Workers Risk Levels of Noise in the Dairy Cow Milking Parlor

The study was carried out in the milking parlor of a dairy cattle farm consisting 500 animals from Holstein-Friesian breed in Bulgaria. The animals were housed in a freestall dairy barn and milked in double-8 milking parlor “herringbone” type. The level of noise was measured three times in every milking (at the beginning, in the middle and at the finishing of the milking) in the morning, midday and evening milking every month for one year. The noise level in the working environment was recorded by noise meter„ Lutron SL-4023SD. The highest noise levels were reported in summer and winter, with maximum values up to 78.3 dB. It was found that regardless of the season during the morning milking the lowest noise levels in the milking parlor were reported (from 70.37 to 70.46 dB). The average values for noise level for an 8-hour working day by seasons varied from 69.87 dB to 74.36 dB, with the highest reported value for the winter season.