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The permissible exposure limit (PEL or OSHA PEL) is a legal limit in the United States for exposure of an employee to a chemical substance or physical agent such as high level noise. Permissible exposure limits were established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
An occupational exposure limit is an upper limit on the acceptable concentration of a hazardous substance in workplace air for a particular material or class of materials. It is typically set by competent national authorities and enforced by legislation to protect occupational safety and health .
There are several ways to limit exposure to hazardous occupational noise. The hierarchy of controls [17] is a guideline for reducing hazardous noise. Before starting a noise reduction program, base noise levels should first be recorded. [18] After this the company can start to eliminate the noise source.
An Exposure Action Value (EAV) or Action Value (AV) is a limit set on occupational exposure to noise where, when those values are exceeded, employers must take steps to monitor the exposure levels. These levels are measured in decibels. The American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) set the EAV to 85 dB
There is a legal limit on noise that the environmental noise is 70 dB(A) over 24 hours of average exposure. [21] Similarly, the limit of occupational noise is 85 dB(A) per NIOSH, or 90 dB(A) per OSHA for an 8-hour work period. [22]
The exposure assessment is initiated by selecting the appropriate exposure limit averaging time and "decision statistic" for the agent. Typically the statistic for deciding acceptable exposure is chosen to be the majority (90%, 95% or 99%) of all exposures to be below the selected occupational exposure limit.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) RELs are designed to protect the health and well-being of workers by recommending safe exposure levels. To really use these guidelines well, safety professionals need to understand the recommended exposure levels, how to measure them, and ways to make sure workers aren't exposed to harmful stuff.
There are both regulatory and recommended exposure limits for noise exposure in the U.S. The NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for occupational noise exposure is 85 decibels, A-weighted, as an 8-hour time-weighted average (85 dBA as an 8-hr TWA) using a 3-dB exchange rate. [21]