What the Law Has to Say About SoundThere are two principal areas in which the law addresses sound. The first is Environmental: loud sounds can be a nuisance to other people, particularly in residential areas. Sound can travel remarkably well outdoors (especially at night, due to the refraction/reflection of sound waves caused by atmospheric conditions). If you are in any doubt about whether your planned event will constitute a nuisance: • Consult your Local Authority • Liaise with people who might be affected (e.g. neighbours). If a Local Authority Environmental Officer or Policeman tells us to turn it down or off, we will turn it down or off. If they tell you to turn it down or off and you don't, they have the power to confiscate equipment (whoever owns it), and if it isn't yours - if you have hired it, for example - you might have to pay hire charges until the owner can recover it. They may not be able to recover it anytime soon. The second area is Health & Safety. You have certain duties to any employees to provide ear protection and to take other action (e.g. limiting periods of exposure) when sound pressure reaches certain levels. A basic description of your responsibilities is provided on the Health & Safety Executive Website, with several leaflets in PDF format on the page dealing with noise. These are largely based on the effects of noise in an industrial working environment, and address the effects of noise over typical working periods (8 hours). Generally, the ear is more tolerant of musical sounds, which differ in dynamic range and frequency content from the type of broadband noise caused by a bench grinder or pneumatic drill (although with some styles of music this may be a moot point). Also, typical exposure times are much shorter (typical concerts rarely exceed two hours of performance time), and are not an everyday occurrence (unless you work in a venue). However, typical concerts also have much higher sound pressure levels than HSE action levels: a folk duo will typically produce peaks exceeding 90dBA - the HSE second action level - and an unamplified snare drum can produce a peak sound pressure level (SPL) of over 120dBA. If the vocals (with a lot of energy in the ear's most sensitive range) need to be louder than the drum kit, the overall level can be very high, and potentially very damaging. An increasing number of venues have SPL detectors that will interrupt the power to the circuits supplying amplifiers if the SPL exceeds a certain threshold. If in doubt, you should at least: • Issue ear protection to employees (we can supply various types of ear plug - ask us for information) • Limit exposure time (do not force the same employee to remain in the auditorium - or the bar, if it is in the auditorium - all night) • Display a warning (the audience may not realise that the sound could cause or increase permanent hearing damage). [Site Map] [Top of page]
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