Act Repealed Latest version as at 17 July 1981 (as enacted) | 1981 No 10

Machinery Amendment

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Machinery Amendment

Public Act		1981 No 10
Date of assent		17 July 1981

	Title
1	Short Title and commencement
2	Protection from harmful noise
	Administrative information

An Act to amend the Machinery Act 1950

BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Short Title and commencement

(1)

This Act may be cited as the Machinery Amendment Act 1981, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Machinery Act 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

(2)

This Act shall come into force on the commencement of the Factories and Commercial Premises Act 1981.

2 Protection from harmful noise

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after section 17d (as inserted by section 5 of the Machinery Amendment Act 1979), the following section:

“17e

(1)

The owner of any machinery shall take all practicable steps, by either—

“(a)

Controlling at source the noise arising from the operation of that machinery; or

“(b)

Isolating or insulating that machinery,—

to ensure that no person working with or in the vicinity of that machinery is exposed to any noise so arising that would be likely to impair his hearing if he were not using a hearing-protection device.

“(2)

The owner of any machinery the noise arising from the operation of which would be likely to impair the hearing of any person employed or working on the premises in which that machinery is situated if he were not using a hearing-protection device shall provide that person with an individual hearing-protection device of a type approved by the Director-General of Health in respect of noise of that kind.

“(3)

The owner of any machinery shall ensure that no person working with or in the vicinity of that machinery who is provided with an individual hearing-protection device is exposed to any noise arising from the operation of that machinery that is likely to impair that worker’s hearing notwithstanding that he may be using that device.

“(4)

For the purposes of subsection (5) of this section,—

“‘Equivalent level’, in relation to any particular period or periods of exposure to noise of any particular level or levels, means the level (ascertained in a manner approved by regulations made under the Factories and Commercial Premises Act 1981) of the continuous noise, exposure to which for 40 hours is equivalent to that period or those periods of exposure to noise:

“‘Maximum continuous level’ means the level for the time being declared by regulations made under the Factories and Commercial Premises Act 1981 to be the maximum level of continuous noise to which any person can be exposed for periods amounting in total to 40 hours during any continuous period of 7 days without risk to that person’s hearing.

“(5)

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section, where, in any proceedings under this Act, it is proved that any person was, during any continuous period of 7 days, exposed to any period or periods of noise whose equivalent level exceeded the maximum continuous level, that person shall be deemed to have been exposed to noise that would be likely to impair his hearing if he were not using a hearing-protection device.”

(2)

Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, after the definition of the term “Minister”, the following definition:

“‘Noise’ includes sound energy of any frequency, whether or not capable of being perceived by the unaided human ear:”.

This Act is administered in the Department of Labour.

Machinery Amendment