Abstract |
Effort was directed toward the identification of machines, noise levels and numbers of workers exposed in the fabricated metal products industry. It is concluded that: Of 838,000 production workers in the fabricated metal products industry, 442,000 (53 percent) are machine operators exposed to noise levels above 85 dBA, 387,000 (46 percent) above 90 dBA, and 269,000 (32 percent) above 95 dBA. The age distribution of machines in the industry indicates that long lead times will occur beyond the date of availability of quiet machines to achieve any substantial reduction in the number of exposed operators solely by normal machine replacements. (Portions of this document are not fully legible) |