6.2 Noise Hazards & Action Values

6.2 Noise Hazards & Action Values

Quick Answer: Under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, managers must know lower exposure action values of 80 dB(A) (peak 135 dB(C)), upper exposure action values of 85 dB(A) (peak 137 dB(C)), and exposure limit values of 87 dB(A) (accounting for hearing protection; peak 140 dB(C)). Actions escalate with each threshold; control noise at source before relying on ear defenders; use health surveillance where hearing is at risk. Memorise 80 / 85 / 87.

Noise is a classic physical hazard that causes progressive, often permanent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), tinnitus, and communication problems that increase other accident risks. Managing Safely expects line managers to recognise noisy work, know the legal trigger numbers, and drive controls — not leave everything to “the safety guy” and a box of ear plugs.

Why noise matters at work

Loud sound damages the sensitive hair cells of the inner ear. Damage can be gradual (years of daily exposure) or, for very high peak levels, more sudden. Once lost, hearing does not grow back. Noise also:

• Masks warning signals, reversing alarms, and shouted instructions
• Increases fatigue and stress
• Impairs concentration on safety-critical tasks
• Creates civil claims, RIDDOR-reportable disease cases in serious circumstances, and enforcement interest

If you need to raise your voice to talk to someone about 2 metres away, noise is often in a range that deserves assessment — a rough field rule of thumb, not a substitute for measurement.

Legal framework managers must know

In Great Britain, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set duties on employers to assess and control risks from noise, provide information and training, supply and enforce hearing protection where required, and arrange health surveillance where appropriate. Employees must use controls provided and report defects. The numbers below are the ones exams and competent managers memorise.

Exposure action values and limit values (HSE)

Values apply to daily or weekly personal noise exposure (normally expressed as an 8-hour average, LEX,8h style) and to peak sound pressure.

Exam anchors: remember 80 / 85 / 87 for A-weighted daily/weekly values, and peaks 135 / 137 / 140 dB(C).

Critical exam nuance — the 87 dB(A) limit

The exposure limit value of 87 dB(A) is assessed taking hearing protection into account (the level reaching the ear after attenuation). Action values (80 and 85) are assessed without subtracting hearing protection. That is why you still must reduce noise and designate zones even if people “wear defenders” — the law wants engineering and organisational control, not a PPE-only culture that fails when plugs are missing or poorly fitted.

Actions that intensify at each threshold

At and above the lower action value (80 dB(A) / 135 dB(C) peak)

Typical employer actions taught for managers:

1. Assess the risk from noise (who is exposed, how long, which tasks, what levels).
2. Eliminate or reduce noise so far as is reasonably practicable — even below the upper value, reduction remains good practice.
3. Provide information, instruction, and training on risks and controls.
4. Make suitable hearing protection available for those who want it (and for tasks that approach higher levels).
5. Provide health surveillance where the assessment indicates a risk to health (for example workers already showing hearing issues, or exposure patterns that justify monitoring).

At and above the upper action value (85 dB(A) / 137 dB(C) peak)

Duties tighten:

1. Establish a programme of organisational and technical measures to reduce exposure (buy quiet, enclose, maintain, rotate jobs, change process).
2. Ensure hearing protection is used — not optional — in defined situations.
3. Demarcate and sign Hearing Protection Zones where protection must be worn.
4. Ensure health surveillance is provided for workers regularly exposed at or above the upper action value.
5. Keep exposure as low as reasonably practicable and ensure the limit values are not exceeded.

If the exposure limit value would be exceeded

• Treat as a serious failure of control
• Reduce exposure immediately (stop or redesign the task if needed)
• Investigate why measurement/estimation after protection still hits the limit
• Improve engineering/organisational controls and/or protection adequacy and fit
• Review risk assessment and competence of people supervising the work

Hierarchy before hearing protection

Managing Safely links noise control to the same hierarchy logic as ERICPD and HSE noise guidance: PPE is not the first line of defence.

Hearing protection fails when it is uncomfortable, incompatible with other PPE, poorly inserted, shared unhygienically, or removed for “just a minute” of conversation. Managers who only buy foam plugs without tackling the grinder enclosure or layout have not controlled noise properly.

Assessing noise — what managers arrange

You may not personally operate a Class 1 sound level meter, but you should:

• Recognise noisy tasks and request competent assessment when exposure may approach action values
• Use manufacturer data, previous surveys, and industry benchmarks as starting points
• Consider daily and weekly patterns (a quiet Monday does not cancel a very loud Thursday if averaging rules are applied carefully under guidance)
• Include maintenance, cleaning, and contractors who may enter noisy areas without the same awareness
• Reassess after process change, new plant, layout change, or worker complaints of tinnitus or difficulty hearing

Health surveillance for hearing

Where risk assessment shows a risk to hearing — and especially for people regularly exposed at or above the upper action value — health surveillance (typically audiometry under occupational health arrangements) is required. Purposes:

• Detect early hearing damage
• Check whether controls are working
• Provide a baseline for new starters in noisy jobs
• Trigger individual advice and workplace improvements

Managers ensure people attend, records are kept confidentially through proper OH channels, and workplace findings (not private medical detail) feed back into better controls.

Peak noise and impulsive sources

Peaks matter for explosive, impact, or impulsive sounds: cartridge tools, hammering, some presses, sudden pressure releases. Even if the daily average looks moderate, peak action and limit values can be breached. Controls may include alternative methods, distance, barriers, and specialised protection with adequate peak attenuation.

Worked manager scenarios

Linking noise to the risk assessment project

On the project form:

1. Name the hazard (noise from X process).
2. Describe the hazardous event / exposure (daily exposure leading to NIHL; inability to hear alarms).
3. Identify who (operators, nearby workers, contractors, cleaners).
4. List existing controls (any enclosures, PPE, times).
5. Rate likelihood and consequence honestly — NIHL is often major long-term harm.
6. Propose additional controls high in the hierarchy, with owners and dates.
7. Re-rate residual risk after realistic improvements.

A project that only says “wear ear defenders” with no engineering or time-limit thinking scores weakly against course expectations.

Common exam traps

• Swapping 80 and 85 or forgetting 87
• Mixing dB(A) daily/weekly values with dB(C) peaks
• Claiming the limit is 85 dB(A) or that PPE is required from 80 dB(A) in all cases (at 80, protection is made available; mandatory use and zones are tied to the upper value regime)
• Believing hearing loss is reversible with rest
• Treating noise as “just a nuisance” rather than a serious health hazard

Manager checklist

1. Memorise 80 / 85 / 87 and peaks 135 / 137 / 140.
2. Assess noisy work; do not guess forever.
3. Reduce noise by elimination, engineering, and organisation first.
4. Use hearing protection correctly as a residual control; enforce it where the upper regime applies.
5. Provide information, training, zones, and health surveillance as thresholds demand.
6. Never accept exposure above the limit value.

Noise control is a manager’s operational issue: plant choice, maintenance standards, job design, and culture decide whether workers keep their hearing for life.