Analysis of Noise Exposure Level and Influencing Factors of Small and Micro-Scale Enterprises in Beijing, China

Abstract

Understand the noise exposure level and influencing factors of small and micro-scale enterprises in Beijing, and support the formulation of noise prevention and control policies. Noise hazards in small- and micro-scale enterprises were monitored from May to December 2021 using a combination of questionnaire survey and on-site noise monitoring. The survey included questions on the basic characteristics of the enterprise, the situation of noise protection facilities, and protective equipment. We calculated the equivalent to the sound level of 8 h per day ( L EX, 8h ) or the equivalent of the sound level of 40 h per week ( L EX,w ) and the exceeding rate. Unconditional logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors. We recruited 194 enterprises in our study, including 145 small- and 49 micro-scale enterprises. Overall, 9.9% of the noise points exceeded the Chinese national standard, which was 85 dB(A). The detected noise of micro-enterprises significantly ( P < .001) exceeded that of small enterprises. This is the first study to examine noise hazards of small and micro-scale enterprises in Beijing in recent years. Our results showed noise hazard prevention in Beijing is grim. It is suggested that the government should strengthen supervision, allocate responsibility to the employer, and guide them to establish and improve the management system for controlling noise hazards, to effectively reduce its impact on the health of workers.