View Rule

Two recent studies of occupational hearing loss conducted by Department of Energy and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health concluded that a significant percentage of construction workers have suffered from hearing loss over the duration of their careers. It has been noted that construction work is excluded from the OSHA Hearing Conservation Amendment that is required for general industry work. Also existing construction noise requirements lack the specificity of a general hearing conservation program that must be implemented for general industry work. Discussions within the industry and new information, such as the two referenced hearing loss studies, have prompted OSHA to consider that it may be necessary to revisit whether requirements are effective for protecting construction workers from noise hazards. This Request for information will solicit public comments and information about the effectiveness and feasibility of adopting more protective noise-hazard requirements, for example, such as those similar to the ANSI Standard A10.46- Hearing Loss Prevention in Construction and Demolition Workers.