Exhibit 1, 242 FW 3
Hazardous Noise-Producing Operations and Equipment

Supersedes 242 FW 3,  FWM 039, 10/13/92

Date: November 20, 2008

Series: Occupational Safety and Health

Part 242: Industrial Hygiene

Originating Office: Division of Safety and Health

 

 

PDF Version

 

Exposure to any of the operations or equipment listed below will likely require the use of hearing protection, unless it can be shown with actual noise measurements that operations produce Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) of less than 85 dBA at the operator's ear. Those discharging firearms can expect impulse/impact noise in excess of 140 dB and must also use hearing protection. This list is not all-inclusive of operations and equipment that require hearing protection.

 

 

Agricultural tractors 

Airboats 

Aircraft

Air compressors (land or marine)

Backhoe/Loaders 

Blasting

Cannon/rocket netting 

Chainsaws 

Circular saws and routers, handheld 

Cranes/drag lines 

Crawler dozers/loaders

Electrofishing units

Fire pumpers 

Firearm use

Fish Egg Sorter

Four-wheel drive loaders

Generators 

Hammering metal  

 

Heavy equipment assistance

Lawn mowers 

Leaf blowers

Motor graders

Motorized scrapers

Pile driving 

Pneumatic tools

Powered industrial trucks (Fork Lifts)

Propane exploiters 

Pumps and pumping stations

Skid steers/compact track loaders

Off-road utility vehicles (ATVs, snowmobiles)

Specialty Tracked Equipment (Marsh Masters, Gyrotracs, Roligon, etc.)

Watercraft operations

Weed whips (gas powered)

Wood chippers

Woodworking machinery, general

 

 

 

If operation of such equipment generates personal noise exposure levels (determined by noise dosimetry) exceeding 85 dBA for an 8-hour Time Weighted Average (TWA), then audiometric testing is required. Absent any personal exposure data (by dosimetry), you can use the following table as a guide to allowable exposure times if direct read measurements are known.

 

 

TABLE G-16 - PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURES (1)

 

       Duration per day, hours / Sound level dBA slow response

 

8...........................90

6...........................92

4...........................95

3...........................97

 2..........................100

1 1/2 ....................102

1...........................105

1/2 .......................110

1/4 or less.............115

 

 

 

 

For information on the content of this exhibit, contact the Division of Safety and Health. For information about this Web site, contact Krista Holloway in the Division of Policy and Directives Management.  

Directives Home

PDM Web sites: Centralized Library of Servicewide Policies | FWS Forms | PDM Services

Privacy, Disclaimer and Copyright Information | Information Quality Act

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page | Department of the Interior  | USA.gov  | About the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  | Accessibility  | Privacy  | Notices  | Disclaimer  | FOIA