VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL Acoustics - the Dept. of ...

Chapter 8Noise on the work floorDeafness due to exposure to noise on the work floor is the most commonoccupational diseases in the EU. The Belgian national Fund for occupationaldiseases publishes every year statistics with different causes of occupationaldiseases. FromthegraphinFigure8.1itcanbeseenthatinBelgiumdeafnesstook place number 1 in the causes of permanent unfitness for work.To reduce the risk of exposure to noise, the EU has introduces a newguideline on exposure of workers to noise in the nineteen eighties. On the12 th of May, 1986 the EEG guideline 86/188/EEG concerning protection ofemployees against the risks of exposure to noise on the work floor was issued.It isclearfromFigure8.1thattheintroductionofamorestringent regulationlead to an important reduction of the number of cases of deafness in the latenineties. This 86/188/EEGdirective will be discussed in the next paragraph.Because it became clear that the acceptable noise levels in industry wouldnot lead to a further decrease of the number of deaf worker a new directivewas prepared in the early nineteen nineties. After more than ten years thishas lead to the EU guideline 2003/10/EG that is applicable at this moment.In general the permissible noise levels on the work floor in the 2003/10/EGdirective arelower than before. The new directive will be discusses in Section8.2.8.1 Previous guidelineThe guideline 86/188/EEG is accepted and took effect in Belgium throughthe royal decree of 26.09.1991 (see Belgian state gazette of 14.11.1991). Thegoal is to protect all employees against the hazards coming from exposure tonoise, for their hearing, health and safety. The guideline aims at reducingthe risks of exposure to a minimum level, taking into account the technical127