Further information on noise.

 

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.
These Regulations revoke and replace the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/1790), and implement as respects Great Britain, European Directive 2003/10/EC (the Physical Agents (Noise) Directive).
At the time of writing this report it is expected that the Regulations will be introduced in April 2006.
The Regulations introduce new Action and Limit Values for noise, as shown below.

 

Exposure Guidelines for Noise 

dB(A)  =  ‘A’ weighted decibel             dB(C) = ‘C’ weighted decibel  

 

The purpose of issuing such guidelines being that appropriate action should be taken if the Exposure Action Values are exceeded. Furthermore it is stated that the Exposure Limit Value should not be exceeded at any time. These values take account of any reduction in exposure provided by hearing protection.

 

Further requirements of the Regulations are:

The use of legislation for the control of noise is a fairly recent tool. Prior to the Noise Abatement Act 1960, noise issues were generally dealt with under local bye-laws. Through this Act noise was designated as a ‘statutory nuisance’ which allowed local authorities to deal with, and address issues and complaints in this area. This legislation was repealed and superseded by the Control of Pollution Act 1974, and more recently by the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The concept of ‘statutory nuisance’ recognises the fact that certain activities have the potential to cause a nuisance to either a large or small number of people.

In addition to this, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993, the Noise Act 1996, the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, the Transport Act 2000, and the Building Regulations 2000, amongst others, have opened up a much wider understanding of the acceptability of noise in our day-to-day life.

Rather than deal with such issues on an as-and-when basis, advances in legislation now allow for a more structured and consistent approach to noise control. The development of this legislation has not only allowed certain activities to become specified as potential sources of noise nuisance, but has also laid down the basis for implementing a preventative approach to noise problems, such as through the provision of noise abatement zones, compliance requirements, and specified codes of practise. Through all of this, what we are seeing is the realisation that firstly people should not be exposed unnecessarily to noise (or vibration) at either an excessive level or over a lengthy (or repetitive) period, and secondly, that we should go about our activities (whether they be sitting at home or constructing a road) ensuring that any noise emitted as a result (directly or indirectly) does not become a nuisance or hazard.

The range of surveys undertaken in this area is broad. There can be many a reason or requirement to do so. Typically these days noise surveys may be required for assessing the likely effect that a development may have on the background noise levels, or conversely by assessing the likely impact of existing noise levels on new developments. Much guidance is available to assist in this area, and may be obtained through contacting the local authority environmental health, or planning departments.