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JERRY DeCOU lll president of fhe Lumber Merchonls Associotion of Northern Colifornio 1516 El Comino lol, Suiti 0 [o! Altor, Co. 91022 (ar5) 9ar-16t7

VOUR business is noisy. Maybe I )ou don't recognize this fact because you are around the equipment all day but ifyou have the usual cut-off saws, table saws, panel saws, etc., you are no doubt exceeding the noise level prescribed by OSHA.

Sound level surveys currently being conducted by the association reveal that in almost every case the equipment we use in our operations exceeds the 90 decibels rating maximum permitted by OSHA without ear protection.

Both Fed-OSHA and CaI-OSHA have the same level requirements. CaI-OSHA has been training compliance officers to conduct sound level surveys. CalOSHA requires that each place of business having equipment suspected of exceeding the prescribed sound level have a sound survey conducted and the results of the survey on file.

The association has in excess of I 00 requests to conduct sound surveys and the staff is currently conducting them. In most cases the surveys show that the sound level of saws is running around 105 decibels which means that the employees operating or working around the equipment can only have a one hour exposure per day without ear protection.

Recommendations by the association staff include the length of time the employee may be exposed during the day without ear protection and the type of protection authorized by the state that will filter out the noise level in the frequency range of the equipment to a permissible level.

The sound survey is necessary; however, some firms are reluctant to take time for the survey since it requires an employee to operate the equipment to obtain the necessary readings. It is important that each dealer cooperate with the association staff so that we may accomplish our task and get to the next dealer before the OSHA compliance officer.

Max M. Cook 1928-1975

The death on June 8, of Max Cook was a sudden, shocking loss not only to his family, but to his many friends in the lumber and publishing business. The cause of death was a heart attack. Max was born February 22,1928, in Oakland, Ca.

The son of a lumberman, his father was employed for many years by the Pacific Lumber Co., he attended the University of California at Berkeleyand subsequently worked for a period for Dun and Bradstreet before joining The Merchant Magazine's San Francisco office in 1953. Involved in both the editorial and advertising sides of the business, he quickly made a wide circle of friends during his 15 years with us. He left in 1968 to set up his own publisher's representative firm and had moved his home and offices to Santa Rosa. Ca.

He is survived by his widow, Lee, two daughters and one son.