Presentation of a model to identify dominant noise source in agricultural sector of sugarcane industry

In agriculture, people are exposed to numerous risks including exposure to various chemicals and physical agents like noise in this section. In this paper a model is proposed to identify the dominant noise source in the agricultural sector of sugarcane industry. We desired to recommend an index that can help us identify the sources deserving attention for sound control measures in the agricultural sector of sugarcane industry in southern Iran. For this purpose, the parameters considered to be the most important on the potential damage of noise were sound level, duration of exposure and the number of people exposed to noise. For measuring the sound pressure level in the ear area of operators, first a list of all machinery used in farming operations of the sugar cane industry was obtained from the relevant management. Then they were categorized into different groups based on the model and, the year made. A properly functioning machine was selected in each group. ISO5131:1996 was used to measure the operator exposure for this group of equipment. They were placed in the fixed state before measuring. There was not any obstacle and reflective vertical surfaces within 20 meters around them, and they were placed on a flat surface (ISO, 1996).When measuring noise, the cabin door and windows of machines that have a cab were closed completely and if there was a ventilation system, it was operated with maximum power and motor rotation. Using the basic acoustic knowledge, a formula has been proposed as an index of dominant noise source in the model. DSI is single-number quantity, higher the index indicates higher occupational noise risk. Index valuesfor harvester(case IH7000), tractor(Ferguson8160),tractor (Ferguson 399), bulldozer(Caterpillar D8N), tractor (Ferguson 285), grader (Caterpillar G14), scraper(V 300PH), loader(Caterpillar 90L) was 132.7, 122.7, 126, 105.6, 129.8,, 101.7, 99.1 and 118.4 respectively. Results show that harvester is the major noise source within various types of farm machinery in agriculture part of sugar cane industry in Khuzestan. Using this model is easy and fast. It is applicable on similar parts of agriculture industry and also offers valuable information for prioritizing noise control measures. For preparing the model, we tried to identify and select the important factors of main sound risk correctly. The Index presents the practical, scientific, simple and fast solution for occupational hygienists and other relevant specialists. The results will be unreliable if not all of the important influential factors involved in selecting the main source are considered.