March 31, 2006—The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding employers that the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 come into force on April 6. The 2005 Regulations will replace the existing Noise at Work Regulations 1989.
The regulations put the emphasis on identifying measures to eliminate or reduce risks from exposure to noise at work rather than simply relying on hearing protection, although this may also be needed in the short term.
Hearing loss caused by work is preventable, but once the hearing of your workers has gone it won’t come back. A communications campaign has been launched through trade journals, direct mail-outs, online newsletters and press activity to remind people of the simple rules of thumb to see whether the new regulations may apply. If they do, employers can get help tackling noise at work through the HSE’s noise Web pages.
