**U.S. Environmental Protection Agency**

**Workshop on Hearing Protector Devices**

**March 27 - 28, 2003**

**(Agenda)**

**Thursday, March 27, 2003**

8:00 -- 8:30 Registration

**Plenary Session**

8:30 -- 8:45 Welcoming remarks: **Kenneth Feith**, EPA Office of Air and
Radiation

> EPA's purpose of the workshop and the anticipated revision of the
> federal labeling regulation for hearing protector devices.

8:45 -- 9:00 Facilitator: **Stephen Brightwell**

> Explanation of organization and operating procedures for the plenary
> and "break-out" sessions.

[Invited Presentations]{.underline}

9:00 -- 10:00 **Dr. Alice Suter**, Suter and Associates

> History of hearing protector labeling rule, its intent, its use, its
> misuse, and why there is need for regulatory revision

10:00 - 10:30 **Dr. John Franks**, National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health

> (NIOSH)

Comparison of the regulatory Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) and the
required ANSI S3.19 test method with real-world outcomes and results
from testing with the new ANSI S12.6B method

10:30 -- 11:00 **Dr. William Murphy**, National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health

> (NIOSH)
>
> Deriving a new NRR from ANSI S12.6B method, inter-laboratory
> reproducibility of data, precision of the data

11:00 -- 11:30 **Dr. John Casali**, Virginia Tech (w/Gary Robinson)

> New technologies: active noise reduction, sound restoration, and
> passive non-linear protectors, and the development of ratings systems
> for describing them.

11:30 -- 12:00 **Elliott Berger**, American National Standards Institute
(ANSI)

Rating Metrics for Hearing Protectors

12:00 -- 1:00 Lunch

[Offered Papers by Interested Parties]{.underline}

1:00 -- 5:00 Presentations of formal papers by interested parties -15
minutes each with 5 minutes for questions

**NOTE: Presentations will be given based on the order in which they
were**

> **received.**

5:00 - 5:30 **Dr. Alice Suter**

> Summary of day's presentations and discussions

**All participants should meet in Room 1153 at 8 a.m. to be escorted to
the**

**breakout sessions.**

**Friday, March 28, 2003**

[Breakout Sessions]{.underline}:

There will be three breakout sessions that will run concurrently. Each
session will consist of two parts, i.e. morning and afternoon, to allow
registered participants to attend any two of the three sessions. Each
session will have a facilitator and resident technical advisor

8:00 -- 11:30 Session I - Hearing Protector Label (Room 4349)

(Facilitator: Clayton Doak)(Technical Advisor: John Franks)

-   Primary label

-   Secondary labels

-   Placement of labels

-   Expiration of labels

-   Other topics

-   Summary

    8:00 - 11:30 Session II - Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) Strategies
    (Room 2379)

    (Facilitator: Barbara McKensie)(Technical Advisor: Rick Davis)

-   NRR - what does it mean?

-   Use of mean and standard deviations vs. other descriptors

-   Relationship of NRR to environmental noise levels

-   NRR and implied protection from noise-induced hearing loss

-   Other topics

-   Summary

    8:00 - 11:30 Session III - New Hearing Protector Technologies (Room
    5349)

    (Facilitator: Alliston Davis)(Technical Advisor: Bill Murphy)

-   Sound restoration systems -- active / passive non-linear devices

-   Active noise reduction

-   Communication systems/radios

-   Present and future test methods and metrics to describe
    effectiveness

-   Other topics

-   Summary

    11:30 -- 12:30 Lunch

    12:30 -- 4:30 Reconvene Sessions I, II, and III

Session I - Hearing Protector Label (Room 4349)

(Facilitator: Clayton Doak)(Technical Advisor: Rick Davis)

Session II - Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) Strategies (Room 2379)

(Facilitator: Barbara McKensie)(Technical Advisor: Bill Murphy)

Session III - New Hearing Protector Technologies (Room 5349)

(Facilitator: Alliston Davis)(Technical Advisor: John Franks)

[Plenary Session]{.underline}

4:30 -- 5:30 Facilitator: **Stephen Brightwell**

-   Presentation of Break-out Session findings and recommendations

-   Dr. Alice Suter: Conclusions and wrap-up

-   Kenneth Feith: EPA's regulatory agenda