Council monitors workplace noise

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say over one million employees in Great Britain are exposed to levels of noise that puts their hearing at risk and this week during Noise Action Week staff at York Council will be monitoring the impact on some of its staff.

The council’s environmental protection unit (EPU) usually deals with noisy neighbours and premises but it is lending its expertise to monitor the effects of working in an noisy environment.

Staff from the council’s waste services have to deal with working in a noisy workplace and listen to heavy vehicles manoeuvring, operate refuse compactors and work alongside road traffic. Staff in these areas are provided with ear protection and are required to follow rigorous safety procedures, but these need to be kept up-to-date.

The EPU will be looking at all areas of noisy working conditions and assessing the impact of this noise on the hearing of staff. Each staff member will have personal monitors to record their exposure to noise throughout their working day for a period of up to one week.

The EPU will monitor the exposure of refuse workers on different vehicles and will observe work practices. EPU will then make recommendations to further protect their hearing and improve procedures, if needed.

Coun Dafydd Williams, the council’s cabinet member for crime and stronger communities, said: “Workplace noise is treated as an occupational hazard with measures in place to minimise the risk to the hearing of members of staff.

“It is important to protect the health and safety of our employees and I’m pleased we can deploy our in-house experts from the environmental protection unit to assess this and suggest improvements to our working practice.”

Anyone suffering from noise nuisance can contact the council’s EPU on 01904 55155.