Noise Exposure Regulation Discussed With OSHA Administrator - 5/17/2004 - Home Exterior Environment Landscaping

Noise Exposure Regulation Discussed With OSHA Administrator

Revisions that are being considered by OSHA to its hearing conservation standard for construction include components of its standard for factories, which requires a written program, annual hearing tests for workers, monitoring job sites for excessive noise and maintaining medical records for more than 20 years.

Anthony Clatterbuck, a member of the NAHB Construction Safety and Health Committee, told Henshaw that any changes to the current regulation should be flexible for small business owners and should be affordable and cost-effective.

Current noise standards in construction require hearing protection for workers if sound exceeds 90 decibels over an eight hour day, the equivalent of a running lawnmower.

Clatterbuck brought several points to the attention of the OSHA administrator:

• High noise generating activities — such as jack hammering, abrasive blasting, erecting steel and tunnel drilling — are not typically performed during new home construction.
• Saws, generators and other noisy equipment are being designed to produce less noise.
• Noise on construction sites is intermittent and short in duration, compared to factories and assembly lines, where it is generally constant.
• Monitoring exposure would not be cost-effective because of constantly changing noise exposures in the work environment.
• Hearing tests would not be feasible because the workforce of small builders is made up of employees who move frequently from one company to another.

At its May 2 spring meeting in Washington, D.C., the NAHB Board of Directors adopted policy urging OSHA to rely on the existing standard for preventing hearing loss instead of creating new requirements. (For the full text of this resolution, NAHB members can click here.)

Hexavalent chromium compounds found in trace amounts in several building materials, hazards associated with working in confined spaces, exposure to silica and OSHA’s construction safety standard for cranes and derricks were also discussed during the meeting.

NAHB also highlighted the positive work that has been accomplished during the first year of an alliance between NAHB and OSHA to develop training and education materials for the industry’s workforce.

Dave Knipe, chairman of the NAHB Construction Safety and Health Committee, reported that the two organizations had worked together to publish the “Scaffold Safety Handbook,” which is available in both English and Spanish.

The two are in the process of developing a job site safety orientation video for home builders, which will also be available in bilingual versions.

For more information, e-mail Rob Matuga or call him at 800-368-5242 x8507.