This study carries out an analysis of the noise levels that
the construction workers are exposed to. The number of
measurements is representative of the real number of workers
belonging to a small and medium-sized company involved in an
average construction work in the country where the study has
been done.
The main conclusion that can be obtained is that there are high
levels of noise for any working environment related to construction.
These are so high that between the 60% and 70% of the construction
workers are exposed to a noise dose higher than the
100% along their working day.
From that point on, it is remarkable the scarce awareness of the
workers and the companies regarding the excessive noise exposure
and their consequences, given that most of them only know the effects
that a continuous exposition to noise at the workplace can
cause in the hearing system, but they do not know that there are
many other harmful effects.
Indications of use of personal hearing devices are usually ignored
due to that lack of awareness and then the problem becomes
more serious. Despite that, this tendency is beginning to change,
according to direct conversations with construction workers and
employers, due to the administrative surveillance and to measurement
campaigns like the one described here. These actions are
achieving a promotion for becoming aware of health at work in
general and for fighting against noise in particular.
From the point of view of the noise exposure, two types of subsectors
can be distinguished in the construction sector. The first includes
the workplaces where machines must be used along the
working day, what leads to a very high noise exposure where the
high frequency components are predominant. On the other hand,
machines are scarcely used in the second subsector and therefore,
the noise exposure is not so high and the low frequency compo-