Installation noise in operating theatres
author:
ANNA CHARKOWSKA
ORCID ID:
0000-0001-6060-9895
No:
12/2023 Instal p.52-58
DOI:
10.36119/15.2023.12.8
For many years, the national standard from 1987 regarding permissible sound levels, with the amendment from 2015 regarding only the change of the title of the standard, PN-B-02151-02:1987/ Ap1:2015-05 [32], continues (despite withdrawal and replacement by PN-B-02151-2:2018-01 [33]) is referred to in subsequent amendments to the Regulation on the technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location, starting from 2004 (Journal of Laws of 2004, No. 109, item 1156 [46]) until 2022 (Journal of Laws 2022, item 1225 [29]). In the case of operating rooms, the provisions included therein impose extremely high requirements on the designers of ventilation and air-conditioning installations, forcing the maintenance of a very low sound level from the building’s technical equipment (such as ventilation) with a steady noise level of 30 dB(A). It should be noted that in the German standard DIN 1946-4 from 2008 [6] this permissible value was set as ≤48 dB(A), when measured centrally in the operating room at a height of 1.8 m above the floor with the nominal ventilation air flow , identically in the Swiss guidelines from 2004 „Swiss Guideline 99-3E Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in hospitals” [51] (and therefore the year of establishment of the standard PN-B-02151-02:1987 in the regulation).
Due to the publication in March 2023 of the normative national annex NA to the PN-EN 16798-1: 2019 [35] standard, containing other requirements for the permissible sound level (up to 35 dB(A)) formulated for national needs than those recommended and included in European standard EN 16798-1 in Annex B, Default criteria for the indoor environment (up to 45 dB(A)), published without changes in Polish in 2019, it became important to draw attention to the technical possibilities of ensuring these requirements in an operating room equipped with a modern ventilation installation. Against the background of the requirements of 2023 (PN-EN 16798-1:2019-06/Ap2:2023- 03 [36]), the article presents problems related to the actual sound level in the operating room, coming from all sources, including medical tools and equipment and the ventilation installation. An overview of legal requirements regarding the permissible sound level in operating rooms in other countries is also included.
Keywords:
About Authors:
dr inż. Anna Charkowska, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6060-9895 – Zakład Klimatyzacji i Ogrzewnictwa, Wydział Instalacji Budowlanych, 52 Hydrotechniki i Inżynierii Środowiska, Politechnika Warszawska. Corresponding author: anna.charkowska@pw.edu.pl