Open AccessOccupational noise in rice mills
Author(s) -
Kumar Gautam,
K.N. Dewangan,
Amaresh Sarkar,
Sanjay Kumar,
Banani Kar
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
noise and health
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1998-4030
pISSN - 1463-1741
DOI - 10.4103/1463-1741.40824
Subject(s) - mill , noise (video) , environmental science , pulp and paper industry , engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , artificial intelligence , image (mathematics)
A major occupational hazard for the workers in rice mills is the noise during the operation of various machines. A noise survey was conducted in the workrooms of eight renowned rice mills of the north-eastern region of India established during the period between 1980 and 1985. The rice mills were selected on the basis of the outcome of a walk-through noise survey involving several rice mills of the region. A noise survey map of each rice mill was drawn to identify the predominant noise sources and the causes of high noise in the workrooms of the rice mill. The sound-pressure level (SPL) in the workrooms of the rice mill varied from 78 to 92 dBA. The paddy cleaner, rubber roll sheller, compartment separator, rice cleaner, auxiliary sieve shaker and an electric motor without enclosure were found to be the predominant noise sources in the workrooms of the mill. The causes of high noise in the rice mills may be attributed to the use of a long flat belt drive, crank-and-pitman mechanism, absence of an electric motor enclosure, poor machine maintenance and inadequate acoustic design of the workroom of the rice mill. About 26% of the total labourers were found to be exposed to higher levels of noise than 85 dBA. Subjective response indicated that about 26% of the total labourers felt noise interferes in their work and about 49% labourers were of opinion that noise interferes with their conversation.