Daily noise dose and power tool characterization of steel stud framers on commercial construction sites

The construction industry is well-documented as having numerous sources of hazardous noise on the job. Framers who cut and install steel studs on commercial construction sites use a variety of power tools throughout the course of their normal workday and have the potential to be exposed to levels of noise that can lead to occupational noise-induced hearing loss. This study assessed the noise dose of commercial steel stud framers and characterized the noise of common power tools that contribute to their daily noise dose. Occupational exposure limits exist in both required and recommended forms to protect workers; however, large differences in the level of worker protection are apparent between the mandated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) and the voluntary National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limit (REL) for noise exposure. Steel stud framers in this study had a mean OSHA PEL dose of 27.6% and a mean NIOSH REL dose of 340.7% for the same workers. As a comparison, ambient equivalent noise doses at the construction site were 1.4% for PEL criteria and 12.4% for REL criteria. Of task assignments during the workday, workers who were assigned primarily as saw operators had statistically significant higher noise exposures than workers who were assigned as stud installers (P = 0.037). Octave band analysis was conducted for full-day exposures and indicated an upward trend of higher noise exposures at higher frequencies. Overall, among all steel stud framers involved in this study, all workers had noise doses below the OSHA PEL (range 5.8% to 61.4%), and all but 2 workers (n = 35) had noise doses above the NIOSH REL (range 63.9% to 823.2%), indicating exposure to hazardous levels of noise based on more protective RELs.