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Induced Noise Due to Activities at Construction Site and Its Impact on Construction Workers Health

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The construction process would generate a great deal of noise pollution, which is extremely harmful to the workers' health. This research developed a comprehensive evaluation framework for measuring the negative impact on health caused by induced noise due to construction activities. The study was conducted by selecting a group of workers from various sections of a construction site, including concrete mixing operation, reinforcement cutting, brick crushing operation, and formwork, and assessing their hearing capabilities at two intervals over a six-month period. At first, the hearing loss of workers was initially assessed through a Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) test to evaluate their hearing ability. Subsequently, the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) for the workers were calculated to quantify the impact of hearing loss on their overall health. The framework includes the establishment of standardized criteria for assessing noise exposure, the definition of health risks associated with construction work, and the quantification of the resulting health damage. Also, it outlined the improvement of workers' occupational health levels. Through field survey using a Digital Sound Level Meter (Model: SL-4001), it was found that noise generated by heavy machinery exceeds the limit of the standard noise level. Throughout the 4-year construction of the ILST project, the cumulative Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) for all workers is 1.875a, due to the Concrete mixing operation the highest amount of harm (DALY = 1.145a) occurred. An audiometrist performed a PTA test at an interval of 205 days and found a slight change in the capacity of hearing level. This study emphasized awareness of the harm caused to the workers involved by the noise pollution generated for the construction work.

Source: Malaysian Journal of Civil Engineering

DOI: 10.11113/mjce.v37.23425

Authors: Md. Omar Faruk Rahat, Md. Arifur Rahman Chowdhury Mahfuj, Md. Jahir Alam, Noyon Loskor, Sibbir Ahmed

Institutions: Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet Engineering College

Language: English

Topic: Noise Effects and Management

Subfield: Speech and Hearing

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Decent work and economic growth, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4408882162

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