Noise Regulations: The 2005 Noise Regs.

Workplace noise is governed in the UK by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. These regulations include provisions:

setting out out the noise limits to which employees may be exposed while at work, the main ones being 80 and 85dB(A) over an 8 hour period, and no noise exposures above 87dB(A).
requiring employer to do a risk assessment and reduce the noise levels where they are over 85dB(A).
Provide hearing protection. At 80dB(A) its use is advisory but at 85dB(A) employers must enforce its use, sign all areas which need it and provide training in the dangers of noise and correct use of the hearing protection.
Conduct health surveillance (audiometry) where people are exposed to noise levels above 85dB(A).

Summary of Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005:

Requirement	Below 80dB(A)	Lower action Level 80dB(A)	Upper Action Level 85dB(A)
Employers must:
Reduce the risk of hearing damage to the lowest level which is reasonably practicable (Reg. 6)
Carry out a risk assessment (Reg. 5)
Reduce noise exposure SFAIRP by means other than hearing protection (Reg. 6)
Provide health surveillance (audiometry)
Give employees information, instruction and training on: (Reg. 10)
Risks to their hearing
Findings of the risk assessment
The legal exposure limits
What they should do to minimise risk
How hearing protection can be obtained
How to and the need to report hearing damage
Entitlement to health surveillance and its results
Employees obligations under the Regs.
Mark the areas where hearing protection is required (Reg. 7)
Hearing protection, SFAIRP, must be:
Provided to all employees who ask for them
Provided to all people exposed to levels above 85dB
Maintained and repaired
Use to be made mandatory
Ensure SFAIRP, that all who enter a hearing protection zone wear hearing protection (Reg. 7)
Employees must:
Use hearing protection which they are provided with
Use any other noise reducing equipment (e.g. enclosures)
Report any defects in hearing protection or equipment

SFAIRP – So far as is reasonably practicable

Reg 7 means that anyone who enters an area where hearing protection is to be used must wear it, even if they do not stay long enough to get their daily noise ‘dose’. This particularly applies to managers entering a noise risk area only temporarily.

Noise exposures

The way noise exposures work appears a little complicated at first but try thinking of noise as a total dose. For example, you have 85 'units' in a day, which you can use up over an entire shift or in 10 minutes and once its used up hearing protection must be worn. This explanation doesn't stand up to too close scrutiny but it does help explain the point generally. The following graphic helps to explain it:

Image source: NIOSH

In this chart all the noise exposure values are the same, i.e. eight hours exposure at 85dB is the same as 30 minutes exposure at 97dB and is the same as less than two minute's exposure at 109dB. This has some important ramifications - someone using a chainsaw for example will reach their entire daily noise dose in about two minutes, any more and the risk of hearing damage climbs rapidly.

One other point which is useful - an increase in measured noise of only 3dB in fact is a doubling of the noise energy, hence 88dB is twice as harmful as 85dB. To the human ear however the difference between these two is negligible - 88 sounds just a wee bit louder than 85. To us, 10dB sounds like a doubling in the volume. We said it was complicated...

Top

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prices / Clients / Site map / Links