An Assessment of Occupational Noise Exposure in Concrete Mixer Truck Drivers

This research characterized the exposure to occupational noise in a sample of 28 concrete mixer trucks drivers. Concrete mixer trucks are vehicles used daily at concrete batching plants. Data collection was carried out on drivers assigned to two concrete plants located in the city of Brasília-DF (Brazil): The Road Transport and Cargo Sector (STRC) and Ceilândia. Noise was measured by an instant reading meter carried by the evaluator, according to the methodology in the Occupational Hygiene Standard NHO-01 Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Noise. Eighty-five concrete deliveries were distributed among the drivers according to the company's logistics. All drivers under study had an Average Exposure Level below 82 dB(A), which is acceptable according to the NHO-01 standard, and three of those drivers did not present exposure levels above 80 dB(A) during the supervision. The normality of the results was verified by the Kolmogorv-Smirnov test. When using the t-test, no significant difference in exposure was found between the exposure means of the two regions under study nor between the morning and afternoon shifts. When considering the interference of load transportation related to noise exposure, due to the agitation of the load by the truck's mixer, the drivers presented statistically equal noise exposure, either during the delivery of concrete or their return to the batching plant. Also, according to the NHO-01 standard, even with levels considered acceptable, technical actions such as the maintenance of existing working conditions are recommended to ensure the well-being and health of the worker.