Monitoring Program
The employer must develop and implement a monitoring program whenever information indicates that any employee's exposure may equal or exceed the action level.
- The sampling strategy must be designed to identify all employees for inclusion in the hearing conservation program, and enable the proper selection of hearing protectors.
- The monitoring requirement is performance-based, as it allows employers to choose a monitoring method that best suits each individual work situation. Either personal or area monitoring may be used.
If there are circumstances that may make area monitoring generally inappropriate, such as high worker mobility, significant variations in sound level or a significant component of impulse noise, then the employer must use representative personal sampling unless it can be shown that area sampling produces equivalent results.
- Measurement of Noise: Noise measurements must integrate all continuous, intermittent, and impulsive noise levels from 80 to 130 dBA.
- Repeated Monitoring: Monitoring must be repeated whenever a change in production, process, equipment or controls increases noise exposures to the extent that additional employees may be exposed at or above the action level or the attenuation provided by hearing protectors used by employees may be rendered inadequate to meet the requirements described in Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs).
- Employee Notification: The employer must notify each employee who is exposed at or above the action level of the results of the monitoring.
- Observation of Monitoring: The employer must provide affected employees or their representatives with an opportunity to observe noise monitoring procedures.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
4-3. Noise measurements taken during hearing conservation program monitoring must integrate all continuous, intermittent, and impulsive noise levels _____.
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