§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many hours were lost by industry in 1982 through industrial injuries arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise at work.
§ Mr. GummerI regret that this information is not available.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action local authorities have taken to ensure that young people employed under the Government's youth training programmes are adequately protected from the dangers of excessive noise at work.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall reply to the hon. and learned Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many injuries in the farming industry were reported in 1982 arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise;
(2) how many injuries were reported in the road haulage industry during 1982 arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise;
(3) how many injuries were reported during 1982 in the mining and engineering industries arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise.
§ Mr. GummerI shall reply to the hon. and learned Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has consulted the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress with respect to the consultative document on the protection of hearing at work.
§ Mr. GummerNo, but I understand that both these bodies were consulted by the Health and Safety Commission, which published the document.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations have been received 520W from trade unions with respect to the consultative document on the protection of hearing at work; and what has been the nature of those representations.
§ Mr. GummerI understand that the Health and Safety Commission has received representations from the Trades Union Congress and some individual trade unions and that, in general, most of them welcome the proposal for new legislation but with reservations in specific areas.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to ensure that the daily average exposure of employees working in noisy environments does not exceed 85dB(A).
§ Mr. GummerI refer the hon. and learned Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Sir D. Smith) on 23 February—[Vol. 37, c.475–76]—and my reply to the right hon. Member for Doncaster (Mr. Walker) on 25 January 1983.—[Vol. 35, c. 377.]
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the cost to industry of reducing the daily average noise exposure of employees from 90dB(A) to 85dB(A).
§ Mr. GummerIf the maximum exposure allowed were 85dB(A) as opposed to 90dB(A), the number of workers affected would be increased by about 1 million. The cost would depend on the means by which this reduction was achieved. If it were to be achieved by the compulsory provision and wearing of suitable ear protectors, a rough estimate by the Health and Safety Executive indicates that the cost would be of the order of £35 million per annum. If it were to be achieved by engineering means only, no firm estimate is available, but the initial cost would undoubtedly be very large; in a number of industries it would not in fact be achievable by these means, given current technology. If it were to be achieved by some combination of engineering control, ear protection, and other appropriate measures—such as reducing exposure times—the cost would depend upon the relative priority accorded to these different means of protection in different industries and on the time involved.
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what Government grants are available for the purposes of research into the prevention of industrial injuries arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise at work.
§ Mr. GummerAmong the research into the prevention of industrial injuries arising from exposure to dangerous levels of noise is that financed by the Health and Safety Commission and by the Department of Industry, which supports work at various research associations.