Friday, March 18, 2016

Say What?

Did you know that workers in BC’s upstream oil and gas, drilling, and pipeline construction industries are more likely to suffer hearing loss than other industries?

According to 2014 hearing tests, more than one-third of workers in the oil and gas industry showed signs of noise-related hearing loss.

The BC Occupational Health and Safety regulation requires employers to provide hearing loss prevention programs, monitoring of noise levels, and annual hearing tests for workers exposed to hazardous noise. However, Work- SafeBC has found that only 15 percent of BC workers in oil and gas and pipeline construction were tested in 2014.

They also found that hearing protection used in the oil and gas industry is often insufficient. Twenty-seven percent of young workers in the oil and gas field servicing subsector report that they do not wear hearing protection devices.

CLAC has an audiometric truck that travels to work sites and provides workers with hearing tests and earplug fittings. Contact your local BC member centre to learn more.

Say What?

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