December 2, 2002—The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published results of research into how employers can encourage workers who are exposed to loud noise to wear hearing protection.
The research was conducted by the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. It concluded that there are many simple measures that companies can take to improve the use of hearing protection. These include the types of hearing protection that’s selected, the availability of information instruction and training, the overall management of a hearing protection program, and the establishment of behavioral safety programs in the workplace.
The research is timely because under new European legislation, which will have to be transposed into UK law by the end of 2005, employers will have to make every effort to ensure that hearing protection is worn when exposure reaches 85 dB(A). Under existing law, hearing protection has to be worn only where exposure reaches 90 dB(A). As part of implementing the Physical Agents (Noise) Directive, HSE will revise its guidance to employers, incorporating the findings of the research.
The 125-page report can be read in PDF format on the HSE Web site.
