Cover Noise Report 6/10/05 15:05 Pagina 1 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 1 EN European Agency for Safety and Health at Work TE-68-05-535-EN-C EUROPEAN WEEK FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK EN 1 In order to improve the working environment, ISSN 1681-0155 as regards the protection of the safety and health 2. of workers as provided for in the Treaty and successive Community strategies and action programmes concerning health and safety at Reducing the risks from occupational noise occupational Reducing the risks from the workplace, the aim of the Agency shall be to provide the Community bodies, the Member States, the social partners and those involved in the field with the technical, scientific and economic information of use in the field of safety and health at work. 3. 1. http://osha.eu.int Reducing the risks from occupational noise European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Gran Vía 33, E-48009 Bilbao Tel.: +34 944 794 360 Fax: +34 944 794 383 E-mail: [email protected] EUROPEAN WEEK Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg: EUR 15 ISBN 92-9191-167-4 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Agency for Safety European and Health at European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Compuesta Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 1 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work EUROPEAN WEEK FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK EN 1 ISSN 1681-0155 2. 3. 1. Reducing the risks from occupational noise European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 2 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2005 ISBN 92-9191-167-4 © European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2005 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 3 Reducing the risks from occupational noise E UROPEAN A GENCY FOR S AFETY AND Foreword . 5 H Executive summary . 6 EALTH AT W 1. Introduction . 9 ORK The scope of the noise problem . 11 Occupation of workers exposed to noise . 13 Noise and gender . 13 The costs of noise . 14 2. Effects of noise . 15 Hearing impairment and hearing disorders . 16 Noise and pregnant workers . 18 Work-related stress . 19 Influence on work tasks . 21 Disturbance of speech communication . 22 Noise as a cause of accidents . 24 Other health effects . 26 3. European occupational noise policy . 27 Prevention of exposure to noise in the workplace . 28 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Noise emissions from machinery in the workplace . 36 Standards complementing directives . 37 Quality control of standards . 41 Standards supporting noise control measures in the workplace . 41 4. The management of noise . 43 The concept of noise reduction . 44 Noise control by design . 45 Noise control by choosing quiet machines . 47 Noise reduction on the transmission path and recommended acoustic properties for work rooms . 49 Organisational and administrative noise control . 50 Reduction of noise exposure by personal protective means . 52 Information and training . 53 Success factors for prevention of noise-induced hearing loss . 54 5. Examples of workplace interventions . 55 Noise assessment in the construction industry . 56 Noise in schools — causes and reduction . 58 Noise protection for orchestra musicians . 67 3 Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 4 Reducing the risks from occupational noise E UROPEAN Removing glass jars from pallets . 69 Quiet nightclubs . 70 A GENCY FOR Noise control programme for broadcasting company personnel . 72 S AFETY AND 6. Appendixes . 75 Appendix 1: European directives referred to in this report . 76 H EALTH AT Appendix 2: Standards referred to in this report . 76 Appendix 3: Bibliography . 79 W ORK Appendix 4: Web addresses of organisations . 81 Appendix 5: Acknowledgements . 82 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE 4 Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 5 Reducing the risks from occupational noise E UROPEAN F OREWORD A GENCY FOR Despite being a well-known hazard, noise at work is still a risk to workers at the start of the 21st century. It is S difficult to estimate how many people may be harmed by noise, but with 20 % of workers in Europe being AFETY AND exposed to loud noise (about 40 million workers) the human and economic cost of this hazard is very great. H The Administrative Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work designated noise as the theme EALTH AT for the European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2005. The campaign, simply titled ‘Stop that noise’, has set out to raise awareness that: W ORK ■ noise at work is an issue not only in heavy fabrication industries, but also in a wide range of sectors from education to entertainment, agriculture to the service sectors; ■ noise can cause more harm than hearing loss; it can be a causal factor in work-related stress, work-related voice disorders loss, and can be a factor in workplace accidents; ■ in 2006, a new noise directive comes into force in Member States. This report gives an overview of noise control methods, based on the European noise control policy as formulated in the relevant directives on workplace health and safety and in the supporting international standards. The report also contains details of interventions in workplaces to examine and prevent the risks arising to workers from noise. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work September 2005 5 Noise Report 6/10/05 15:07 Página 6 Reducing the risks from occupational noise E UROPEAN E XECUTIVE SUMMARY A GENCY FOR S AFETY AND Key points ■ European directives exist that set out how to deal with noise in the workplace H EALTH AT ■ Manufacturers have requirements under European directives to ensure that machinery is designed and constructed to reduce noise emissions W ORK ■ Standards exist to complement the directives, giving detailed information on topics, from noise measurement to acoustics Every day, millions of employees in Europe are exposed to noise at work and all the risks this can entail. While noise is most obviously a problem in industries such as metal manufacturing and construction, it can also be an issue in a wide range of other workplaces, from airports to farms, call centres to concert halls. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has looked.