NIOSH: Exposures to Noise, Ototoxicants Can Damage Recycling Workers’ Hearing
A new “Workplace Solutions” document published by NIOSH provides information about reducing hearing loss among the nearly 160,000 recycling workers at U.S. facilities that handle automotive or industrial scrap, electronic waste, and other materials. Noise exposures and exposures to ototoxicants, or chemicals that can damage hearing, can contribute to the risk of hearing loss for recycling workers, the publication explains. Examples of potential ototoxicants include lead and cadmium, substances NIOSH has found during health hazard evaluations of both electronic waste recycling centers and other recycling facilities. Since recycling workers are likely to be exposed to both ototoxicants and noise, the agency notes that combined exposure may contribute to greater damage to hearing.
“No exposure limits are specified for the combination exposures of noise and chemicals,” NIOSH states. “Some ototoxic chemicals, such as certain solvents, might exacerbate noise-induced hearing loss even when the noise exposure is below” OSHA and NIOSH occupational exposure limits.
Many recycling facilities are indoor, fixed sites, but some recycling of electronic waste and other materials now occurs in mobile shredding trucks, which NIOSH says “present unique safety and health risks for workers because of the confined space” in the backs of the trucks. Occupational exposures to particulate dusts and temperature extremes, in addition to noise and metals exposures, are of concern for recycling workers in these settings.
Other potential settings for recycling work include correctional facilities, some of which have on-site recycling operations. And in some communities, incarcerated individuals may be involved in recycling work at municipal recycling facilities. According to NIOSH, incarceration is among the factors that can “contribute to higher rates of illness and injury (including hearing loss) among some workers.” Additional factors that may increase risks to recycling workers’ health include informal employment or temporary worker status.
NIOSH’s new document outlines controls that can help prevent adverse effects from noise and chemical exposures in recycling workers. It can be found on the agency’s website.
Related: Two articles from the Synergist archives focus on the topic of ototoxicants: “The Ear Poisons: An Introduction to Ototoxicants” from the November 2018 issue and “Ototoxicants and Hearing Impairment: The Challenge for Occupational Hygiene” from the December 2019 issue. An article from the December 2022 issue examines correctional institutions and human health risk.