Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2020.30.2.185

Noise Exposure Levels of Workplaces Exposed to Noise and Rate of Exceedance of Exposure Limits  

Kim, KyooSang (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Seoul Medical Center)
Sung, Jungmin (Occupational Health Research Bureau, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, KOSHA)
Kim, Eun-A (Occupational Health Research Bureau, Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, KOSHA)
Publication Information
Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene / v.30, no.2, 2020 , pp. 185-195 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze noise exposure levels and the rate of exceedance of exposure limits in workplaces from a 2015 measurement of working environments according to area, industry, and scale of workplace and to determine changes compared to the past. Methods: Among the 408,875 measurements of noise in working environments from 27,030 workplaces in 2015, 16,359 workplaces that were linked to special health examination data were selected as the subjects of this study. The eight-hour corrected measurements and geometric mean values of the individual noise measurements of the workplaces were used to calculate noise exposure levels and the exceedance rate of exposure limits. Results: The average noise exposure level of the overall workplaces making up the subjects of this study was 83.6 dBA, and the exceedance rate of exposure limits was 15.1%. At least half of the noise measurements exceeded the exposure limits in 13.7% of the workplaces. Noise exposure levels were higher in the manufacturing industry and in smaller-scale workplaces. The exceedance rate of noise exposure limits was higher in the mining and manufacturing industries and in smaller-scale workplaces. Conclusions: Noise exposure has shown improvements compared to the past, but the exceedance rate of exposure limits was still high, and more than half of the workers were being exposed to noise of 85 dBA or higher. Therefore, it is necessary to make more active improvements in working environments in terms of noise exposure.
Keywords
exceedance rate; exposure level; noise;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). The annual report on the result of workers' health examination in Korea in 2015. 2016c.
2 Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI), KOSHA. Practice Guidelines for Workers' Health Examination. Volume 2. Special Health Examination Methods by Hazardous Factors. 2016-OSHRI-276. 2016.
3 Oh DS, Lee YH. Study on analysis for working environmental measurement results of automobile industries. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 2004;14(3):233-242.
4 Phee YG, Kim H. Current status of environmental hazards of iron and steel foundry operations in Korea. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 2003;13(2):99-106.
5 Ringen K, Seegal J. Safety and health in the construction industry. Annual Rev Public Health 1995;16:165-188. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.16.050195.001121.   DOI
6 Roh YM, Phee YG. Analysis of industry types exceeding noise exposure limit in Korea. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 2003;13(1):53-61.
7 Shim CG, Roh JH, Park JG. A comparison of noise level by noise measuring methods. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 1995;5(2):128-136.
8 The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety & Health. How to prevent noise-induced hearing loss in construction. CPWR, 2015.
9 Leensen MC, van Duivenbooden JC, Dreschler WA. A retrospective analysis of noise-induced hearing loss in the Dutch construction industry. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2011;84(5):577-590. doi: 10.1007/s00420-010-0606-3.   DOI
10 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). Analysis of the status of industrial accidents in Korea in 2015. 2016a.
11 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. Occupational Diseases Criteria. Presidential Decree 30760. 2020.
12 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). Notice on measurement and evaluation of working environment (MoEL Public Notice No. 2016-39). 2016b.
13 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). Rules for occupational safety and health standards(MoEL Ordinance No. 263). 2019.
14 Jeong JY, Park S, Yi GY, Lee N, You KH et al. An assessment of noise exposure by job and dosimeter parameters setting in automobile press factory. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 2001;11(3):190-197.
15 Neitzel R, Stover B, Seixas N. Longitudinal assessment of noise exposure in a cohort of construction workers. Ann Occup Hyg 2011;55(8):906-916. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/mer050.   DOI
16 Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI), KOSHA. Manufacture's work environment survey in Korea in 1998. 1999.
17 Wu TN, Liou SH, Shen CY, Hsu CC, Chao SL et al. Surveillance of noise-induced hearing loss in Taiwan, ROC: a report of the PRESS-NHL results. Prev Med 1998;27(1):65-69. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1997.0238.   DOI
18 International Organization for Standardizationn(ISO). ISO 1999: Acoustics - Determination of Occupational Noise Exposure and Estimation of Noise-Induced Hearing Impairment. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO. 1990.
19 Jang JK. Chung KJ. A Study on the Management of Noise in Work-environments. (OSHRI 2007-102-1027); 2007.
20 Ministry of Employment and Labor(MoEL). The analysis report on the occupational exposure assessments results in Korea in 2014. 2015.
21 Kim JY, Kim BS, Lee CU, Jun JH, Lee JT et al. A survey on the status of noisy working environment in manufacturing industries. Korean J Prev Med 1986;19(1):16-30.
22 Kim KS. A review of occupational disease certification criteria for noise-induced hearing impairment. ASR 2017;13(4):265-271. http://doi.org/10.21848/asr.2017.13.4.265
23 Kim KS. A Study on the Relationship between Diseases and Occupational Hazard Exposure among Workers on Special Health Examination (Ι). (2010-OSHRI-1098); 2010.
24 Kim KS. Distribution of hearing thresholds and hearing loss among noise-exposed workers. Commun Sci Disord 2006;11(2):106-121.
25 Kim SW, Yang YH, Baek YJ, Chung T, Ryu HW et al. Estimated exposure population to hazardous workplace noise among Korean workers. J Korean Soc Occup Environ Hyg 2018:28(4):416-424. https://doi.org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2018.28.4.416   DOI