assessment of noise exposure and noise annoyance in a steel factory

Background]noise pollution is one of the most important risk factors in industrial settings. this study aimed to assess noise exposure and noiseinduced annoyance among workers of a steel factory.[methods]this crosssectional study was conducted on 70 healthy male participants (33 office employees and 37 production line workers) in a steel plant.[results]the results showed that 24.24% of employees in office areas and 54% of bluecollar workers had high noise annoyance. also, noise levels in two parts of steel factory and percentage of responds by participants that felt highly annoyed showed a significant relationship (p lt; 0.05). feeling of discomfort was a major complaint that was stated by office employees (%59) and bluecollar workers (%38).[conclusions]the findings of this investigation have clearly revealed that employees in both parts of steel factory are annoyed by noise. a higher noise level resulted in higher noise annoyance in the exposed workers. the need for implementing noise conservation program was established.