The regulations for the Mine Health & Safety Act as approved at the Mine Health and Safety Council this month.(June 2001)


26-MHSC CON-2001

 

 

NOISE REGULATIONS

19 JUNE 2001

 

11.4 NOISE REGULATIONS

System of medical surveillance

11.4 (1) The employer must establish and maintain a system of medical surveillance, as contemplated in section 13, of all employees in any working place where the equivalent, continuous A-weighted sound pressure level, normalised to an eight hour working day or a forty hour working week, is equal to or exceeds 85 decibels A (dBA).

Types of audiograms

11.4 (2) The system of medical surveillance contemplated in sub-regulation (1) must consist of a baseline audiogram, periodic audiograms and an exit audiogram.

11.4 (3) All audiograms must be performed by a competent person.

Baseline audiogram

11.4. (4) A baseline audiogram must be recorded before an employee commences employment or within 30 days of commencement of employment in any working place contemplated in sub-regulation (1).

11.4 (5) Testing for the baseline audiogram must not be done within 16 hours from when an employee has been exposed to an environment in which the noise level was equal to or exceeded 85 dBA. The use of hearing protection devices to effect this attenuation will not be acceptable.

11.4 (6) The baseline audiogram is the better of the employee's two audiograms performed on the same day and that do not differ from each other by more than 10 dB for any of the following measured test frequencies, ie. 0.5,1,2,3, and 4 kilohertz (kHz).

11.4 (7) If it is impossible to obtain two audiograms that comply with the requirements of sub-regulation (6), the employee must be referred to a competent person to establish baseline hearing levels in accordance with sub-regulation (6).

11.4 (8) If it is impossible for the competent person to establish baseline hearing levels as contemplated in sub-regulation (7), the competent person may establish baseline hearing levels by using other techniques, such as speech reception thresholds.

Periodic audiograms

11.4(9) The employer must ensure that a periodic audiogram is obtained at least annually for all employees subject to medical surveillance in terms of sub-regulation(1).

11.4 (10) The periodic audiogram contemplated in sub-regulation (9) must be performed at least 16 hours after any exposure of the employee to a noise level equal to or exceeding 85 dBA. Use of appropriate hearing protection devices to reduce exposure will be acceptable.

 

Exit audiogram

11.4 (11) In addition to the exit medical examination for the purposes of Section 17, the employer must arrange an audiogram for every employee subject to medical surveillance in terms of sub-regulation (1) and who is permanently transferred to a working place in respect of which medical surveillance is not required under sub-regulation (1).

11.4 [12] An audiogram conducted within the preceding six months may be used as an exit audiogram for purposes of section 17 or sub-section [11].

 

Definitions:

"Audiogram" means a chart, graph or table indicating the hearing threshold levels of an individual as a function of frequency (viz 0.5,1,2,3,4,6 and 8 kilohertz), as determined during a measurement of a person' s hearing threshold levels by means of monaural, pure-tone, air-conduction threshold tests;

"Competent person" for purposes of sub-regulations (7) and (8) means a person registered as an audiologist with the Health Professions Council;

"Competent person" for purposes of sub-regulation (3)

means:

1. A person registered with the Health Professions Council in any of the following three categories:
          1. as an ear, nose and throat specialist;
          2. in speech therapy and audiology; or
          3. as an occupational medical practitioner; or

2. A person qualified in audiometric techniques from an institution registered with the relevant Education and Training Quality Assurer (ETQA) registered in terms of the South African Qualifications Authority Act (Act No. 58 of 1995.