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No. S 424

Workplace Safety and Health Act

(CHAPTER 354A)

Workplace Safety and Health (Noise)
Regulations 2011

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 65 of the Workplace Safety and Health Act, the Minister for Manpower hereby makes the following Regulations:

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011 and shall come into operation on 1st September 2011.

Definitions

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“competent person”, in relation to any work to be carried out, means a person who has sufficient experience and training to perform the work;

“dB(A)” means decibels of A-weighted sound pressure level measured by an instrument with an electrical network having the characteristics specified by the International Electrotechnical Commission;

“dB(C)” means decibels of C-weighted sound pressure level measured by an instrument with an electrical network having the characteristics specified by the International Electrotechnical Commission;

“equivalent sound pressure level”, in relation to a fluctuating sound pressure level, means a constant sound pressure level measured over a duration of time which has the same cumulative acoustic energy as the fluctuating sound pressure level measured over the same duration;

“peak sound pressure level” means the absolute maximum or highest C-weighted sound pressure level of any continuous, intermittent, instantaneous or impact noise;

“relevant person” means a person at work in a workplace who is exposed or is likely to be exposed to excessive noise;

“responsible person”, in relation to a relevant person, means —

(a)	his employer; or
(b)	the principal under whose direction the relevant person carries out the work in the workplace.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations —

(a)

a person shall be deemed to be exposed to excessive noise, if the noise that he would be exposed to, when not wearing any hearing protector, exceeds —

(i)	the permissible exposure limit for noise specified in the Schedule;
(ii)	an equivalent sound pressure level of 85 dB(A) over an 8-hour work day, in any case where the noise is at a fluctuating sound pressure level; or
(iii)	a peak sound pressure level exceeding 140 dB(C); and

(b)

sound pressure level shall be calculated according to the following formula:

where SPL

is the sound pressure level;

log

is the common logarithm;

is the sound pressure; and

P_°

is the standard reference pressure of 20 microPascals

Application

3. These Regulations shall apply to every workplace where a person is exposed or is likely to be exposed to excessive noise caused by —

(a)	any machinery or equipment used in the workplace; or
(b)	any process, operation or work carried out in the workplace.

Made this 20th day of July 2011.

LOH KHUM YEAN

Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Manpower,
Singapore.

[C010-048-00009; AG/LLRD/SL/354A/2006/12 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 65(8) of the Workplace Safety and Health Act).