Legal provisions regarding noise at the workplace

(Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance)

To combat the negative effects of noise at workplaces and protect employees from unnecessarily high exposure, the social accident insurance institutions and government departments issued a number of regulations on noise protection at the workplace, starting in the Seventies. The most important of these are:

• Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV – Verordnung über Arbeitsstätten) of 12^th August 2004, most recently amended by Article 4 of the Ordinance of 19^th July 2010
• Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance (LärmVibrationsArbSchV) of 6^th March 2007, most recently amended by Article 3 of the Ordinance of 19^th July 2010, in conjunction with the Technical Rules concerning the Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance (TRLV Lärm) of 23^rd March 2010.

With regard to noise, the Workplace Ordinance states in Section 3.7 of the Appendix that the sound pressure level in workplaces is to be kept at the lowest level permitted by the type of industrial operation. The sound pressure level is “to be reduced, depending on use and the tasks being performed, to such an extent that no health impairments are incurred by employees”. Its application has been limited to the range beneath the lower action value of 80 dB(A) set in the Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance. The extent of the permitted noise exposure and any possible preventive measures have to be based on the state of technology and ergonomic findings. Guidance may be obtained from Guideline VDI 2058, Part 3, which describes the various effects of noise and defines guide values of 55 dB(A) and 70 dB(A) for different activities.

The Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance transposes two European OSH directives (2003/10/EC “Noise” and 2002/44/EC “Vibration”) into national German law. To lend concrete expression to the requirements they define, the Committee for Industrial Safety (ABS) issued Technical Rules (TRLV) for the fields of “noise” and “vibration”. By observing these Technical Rules, company operators can be sure of complying with the requirements of the ordinance.

The Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance specifies various action values that necessitate prevention measures when they are reached or exceeded. A daily noise exposure level L_EX,8h from 80 dB(A) or a peak sound pressure level L_pCpeak from 135 dB(C) calls for the following:

• Informing employees
• Providing hearing protection

From a daily noise exposure level L_EX,8h of 85 dB(A) or a peak sound pressure level L_pCpeak of 137 dB(C), the following applies:

• Obligation to wear hearing protection
• Marking of noisy areas
• Preparation of a noise reduction programme

A flyer issued jointly by the IFA and the Mechanical Engineering, Production Systems, Steel Construction Committee at the DGUV provides an overview summarising the content of the Noise and Vibration OSH Ordinance. This flyer can be downloaded or requested from the IFA. A detailed presentation of the legal provisions can also be found in the paperbacks issued by the IFA on the measurement and assessment of noise at work (“0 Dezibel 0 Dezibel = 3 Dezibel”; “Lärmmessung im Betrieb”; both in German).