In a continuous noise environment, is the TWA exposure level always the right number to use?
The TWA will be the appropriate number to use for the great majority of workers in typical industrial manufacturing sites because the noise level to which these workers are exposed usually does not vary a great deal from moment to moment. However, there are instances when it makes more sense to use an exposure value other than the TWA. An example of this atypical case would be a person working in the Press Room of a large newspaper printing operation. It is not unusual for the setup phase of the process to last for hours during which time the ambient background noise level is mostly in the 60s and 70s – safe unprotected noise levels. But when the printing press is turned on, it runs for a few hours at a high ambient noise level, 105 decibels for instance. The resulting TWA might be only 95 decibels, but the worker is actually exposed to 105 decibels when on the production floor. In this case, it makes more sense to protect against the higher exposure level.
Related Questions
- What additional protection does the IntelliTone (automatic noise exposure level control) of the GN9350e give the user?
- What type of relationship exists between hearing loss and the level and duration of noise exposure?
- In a continuous noise environment, is the TWA exposure level always the right number to use?
