When it comes to on-site safety at power plants, heat-related injuries are often viewed as the higher priority over sound decibel levels. However, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA), one of the most dangerous hazards in these environments is excessive noise pollution for workers. A noise level of 85 dB is specified by OSHA as the maximum sound level safe for exposure, with anything higher considered damaging to human hearing.
Hearing conservation programs are recommended for working environments with likely exposure to higher decibel noise levels. These types of programs consist of identifying hazards and exposure monitoring to pinpoint control methods, including hearing protection devices and equipment that will limit noise pollution. Continuous monitoring and improvement of both personal protective equipment (PPE) and environmental sound buffering solutions is crucial in protecting employees and the environment.
What Causes Noise Pollution?
The first step to ensuring your power plant meets OSHA regulations, stays compliant and protects your workers is to identify the danger zones. Industrial noise pollution caused by plants and factories is affected by various factors, including frequency, amplitude and range, which makes it dangerous not only to a person’s hearing but interferes with speech and the ability to work safely as a team. Typically the pipes are the main culprit in generating excess noise. But how? Sound is created by the vibration of the pipe producing a disturbance in the air around it. Because pipes are attached to other types of machinery, like generators, pumps and compressors, the connection between them and fluid or substance flowing through the pipes causes the pipe wall to vibrate.
Industrial Noise Control with Removable Insulation
The second step is to find the right solution for each problem area. Minimizing noise pollution with high-performance, custom noise barriers is a growing need, and often a requirement, for power plants and companies to stay within legal compliance and noise regulations.
Removable insulation blankets provide the best solution to complex industrial noise control needs by capturing sound energy and absorbing the sound rather than reflecting the sound to another area. This creates a reduction in industrial noise, lowering the decibel noise levels to acceptable and safer levels. In turn, power plants are able to meet city noise abatement regulations, limiting sound pollution in the surrounding areas.
Industrial noise reduction doesn’t have to be complicated. With Team OCTI, your industrial insulation blankets can be applied to components, including stationary diesel generator exhausts, generator enclosures, engines, pumps, motors, gears, and more. Learn more about how custom-fit insulation solutions prove to be more efficient in reducing sound hazards in power generation. Ready to see how the OCTI process and quality guarantee can enhance and optimize your solution for industrial noise control? Contact Team OCTI today to get started.
