| 1) | An employer or self-employed person shall – |
| a) | in respect of a workplace under his or her control cause an assessment to be done within six months after the commencement of these regulations and thereafter at intervals not exceeding two years, to determine if any person may be exposed to noise which is at or above the noise-rating limit, regardless of whether any personal hearing protectors are used; and |
| b) | cause the results of the assessments to be entered into the records as required by regulation 11. |
| 2) | An employer contemplated in subregulation (1) shall, before causing an assessment to be made, consult with the relevant health and safety representative or the relevant health and safety committee and thereafter inform them in writing of the arrangements made for, the assessment, allow them reasonable time to comment thereon and ensure that the results of the assessment are made available to them for comment. |
| 3) | When making an assessment contemplated in subregulation (l), an employer or self-employed person shall take into account and keep a record of relevant factors, including the following – |
| a) | The noise sources to which a person may be exposed; |
| b) | adverse health effects that the excessive noise may have on persons; |
| c) | the extent to which a person may be exposed; and |
| d) | the nature of the work process and any reasonable deterioration in or failure of any control measures. |
| 4) | If an assessment made in accordance with subregulation (1) or a review of such assessment made in accordance with subregulation (5) indicates that any person may be exposed, to noise at or above the noise-rating limit, the employer or self-employed person shall ensure that such exposure is adequately controlled as contemplated in regulation 10(1). |
| 5) | An employer or self-employed person shall forthwith review an assessment made in accordance with subregulation (1) if – |
| a) | there is reason to believe that such assessment is no longer valid; |
| b) | control measures are no longer efficient; |
| c) | technological or scientific advances allow for more efficient control methods; or |
| d) | there has been a significant change in – |
| ii) | the type of work carried out; or |
| iii) | the type of equipment used to control exposure, |
and subregulations (2) and (3) shall apply for such review assessment.
