Noise-blocker

No industrial noise is harder on the nerves than the brain-battering din of riveting. In one department of Bell Aircraft Corp.'s huge B-29 plant near Marietta, Ga., dominated by the monstrous chatter of some 450 riveters, conversation has been by lipreading. The uproar has undoubtedly played a big part in the heavy turnover and absenteeism among the riveters, half of whom are women.

Recently the Army Air Forces released to Bell 450 new ear plugs that reduce the racket but let the human voice through when the riveting stops. Last week the new chief of the Bell plant, Colonel Carl Cover (rhymes with Dover), found that their use at Marietta had brought about a marked reduction in nerve strain and fatigue. What noise does come through the plug sounds like the dull beating of a heavy surf.

The plug is a joint product of Harvard and the University of California. It is made of soft vinylite plastic, fits into the outer ear with flanges both inside and out, to seal off air waves and hold it in place. It has heretofore been made exclusively for Navy gunners and Army artillerymen, but may now become a major item in speeding up plane production.

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