From February next year all employers will need to set a noise limit of 87 decibels in the workplace under a tightening up of regulations under the new European Noise Directive. This replaces and strengthens existing regulations from 1986, setting minimum requirements to protect workers from noise exposure. Employers must carry out an assessment in workplaces where noise is a potential hazard.
Vladimir Spidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, said, 'Noise goes beyond hearing problems. It can cause accidents at work and increase stress levels. It is a growing concern all over Europe, in workplaces from factories and farms to schools and call centres.'
Recommended measures to reduce noise exposure include soundproofing ceilings, giving staff longer breaks and reducing class sizes.
Esther Hothersall, head of the Grove Nursery School in Southwark, London, said she thought a noise risk assessment was a good idea for staff welfare and it would help keep stress levels down.
She said her setting was usually noisy for 'short bursts of time', such as when children arrive in the morning or when they are playing musical instruments. But she added, 'It's not comparable to a building site. They are very happy noises with busy children. Children are learning to control the level of their voices.'
Julian Grenier, head of Kate Greenaway Nursery School in Islington, London, said, 'It's true that a lot of early years settings can be noisy places.
They will need help measuring it, but as a general principle it's a good thing to try to keep noise down.' He said it would reduce stress levels for children and staff and help children with hearing impairments.
European Agency for Health and Safety at Work director Hans-Horst Konkolewsky said that a Danish study had revealed that half of teachers and daycare workers had to raise their voices at work.