Noise in the Mining Industry: Occupational Health Hazard and Control Strategies

Running head: NOISE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY
Noise in the Mining Industry
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NOISE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY 2
Noise in the Mining Industry
Introduction
Noise is one of the health hazards in the mining industry. It might be inevitable to
totally alleviate noise in the mining industry due to the many technical operations involved.
Due to the negative consequences associated with chronic exposure to noise, it is necessary
that noise be substantially reduced. The intensity of sound is measured using units known as
decibels. Decibels can be viewed as the units for measuring the degree of loudness. If an
individual is exposed to more than 85 decibels for an average of 8 hours a day, the hearing
ability can potentially be damaged. There is also a category of noise known as nuisance
noise. This kind of noise does not necessarily cause hearing impairment but has adverse
psychological effects that may negatively affect the performance of the employees. The
causes of noise in the mining industry are varied and could be very difficult to control (Lu,
2016). The best control strategy is to minimize the noise to the lowest achievable level. In the
modern days, governments are taking occupational health issues very seriously. If the health
of the workers is compromised, the level of productivity is very low. In this assignment, noise
as an occupational health hazard in the mining industry is going to be discussed. Specifically,
the following will be discussed: how the health hazard manifests itself in the mining industry,
legislative requirements relating to the health hazard, standard industry practice relating to
the elimination or the minimisation of the health hazard and its effectiveness.
How Noise Manifests in the Mining Industry
The cause of noise in the mining industry is caused by the numerous mining
machinery. The operations of mining are environmental pollutants by nature. The effects of
noise are dose related. This implies that the higher the amount of noise the greater the risk of
suffering the negative effects of noise pollution (Nair, 2014). There are three factors that

NOISE IN THE MINING INDUSTRY 3
determine the level of noise that would cause harm. One is intensity/loudness. This is
measured by a special noise metre whose units are decibels. As indicated earlier, if noise is
more than 85 decibels it is potentially hazardous. Levels lower than that have been shown not
to have any significant effect on hearing capability of a worker. The second factor is
frequency. The third factor of consideration is the duration that a worker has been exposed to
noise.
The occupational hazard could manifest itself as hearing impairment. The hearing
impairment could affect one or both ears. It could also be partial or complete hearing
impairment (Morgan et al, 2016). This is mainly associated with the tasks that a worker has in
the mining industry. The kind of impairment could also be described as acoustic trauma or
hearing loss that is noise-induced. Acoustic trauma refers to the kind of impairment that
mainly cause damage to one ear. The trauma is mainly caused by short term exposure to
intense noise or what is usually referred to as explosion (Badenhorst, 2018). On the other
hand, noise-induced hearing damage refers to damage of the inner ear. This kind of damage is
mainly caused by long term exposure to noise (Shim, 2015). The period exposure could be
months or even years.
Continued exposure to elevated noise has been known to be a cause of stress. Stress is
in turn associated with negative health effects. There are several negative effects of increased
levels of stress. These are going to be discussed next. One is that the likelihood of accidents
in the mining workplace increases (Simpson and Horberry, 2018). It has been found to be
extremely difficult for one to concentrate on their jobs while stressed. This is what causes the
accidents. Another effect of stress is hypertension. Elevated blood pressure is another hazard
that is caused by stress. If not managed, it could lead to more adverse effects or even death.
The other implication of stress is preterm births for pregnant mothers (Taneja, 2014). For