No Fixed Workstation Means No Single Answer
A plant operator stands in one place; a carpenter does not. Exposure on a construction site is driven by which tasks a worker performs and for how long, and that shifts as the build progresses. Typical construction noise sources include:
- Concrete saws, grinders and chipping hammers
- Pneumatic breakers and jackhammers
- Nail guns and powder-actuated tools
- Generators, compressors and compactors
- Heavy equipment and haul traffic
Section 7.2 sets two exposure limits, and an employer must ensure workers are not exposed above either one: an 85 dBA Lex daily noise exposure level, and a 140 dBC peak sound level. The first is an average across the working day; the second is a single loud event, measured at its peak.
Under section 7.3(1), an employer must measure worker noise exposure where a worker is or may be exposed to potentially harmful levels of noise, or where information indicates exposure may exceed 82 dBA Lex. That sits below the 85 dBA Lex limit — the duty to measure starts before you are over the line.
There is an alternative, and we would rather tell you about it than not. Section 7.4 removes the duty to measure where the employer, based on other information, identifies the worker as being exposed in excess of an exposure limit and establishes an effective noise control and hearing conservation program for that worker. Note what that costs: it is an evidence-based identification rather than a free election, and the program it commits you to includes engineered noise control, not just hearing tests and earplugs. Measuring is worth it when you want to know who is genuinely below the limits, size hearing protection to the actual level, or show an officer real numbers instead of an assumption.
One limitation we would rather state up front: full-shift dosimetry establishes daily exposure against the 85 dBA Lex limit. Impact noise measured against the 140 dBC peak limit is a separate question, and we will tell you which of the two a given survey addresses.
For the wider picture, we set out the WorkSafeBC hearing testing and noise requirements in full, straight from the regulation.
