Occupational noise exposure assessment - Case study in a weaving

In industrial environments, it is very frequent to find several workers exposed to high levels of occupational noise. Concerning this risk factor, in textile industries, the weaving is usually a very problematic area. The current study was developed in a Portuguese textile industry- SIT Seamless Industrial Technologies, SA - more specifically in the weaving section, in order to identify and reduce the noise level to which workers are exposed, taking into account the Portuguese legislation. The selection of the section to be analysed was the first step to the diagnosis and was followed by a questionnaire to the 25 workers about their history of exposure, family health problems and the individual perception of the auditory state. Subsequently, after measuring the noise level in this work zone, the daily personal exposure level was calculated and compared to the legislation values. This study is based on an evaluation carried out by the company in 2008, once its results were obsoletes, putting in danger the workers of the company SIT. The analysis carried out, found very heterogeneous values which leads to proposals for constructive, administrative and individual improvements within the enterprise.