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Personal noise dosimeters are designed to monitor noisy environments and are usually intended to attached to an individual person in order to estimate their exposure to noise over a given period of time. These devices are often used to indicate sound exposure as a percentage of a predetermined criterion. However, different jurisdictions employ different definitions of such quantities and different criteria for permissible exposure. Therefore, existing normative standards for measurement instruments differ in their specifications. For example, while the ASA/ANSI S1.25 standard Specification for Personal Noise Dosimeters makes provisions for use of three level-time exchange rates (3, 4, and 5 dB per doubling of exposure time), the international standard for personal sound exposure meters (IEC 61252) permits only an exchange rate of 3 dB. The International Electrotechnical Commission is revising IEC 61252 to modernize and harmonize requirements for the instruments to reflect the actual practice of measurements of noise exposure worldwide. The technical aims of the revision are to provide realistic specifications, consistent methods for testing all relevant characteristics of a model of instrument, and affordable methods for periodic testing of individual instruments. Potential consequences of the likely changes to IEC 61252 are presented and discussed.
Peter Hanes (Fri,) studied this question.