Ministry of Labour

Ontario Government Moves To Protect Industrial Workers From Hearing Loss

Stronger Regulations Introduced For High-Noise Workplaces

    QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Jan. 2 — The McGuinty government is further
protecting the health and safety of Ontario workers by protecting industrial
workers from hearing loss, Minister of Labour Steve Peters announced today.
    "Noise-induced hearing loss is a serious and preventable occupational
illness that impacts many of Ontario's industrial workers," said Peters. "Our
government is taking action to protect these workers by making the first
significant overhaul of the noise exposure limits in 30 years."
    Lower overall daily exposure to noise will help prevent hearing loss in
workers, which led to an estimated $100 million in compensation costs being
paid out by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) over the past
decade.
    The changes to the industrial noise requirements will come into effect on
July 1, 2007. They are expected to strengthen worker safety by:

    

 — Reducing Ontario's noise exposure limit from 90 dBA to 85 dBA, and
 — Introducing it as a time-weighted average exposure limit, which gives
        a more accurate assessment of the amount of noise a worker is exposed
        to over an eight hour period
    

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    The new requirements are part of the Ontario government's ongoing
improvements to workplace health and safety. These include hiring 200 new
health and safety inspectors; targeting workplaces with poor health and safety
performance records and high costs to the WSIB; and putting in place a new
annual process to update occupational exposure limits for the over 700
hazardous substances covered by Ontario regulation.
    "Our government is committed to ensuring that the health and safety of
every worker is never compromised," said Peters. "These changes have been
carefully developed in consultation with employers and labour, who support
this action."

    

    Disponible en français

                             www.labour.gov.on.ca


    Backgrounder
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                       INDUSTRIAL NOISE EXPOSURE LIMITS
    

    The Ontario Government is strengthening protection for industrial workers
who are exposed to high levels of noise. Hearing loss, due to exposure to high
levels of noise in the workplace, is a serious occupational illness. According
to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), it resulted in an
estimated $100 million in compensation costs being paid between 1995 and 2004.

    What is changing?

    Currently, the Regulations for Industrial Establishments and for Offshore
Oil and Gas Operators allow workers to be exposed to up to 90 decibels of
noise for an eight-hour period.
    The new regulations will lower the allowable limit to 85 decibels. It
will also introduce a new time-weighted averaging method that will provide a
more accurate way of determining the actual amount of noise a worker is
exposed to. This is the first time these noise regulations have been
significantly updated since they were introduced 30 years ago.

    Who is covered by this?

    All workplaces in Ontario covered by the Regulations for Industrial
Establishments and the Regulations for Offshore Oil and Gas Operators will be
covered by the new noise exposure limit. While other sectors, such as the
mining and construction sectors, do not have set noise exposure limits, the
Occupational Health and Safety Act still requires employers in these
workplaces to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety
of these workers. This includes situations where they are exposed to high
levels of noise.

    Were consultations with interested parties held?

    Consultations were held in the winter of 2005 - 2006. The noise
    consultation stakeholders included:

    

 — Industry associations
 — Labour organizations including relevant unions
 — Health and safety partners including hearing associations
 — Media - general and industry-specific
 — MOL enforcement team members

    The Canadian Hearing Association was also consulted and is supportive of
the changes being made.

    When does this new exposure limit come into effect?

    The new exposure limit will come into effect on July 1, 2007. This will
allow workplaces enough time to come into compliance with the new noise
exposure limit.

    Disponible en français
                             www.labour.gov.on.ca
    

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