Thomas E A H Küpper1, Jürgen Steffgen, Paul Jansing. 1. Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Technical University of Aachen, Kullenhofstrasse 50, D-52057, Germany. tkuepper@ukaachen.de
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We estimated the noise exposure of crews working in alpine helicopter rescue systems. METHODS: Noise levels of the the helicopters used (Alouette III, Alouette II 'Lama', Ecureuil and BK 117) were measured with a device according to class 2 DIN IEC 651. These data were combined with the flight data of the personnel to evaluate the equivalent noise level according to DIN 45645-2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: While the risk to patients should be limited to temporary threshold shifts the crew members are regularly exposed to equivalent noise levels of >85 dB(A) and, therefore, are at risk of permanent threshold shifts. Consequences for crew fitness to fly and for noise prevention (crew and patients) are discussed.
OBJECTIVES: We estimated the noise exposure of crews working in alpine helicopter rescue systems. METHODS: Noise levels of the the helicopters used (Alouette III, Alouette II 'Lama', Ecureuil and BK 117) were measured with a device according to class 2 DIN IEC 651. These data were combined with the flight data of the personnel to evaluate the equivalent noise level according to DIN 45645-2. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: While the risk to patients should be limited to temporary threshold shifts the crew members are regularly exposed to equivalent noise levels of >85 dB(A) and, therefore, are at risk of permanent threshold shifts. Consequences for crew fitness to fly and for noise prevention (crew and patients) are discussed.
Authors: K Fehrenbacher; C Apel; D Bertsch; M S van der Giet; S van der Giet; M Grass; C Gschwandtl; N Heussen; N Hundt; C Kühn; A Morrison; M Müller-Ost; M Müller-Tarpet; S Porath; J Risse; S Schmitz; V Schöffl; L Timmermann; K Wernitz; T Küpper Journal: Int Arch Occup Environ Health Date: 2021-05-22 Impact factor: 3.015
Authors: Stewart W Wright; Christopher J Lindsell; William R Hinckley; Annette Williams; Carolyn Holland; Christopher H Lewis; Gail Heimburger Journal: BMC Med Educ Date: 2006-10-05 Impact factor: 2.463
Authors: Marius Deaconu; Grigore Cican; Adina-Cristina Toma; Luminița Ioana Drăgășanu Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-09-15 Impact factor: 3.390