Noise Exposure in Printing House

Sukwon Kim

The purpose of this paper was to find if noise exposure (dBA) in a printing house met the recommended exposure limits (REL) as recommended in the National Institute for Occupational and Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure [DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 98-126]. The house has printed college publications, such as business cards, weekly and monthly student newletters, departmental and collegial catalogues. The house produces 3000 printed sheets per 3 hours period elapsed. Noise exposures were recorded by a sound level meter (a calibrated Type II, 5-dB exchange) for two different periods of 6 continuous minutes (the cycle time of 0.06 minute/sheet) nearby the operators 1) while the web press machine was running alone or 2) while the web press machine and the Heidelberg GTO four-color press were running simultaneously. Simple calculations and graphs were included in order to describe the findings. The results of the study suggested that the noise exposure levels at the house was acceptable based on the NIOSH criteria.