In a letter to OSHA Administrator David Michaels, ASSE suggests that the agency reduce its permissible exposure limit (PEL) for noise from 90 dBA to 85 dBA. “We urge OSHA to focus its efforts on achieving a more effective measure to protect workers from hearing loss that, if taken, would make it much more important that OSHA carefully consider any future effort to pursue the proposed change in its economic feasibility interpretation,” ASSE President Terrie S. Norris, CSP, ARM, CSPI, wrote. “Our members believe to help reduce noise exposures to employees it would be best to lower OSHA’s PEL from 90 dBA with a 5 dBA exchange rate to 85 dBA with a 3 dBA exchange rate for all workers for an 8-hour day. This is a widely accepted practice among our members.” These comments build on ASSE's earlier comments opposing OSHA’s Interpretation of Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise.
According to Norris, in the relatively small number of workplaces where economic feasibility is a pressing issue, engineering controls become exponentially more expensive and difficult to achieve for some employers. In such situations, employers pressed to invest in engineering controls on old equipment would find it more difficult to keep a workplace in business. At the lower PEL, engineering controls can become more expensive and difficult to achieve, adding to the reasons OSHA should not pursue a new economic feasibility interpretation, Norris explained. ASSE also urged OSHA to communicate more widely its stated practice of working cooperatively with employers to achieve incremental improvement in noise levels over reasonable periods of time. “Instead of trying to make more difficult an already tough decision for some employers, ASSE urges OSHA to focus on the overall gains that can be made in a lower PEL for noise,” Norris said.
Find more information on this issue here. Read ASSE's complete letter here.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers