Control Of Noise At Work Regulations 2005 By Josh & Vishal

What is control of noise at work regulations? This law replaced the old Noise At Work Regulations This law came into force for all industries on the 6 th of April 2006, this excluded the music and entertainment sector which came into law on 6 th April ( This would include festivals and live concerts ) The main purpose of this law is to ensure that the workers hearing is protected from loud noises which could affect their hearing capabilities. This could include Tinnitus which is a permanent ringing in your ears.

What The Employer Has to do The employer will need to assess the risk of their employee’s from noise at work They will need to take action to reduce as much noise exposure as they can to reduce the risks Provide all employee’s with adequate hearing protection if they cannot reduce the noise exposure enough Make sure the legal limits on noise exposure are never exceeded Before your employee’s work under noise exposure full training, information and instructions are required. Carry out health surveillances where there is a risk to employee’s health. These regulations do not apply to members of public. And it doesn’t affect low-level noises which cause no risk to hearing damage.

Noise levels & limits Lower exposure values: -Daily or weekly exposure of 80dB. -Peak sound pressure of 135dB. Upper exposure values: -Daily or weekly exposure of 85dB. -Peak sound pressure of 137dB. Exposure limit values: -Daily or weekly exposures of 87dB. -Peak sound pressure of 140dB.

Protection and why it is needed! All employers who have a loud working area will require to have PPE ( Personal Protective Equipment ) and the employer is required to give all the essential equipment to the employee when they start working in this area The reason why PPE is required is to protect the employee from the loud noise which could cause temporary, and permanent hearing problems If you leave a noisy work area and suffer from a temporary hearing loss, you should not forget about it. The effects will wear off within a few hours but this is a sign that you are getting exposed to noises and you could eventually suffer from permanently hearing loss or damage.

Personal Protective Equipment for protection against noise Ear Plugs – for basic low level sound exposure. Sound Meter – the sound meter records the level of sound exposure within the area. This can help identify the current level of dB. Ear Muffs – similar to ear plugs, but they provide more ear protection and are used in louder areas.

Signage Around the area of noise exposure there should be signs which tell you to always wear hearing protection.

Conclusion We have found that this law helps protect employee’s from hearing related injuries. This ensures the safety of all the employee’s and helps create a safer working environment.

Sources of information For our presentation we used this website for all our information: