Hearing Conservation Plan Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management Department Box 6113, SFA Station Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-6113 Created April 2010 Revised: January 2011
2 Purpose It is the objective of the Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management Department (Safety Department) to institute an Occupational Hearing Conservation Plan to prevent any temporary or permanent noise-induced hearing loss to Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) employees, and to comply with Federal OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.95. Monitoring 1. The Safety Department or contracted consultant (insurance carrier, other qualified individual) will monitor and identify workplace noise levels using a calibrated sound level meter on an as needed basis, or whenever there is a change in equipment, or controls. Monitoring is performed to determine which employees in shops are exposed to excessive noise and fall under the hearing conservation program whenever employee s noise exposures equals or exceeds an eight-hour time-weighted average sound level (TWA) of 85 decibels. 2. The Physical Plant and Housing Operation Managers and all SFASU Supervisors will notify the Safety Department of upcoming equipment purchases or modifications, which may affect sound levels. When the equipment purchase or modification is nearing its final decision phase, the Safety Department is to be notified. If necessary, on-site visits or vendor contacts will be coordinated to monitor noise levels and also assess any potential safety/ergonomic issues, which may affect employees. The Safety Department will also work with Procurement to obtain the necessary technical specifications. 3. Warning signs will be posted in conspicuous locations near the high noise levels areas to ensure that hearing protection is required when operating machinery or generators. 4. The Safety Department will measure noise levels in the mechanical rooms and generator rooms and maintain a file. 5. A log will be maintained in the Safety Department office of all readings that are performed. Audiometric Testing Plan 1. The Safety Department will schedule audiometric testing for any employee in the hearing conservation program. This testing will be done whenever changes occur that result in increased noise levels, in employee job transfer situations into or out of a department in the hearing conservation program, and in termination/layoff situations. 2. A licensed/certified audiologist, technician, or any other qualified individual will perform audiometric testing. All testing will be done at the Stephen F. Austin State University Hearing Clinic. 3. The Safety Department will inform employees prior to their scheduled testing. Employees must have 14 hours of non-exposure to workplace noise, prior to the actual testing. Protective hearing equipment may be substituted for the necessary waiting period. 4. If an employee s audiogram suggests that a standard threshold shift has occurred, the employee will be notified in writing within 21 days. He/she will be retested within 30 days via a clinical audio logical evaluation or an ontological examination. The new audiogram will be considered as the baseline audiogram for any future testing. The
3 occurrence will be recorded and placed in their safety file and Human Resources Department will be notified. 5. Audiometric testing will be conducted on an annual basis for those employees requesting or those that are exposed to 85 decibels that is equal to or exceeds an eight-hour time-weighted average. All testing will be conducted at the SFASU Hearing Clinic. Hearing Protection 1. The employees department is responsible for making sure adequate hearing protection is available for employees. All employees subject to work in those areas must be provided with appropriate hearing protection devices from the following types listed in the table below. Most hearing protection is available at Central Stores located at the Physical Plant compound. 2. Employees are required to wear company-provided hearing protection and at no time must an employee tamper with, or modify any hearing protection equipment. Damaged or defective equipment must be discarded and replaced. 3. Supervisors are required to enforce the hearing conservation plan in their area of responsibility. 4. The OSHA standard requires SFASU to provide a variety of hearing protection devices to persons who are required to wear them. The types of protective devices available include: Type of Hearing Protection Ear Muffs (ANSI approved) Ear Plugs (2 types: preformed and expandable) Advantages One size fits most adults. Can easily be seen at a distance. Can be put on, adjusted, etc. while wearing gloves. Can be warming to the ears in cold environments. Have highest noise reduction rating and are very effective in protecting your hearing when worn properly. Do not interfere with work in close quarters. Are easily carried and stored when not in use. Compatible with glasses or any other type of headgear without affecting Disadvantages Usually have a lower noise reduction rating than earplugs, but still provide effective protection. They are bulky and cannot fit into pockets or stored in tool kits. May interfere with and not sit properly with glasses, hearing aids, etc. because of their size, may not be suitable for the work quarters. Excessive heat and sweat accumulation may make uncomfortable to wear in hot locations. Are more difficult to clean than earplugs. Fitting can be complicated. Ear canals vary in diameter and the left and right ear canals are not necessarily similar in size, shape, or position. Can be easily left in other work clothes or fall out of jacket or shirt pocket and become lost. Cannot be seen at a distance, which makes it difficult to evaluate if person is wearing them. Gloves must be removed and hands washed prior to putting in earplugs.
4 performance. Can be easily cleaned. It has been determined that hearing protection is required in the Mechanical and Generator Rooms. In addition, hearing protection is required for maintenance staff when using: Lawn equipment Diesel pump operation Grinders When staff members are in designated mechanical and generator rooms Training and Information The Safety Department will ensure that each employee in the hearing conservation program or any employee requesting training receives it in a reasonable time frame. Retraining will be conducted on an annual basis. Information provided in the retraining program will be updated to be consistent with changes in work processes and/or protective equipment. Record-keeping 1. The Senior Safety Officer will maintain accurate records for all noise level surveys and employee exposures. 2. Employees baseline/annual audiograms and any other records will be retained in a separate file in the employee s file located at Human Resources for the duration of employment plus 30 years after termination. 3. Records will be provided to employees, former employees, or designated representatives thereof, upon written request to the Human Resource Department. Noise Noise is a common problem in many industry settings, and carries the very serious health hazard of permanent hearing loss. It has been determined that hearing loss occurs if a particular sound is loud enough and long enough; specifically, if the sound intensity exceeds an average of 85 decibels over an eight-hour shift. Here are some decibel readings to give you an example of the level involved. Noise Average Factory Lawn mowing with power mower Rock concert Jet engine, gunfire, and explosives Decibel Level 80-90 db 91 db 105 db Above 140 db The chart below illustrates permissible noise exposures.
5 PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURES Duration per day, hours Sound levels dba slow response. 8 90 6 92 4 95 3 97 2 100 1 ½ 102 1 105 ½... 110 ¼ or less... 115 Noise Induced hearing loss can t be cured, so the only way to avoid hearing damage is to prevent excessive noise exposure. OSHA has developed a regulation to address such noise exposure in the work environment. The regulation governing hearing conservation, hearing protection, and occupational noise exposure, are found in the Occupational Noise Exposure standard at 29 CFR 1910.95. If noise exposure exceeds certain limits as laid out by OSHA, Noise Exposure Levels Limits, then specific requirements for a hearing conservation program includes: Noise monitoring, Audiometric testing, and Employee use of hearing protection devices. Currently, the employees in the following shops may participate in the hearing conservation program, which might include mandatory audiometric testing: Distribution Shipping and Receiving PPD Plumbing Department Maintenance Physical Plant. Supervisors PPD Grounds &Transportation Physical Plant Managers A/C Shop Carpenter Shop Electrician Shop
6 Stephen F. Austin State University ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, SAFETY & RISK MANAGEMENT HEARING CONSERVATION PLAN Employee Sign-Off Sheet I acknowledge I have been given a copy of the Hearing Conservation Plan, I have read and understand it s contents, and I accept the plan as a working document that I will support and follow in my daily work at Stephen F. Austin State University. Employee Signature Date Supervisor s Signature Department Senior Safety Officer Signature Date (This form may be used to document employee training/information)