Press Release: Anna Diamantopoulou welcomes agreement on new EU directive limiting noise at work

Anna Diamantopoulou welcomed on 25 October 2002 the agreement of the European Parliament and the Council on minimum health and safety standards for noise exposure at the workplace. The political agreement, which the Commission hopes will be adopted formally by the two institutions before the end of the year, brings in new, stricter limits on noise at work but ensures that this implies no unnecessary new burdens on business. The directive provides for a limit on exposure to noise at work of an average of 87 dB calculated over a period of one week and will come into force three years after formal adoption, with an additional two years (thus, five in total) for the music and entertainment sector. The existing directive of 1986 sets a limit of 90 dB.