EPA Prepares New Hearing Protection Regulation

HEALTH AND SAFETYEPA Prepares
New Hearing Protection Regulation SMITHFIELD, RI (Feb. 24, 2007) - In January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of Air and Radiation announced it will update hearing protector testing and labeling regulations, which have been pending since 2003. Implementing New Hearing Safety StandardsAlthough the EPA and OSHA are independent of each other, once a new regulation is finalized, according to Witt, "OSHA would presumably respond to a revised NRR label by issuing a field directive or technical memorandum informing its compliance officers how to deal with the new NRR label. If a two-number range is chosen for the NRR as illustrated, OSHA will need to decide how employers should apply that range in determining adequate hearing protection."

For example, OSHA may advise employers to use the lower rating number, unless employers can provide sufficient evidence that workers are achieving the high attenuation protection in the range.

"For nearly 30 years, the EPA has used the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) as its yardstick to measure hearing protector effectiveness in reducing noise levels," says Brad Witt, Audiology and Regulatory Affairs manager for the Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group. "This current EPA regulation uses idealized laboratory testing to generate the NRR. The proposals under consideration test the hearing protectors under conditions that are less-than-ideal, but more reflective of real-world usage."

According to Witt, EPA has expressed interest in adopting a rating system that can accommodate non-standard hearing protectors, such as active noise reduction or level-dependent protectors. Under the current labeling requirements, these specialized protectors are assigned a low NRR because they are not tested in the higher noise ranges where their noise reduction mechanism is activated. EPA would like the new NRR label to accurately include these level-dependent protectors so that purchasers can make informed choices.

Proposed NRR Label
(Graphic: EPA)

As outlined in a Bacou-Dalloz document titled "What You Need to Hear," EPA is considering:

* New testing standards to replace the experimenter-fit method of the previous American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) standard.* New ratings that should not require removal of the rating for field use, but will possibly include a two-number range that expresses the attenuation expected from proficient users as well as inexperienced users.* The "NRR" acronym should remain, but will possibly be revised to mean "Noise Reduction Range." What It Means
to You
The Bacou-Dalloz Hearing Safety Group has posted an analysis of what the new regulations might mean for industry on its Web site.

The report also includes a comparison of attenuation test protocols and an analysis of how the proposed two-number NRR range would be calculated, along with advice on how to prepare noise-exposed workers for the anticipated changes.

A timetable has been established to finalize the new regulations, with a proposed rule published in the Federal Register by mid-2007, followed by a public comment period, hearings and internal review. According to the timetable, EPA expects to have a final noise reduction regulation in place by the end of 2007, with an effective date perhaps a few years following. The time interval will allow manufacturers to retest their products and print new packaging and enable the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine compliance and enforcement guidelines.

(Source: Bacou-Dalloz)