Evaluation of the increased accident risk from workplace noise.
Directive 2003/10/EC sets the requirement for evaluating the effect of noise on accident risk. Accident risk is elevated for workers with a hearing handicap because of their reduced speech intelligibility and reduced capability to perceive the direction of incoming sound. An audiogram is not a good method for the evaluation of these functions. To reduce accident risk, organisational and personal solutions are needed. For both methods, efficiency must be evaluated through proper risk assessment. Because practical guidelines are not available, this paper presents principles for accident risk evaluation techniques.
Toppila
Esko
E
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland. Esko.Toppila@ttl.fi
Pyykkö
Ilmari
I
Pääkkönen
Rauno
R
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003142:Communication; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016272:Occupational Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013017:Sound Localization