KMID : 1156220190450060569
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Journal of Environmental Health Sciences 2019 Volume.45 No. 6 p.569 ~ p.576
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Task-specific Noise Exposure Assessment of Firefighters
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Kang Tae-Sun
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Abstract
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Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess firefighters¡¯ daily personal noise exposure and explore noise levels related to specific tasks and their contributions to total noise exposure using 24-hour full-shift noise exposure measurements with task-based data.
Methods: Noise exposure was assessed for eight firefighters (two rescuers, two drivers, and four suppressors) using time-activity diaries. We collected a total of 24 full-shift personal noise sample sets (three samples per a firefighter). The 24-hour shift-adjusted daily personal noise exposure level (Lep,d), eight weekly personal noise exposures (Leq,w), and 40 task-specific Leq values (Leq activity) were calculated via the ISO/NIOSH method.
Results: The firefighter noise-sample datasets showed that most firefighters are exposed to noise levels above EU recommended levels at a low-action value. The highest noise exposure was for rescuers, followed by drivers and suppressors. Noise measurements with time-at-task information revealed that 82.3% of noise exposure occurred when checking equipment and responding to fire or emergency calls.
Conclusions: The results indicate that firefighters are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Therefore, efforts at noise-control are necessary for their protection. This task-specific noise exposure assessment also shows that protective measures should be focused on certain tasks, such as checking and testing equipment.
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KEYWORD
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Firefighter, noise exposure, task-specific
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