European Union Noise at Work Regulations

What is it?

In 1993 an EU (European Union) proposal for a Physical Agents Directive was made, which looked to establish a framework for the regulation of physical agents at work applying initially to noise, vibration, optical radiation and non-optical electromagnetic fields.

After political agreement on the Vibration Directive in November 2000, the Swedish Presidency introduced a proposal for a Noise Directive in January 2001. This would repeal the existing 1986 Noise Directive (86/188/EEC) which was implemented in the UK by the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 and in the other European Union Countries around the same time.

What will the changes be?

The chart on the previous sheet shows the current regulations and the proposed changes to the regulations according to the information available in November 2002.

A quick summary of the changes are

The 1st and 2nd Action Levels will be reduced by 5dB(A) to 80dB(A) and 85dB(A) respectively.

The Peak Action Level of 140dB(C) will be replaced with 1st and 2nd Peak Action Levels of 135dB(C) and 137dB(C) Peak respectively. A Maximum Exposure Level Limit of 87dB(A) and 140dB(C) Peak at the ear will be introduced which includes any hearing protection.

When will the new regulations affect my noise measurements?

The Directive was formally adopted in November 2002 which will allow members of the European Union three years to bring in the new Directive as Legislation. When the new regulations are introduced in 2005, they will repeal any existing Noise at Work Regulations.

This means that current regulations can continue until November or December 2005.

Who does this affect?

The new regulations will affect all countries that are members of the European Union in November 2002.

All member states will have 3 years to implement the new regulations. New members of the European Union will be required to implement the regulations as soon as possible after they become full members.

The European Directive can be used as a minimum requirement and member countries may implement different regulations as long as the minimum requirements are met.

For more information, your National Government should be able to provide information about how the regulations will be implemented and when they will be introduced.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE PLEASE CALL ECKEL NOISE CONTROL