Noise Exposure Trends Among Violating Coal Mines, 2000 to 2021

Noise-induced hearing loss has continued to be a significant issue within the mining industry, even after the passing of the MSHA’s improved noise standard in 2000. NIOSH has recognized that the noise standard enacted by both MSHA and OSHA does not properly protect workers with the 5 dBA exchange rate (i.e., the increase in noise level leading to a doubling of energy) and the lack of emphasizing the use of engineering controls over administrative controls and overreliance on hearing protection device usage. The primary objective of this study is to investigate statistical sound relationships between MSHA noise-related violations and samples and coal mine size and type, as well as occupation type. As such, MSHA noise samples and violations collected from violating coal mines from 2000 to 2021 are systematically analyzed for potential significant trends. All three predictors of interest demonstrate a statistically significant impact on measured TWA8 (i.e., a time-weighted average exposure to noise over 8 hours), with occupation type having the most significant impact. Despite the encouraging reduction of violating coal mines since 2000, median TWA8 measurements and peak noise exposures showed that miners are still at risk for hearing loss