Noise in the workplace ("Robert E. Remez" )


Subject: Noise in the workplace
From:    "Robert E. Remez"  <REMEZ(at)PARADISE.BARNARD.COLUMBIA.EDU>
Date:    Mon, 22 May 2000 17:58:40 -0400

Dear Dan and Al: The WHO report, Guidelines for Community Noise, can be found at: http://www.who.int/peh/noise/noiseindex.html The report is more appropriate for your purpose (protecting the tranquility of the workplace) than the OSHA Program for Hearing Conservation, for instance, or other standards that stem solely from health considerations. Basically, the levels of exposure that impair the auditory system are far higher than the levels that simply impair performance in the workplace, and you will want to impose the latter standard rather than the former. The WHO standard for an office, which derives from measures of the intelligibility of speech in noise, places the tolerable noise in the range of 35-45 dB. By the way, I also measured the background level in the main control room of the lab (42 dB, A scale) and in my office (two windows, on a busy corner of Broadway = 42 dB, A scale). I would be eager to know the norms if there is research on this topic. Good luck, Robert Remez ============================================================= Robert E. Remez, Chair 212.854.4247 office Department of Psychology 212.854.3601 fax Barnard College 212.854-2069 Department 3009 Broadway New York, New York 10027 Email: remez(at)columbia.edu Home Page: www.columbia.edu/~remez


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Electrical Engineering Dept., Columbia University