Ontario Approves New Noise Regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)

by Brittany Tofinchio Palmer

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Ontario’s Ministry of Labour approved a new Noise Regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) on December 9, 2015. This regulation (O. Reg. 381/15) replaces the noise protection requirements set out in the regulations for Industrial Establishments, Mines and Mining Plants, and Oil and Gas-Offshore. It extends the noise protection requirements contained in the regulations below to all workplaces under OHSA. The Noise Regulation comes into effect on July 1, 2016.

Key changes include:

• Prescribing, for workers exposed to noise, a maximum time-weighted exposure limit of 85 decibels over an eight-hour work shift;
• Requiring employers to put in place measures to reduce workers’ exposure based on a “hierarchy of controls”, which could include engineering controls, work practices, and the use of personal protective equipment in the form of hearing protection devices; and
• Requiring employers who provide a worker with a hearing protection device to provide adequate training and instruction on that device.