INVESTIGATION OF USABILITY OF RECYCLED MATERIALS IN PROTECTIVE EARMUFFS

摘要

Exposure to high volume for long periods of time can cause hearing loss for workers. Furthermore, in the case of intermittent exposure to loudly noise may lead to hearing damage, irritability, decreased concentration and even occupational accidents. Passive protective earmuffs are highly preferred because of its cost and durability. It is generally mandatory to use earmuffs, which must be renewed at certain times, during the heavy industrial works. A new earmuff model that complies the principles of EN 352-1 standard is proposed. It is made of materials which can be recycled from paper, glass and plastic waste. This fact will also be beneficial in terms of environmental and economic aspects. The outer part of the earmuff consists of recycled polymers and inner part consists of materials which are combined differently with egg tray, recycled fibers, bondex foam, melamine foam, glass wool and corkboard. Depending on the results of the studies performed, it was determined that all passive noise cancelling earmuffs containing recyclable materials in certain layers were usable and all combinations other than the combination consisting of egg tray and recycled fibers were detected to have a better noise damping property compared to conventional earmuffs.