1910.45 Hearing conservation amendment
HEARING CONSERVATION – RECENT CHANGES IN THE OSHA LAW:
Posted: March 2004
On July 1, 2002, OSHA published its final rule for recording occupational hearing loss on the Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (29 CFR 1904.10); effective date January 1, 2003. Additional clarifications were released on December 17, 2002. On January 1, 2004 it became mandatory to record hearing loss in a separate column on the OSHA Form 300.
To review the most current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ruling regarding the revision of the hearing loss recording provisions of the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements rule published January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5916-6135), scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2003 (66 FR 52031-52034), click here. This final rule revises the criteria for recording hearing loss cases in several ways, including requiring the recording of Standard Threshold Shifts (10 dB shifts in hearing acuity) that have resulted in a total 25 dB level of hearing above audiometric zero, averaged over the frequencies at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz, beginning in year 2003.
For those companies that maintain active hearing conservation programs, and for those occupational health clinics that administer hearing tests for industrial clients, we offer the following references.
HEARING CONSERVATION: