Industrial Hygiene in Construction

I know, the title is wrong.  It should read:  “How to prevent hearing loss“.

Here’s the problem (IMO).  I think most people know how to prevent hearing loss- and in America we can all afford to buy ear plugs. I have also heard of hearing loss claims that are unfounded and totally unrelated to their current work activity.  Even just a one time loud event can cause permanent hearing loss.

Construction companies hand out ear plugs like candy and say, “wear them when it’s loud”. Then, these same construction workers go home buck-up a cord of wood, ride their motorcycle, shoot their gun, and then after dinner go to a rock concert.

So, to avoid a claim, here is my advice:

1. Measure the noise (by dosimetry) at your job site- and do it annually.
2. Start a “hearing conservation program” or, in the simplest words, have your employees’ hearing checked annually.
3. Educate (train) your employees in hearing conservation
4. Give them choices in hearing protection (different brands of plugs, muffs, etc.).
5. Manage their hearing- (see below)

If you notice a loss in their hearing- do something! To manage possible hearing loss, I suggest these additional steps:

1. Retest their hearing. On a Monday, before work.  (To avoid a possible temporary threshold shift)
2. Have another company test their hearing. (sometimes the equipment is out of calibration)
3. Remind your manager to enforce the employee’s use of ear plugs on the job site.
4. Offer to give them ear plugs to take home.
5. Have an Industrial Hygienist (IH) perform noise monitoring at the job site for the full shift (dosimetry).
6. Retest their hearing again a month or two later.
7. Have an audiologist review their audiogram & your noise sampling data and ask for an opinion.

A suggestion brought to one of my postings was, “how do you control the exposures?”. The answer, …in my best legalese was, “it depends”.

There are many ways to control the exposures.  However, as an general rule there is a method of approach that is best. OSHA describes it in some of their rule-language (such as lead 1926.62, and others).  So the first step in controlling an exposure is:

1. Engineering controls

What this means is: Can we remove the hazard from the employee. The best method is elimination. Using a different product that is less harmful can sometimes be discussed. Next, can we control the substance so that it is not harmful- like using a local exhaust ventilation? Can we use water to control airborne releases? Engineering controls should always be considered first. I suggest that when you have an exposure situation, have your safety committee brain-storm these types of controls and document them. OSHA has issued citations for employers who choose NOT to consider this control.

2. Administrative controls

These types of controls are a bit harder to describe. Suppose your worker must go into a high noise area multiple times during their shift – the answer might be limiting their time in this area. And possibly allowing other employees to “share” this exposure during their shift.  Another example would be having a protocol that minimizes airborne exposure by a method of work that is enforced by management.

3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

This should be used as a last-resort. Most times it’s not. The reason it is NOT used is usually because of convenience.  However, there are many ways this control can fail including, improper use, breakthrough, permeation, penetration, degradation, and failure.