Nature Environment and Pollution Technology

Mohammad Reza Monazzam ¹, Hamid Shiri ², Samaneh Momen Bellah Fard ³, Zeinab Baroonizadeh ¹

Affiliations
1 Deptt. of Occupational Hygiene, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR
2 Deptt. of Ergonomics, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Science, Tehran, IR
3 Deptt. of Environmental Science, Graduate School of the Environment and Energy, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IR

Abstract

Noise as one the important hazardous factors in workplace, which can lead to health injury, decrease in safety and efficiency and financial loss for companies and factories. To control noise in a specific industry, awareness of its sound characteristics such as environmental sound level, worker's exposures level and noise frequency distribution is substantial at different stations. The aim of this research is to describe the sound characteristics of equipments, and to investigate the sound exposure level of workers in Tobacco industry. Within this context, environmental noise and frequency analysis in five main parts of the plant were measured. Based on ISO: 9612 standards, the A-weighted sound pressure level was measured in 565 stations using CEL-257 sound level meter. According to ACGIH guideline noise, areas were divided into three groups including safe area, caution area and danger area. Noise analysis in one octave band and computation of the workers' exposure level of 8 hours were performed in 21 points of danger areas (>85dBA). The maximum and minimum sound pressure levels were in cigarette workplace 2(b) with 95.5 dB (A) and in cigarette workplace 4 with 68.2 dB (A) respectively. Correlation test between environmental sound levels and 8 hours noise exposure indicates their high relation (sign: 0.000. Pearson co: 0.944). Frequency analysis results have shown that most sound levels were at frequency 500 to 2 KHz and in most measurement points, sound level was high at frequency 4 KHz in which makes the PTS risk subsequently.

Keywords

Noise Pollution, Tobacco Industry, Network Method, Workers' Noise Exposure.

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