also aims to reveal the existence of dependence between the level of produced noise and the moisture content of the felled tree by comparing the noise levels of individual partial activities. The process of tree felling was broken down into partial activities (pruning of the lower tree part; cutting off buttresses; felling; delimbing) during which exposure to noise caused by the power saw was measured. The noise was measured by the noise level meter at the operator’s ear at distances of 5 m and 10 m from the source of noise (power saw) in compliance with EN ISO 22868 and EN ISO 9612 standards. The noise was measured in a total of 121 trees processed by one power saw operator using one and the same type of power saw and one and the same type of saw chain. Research results revealed a noise level difference of individual operations in 88.10% of compared cases. Mean noise levels close to the operator’s ear ranged from 95,193.499 dB to 101,098.174 dB and mean noise values at a distance of 10 m ranged from 70,573.677 dB to 78,370.818 dB. A maximum noise level (115,720.000 dB) was measured during the partial operation of Delimbing near the operator’s ear; a minimum noise level (51,650000 dB) was recorded during this operation, too.