SAFE Work Australia has released the new national Noise Exposure and the Provision of Noise Control Measures in Australian Workplaces report.
The report forms part of the authority’s Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance Reports.
According to Safe Work Australia, the paper focuses on the exposure of Australian workers to loud noise and the control measures which are provided in workplaces to eliminate, reduce or control worker exposure to loud noise.
Data for the report was taken from the National Hazard Exposure Worker Surveillance (NHEWS) survey.
Among the results, Safe Work Australia says it found between 28% and 32% of the Australian workforce are likely to work in an environment where they are exposed to non-trivial loud noise generated during the course of their work.
The authority claims only 41% of exposed workers reported they had received training on how to prevent hearing damage.
Safe Work Australia says although the NHEWS data is subject to various limitations, the NHEWS survey has provided one of the only national estimates of worker exposure to loud noise by industry, occupation and other key demographic and employment characteristics.
Obtaining regularly updated noise exposure surveillance data is said to be a key and important source of information for OHS and workers’ compensation policy.
The report also makes recommendations, where possible, for the development of OHS and workers’ compensation policy as well as provides researchers with clear and constructive directions for future research.
The full report is available at http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/swa/NewsEvents/MediaReleases.
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