LEGAL PROVISIONS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS WITH REGARD TO ULTRASONIC NOISE IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The basic obligations of the employer in the area of occupational health and safety are set out in the Labour Code (Journal of Laws Dz.U. 1974 No. 24 item 141, consolidated text of Journal of Laws Dz. U. 2019 item 1040) and in the ordinance of the Minister of Economy and Labour of September 26, 1997 on general provisions on health and safety at work (Journal of Laws Dz.U 1997, No. 129, item 844, consolidated text of Journal of Laws Dz.U. 2003, No. 169, item 1650 with subsequent amendments). Under these provisions, the employer is required to:

• Perform measurements of the quantities characterizing ultrasonic noise in the work environment and compare their results with the values of operating thresholds and PEL. The procedure and frequency of these measurements are regulated by the regulation of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of February 2, 2011 on tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the work environment (Journal of Laws Dz.U. 2011, No. 33, item 166):

• not later than 30 days from the date of commencement of operation (test and measurement results are stored for a period of 3 years from the date of the last entry),
• at least once a year when the results of recent measurements of the quantities describing ultrasonic noise have shown that at least one of them exceeds 0.5 of the PEL value,
• at least once every two years when the results of the recent measurements of the quantities describing the ultrasonic noise have shown that at least one of them exceeds 0.2 of the PEL value,
• in each case of introducing changes to the technical equipment, technological process or working conditions, which could have an influence on the level of emission or exposure to ultrasonic noise.

Noise measurements are not performed if the results of the last two measurements of noise quantities, performed 2 years apart, have shown that none of them exceed 0.2 PEL. The employer is obliged to inform employees about the results of noise measurements immediately. Based on the results of tests and measurements, the employer keeps a current register of factors harmful to health occurring at the workplace (the form of the register is specified in the regulation). The results of tests and measurements of a factor harmful to health are entered by the employer on an ongoing basis in the test and measurement card (its template is specified in the regulation). In the event of liquidation of the workplace, the employer shall immediately transmit the register and the card to the locally competent state sanitary inspector, and in relation to the units referred to in art. 20 paragraph 1 of the Act of March 14, 1985 on the State Sanitary Inspection (consolidated text of Journal of Laws Dz.U. of 2018, item 59), to the competent state sanitary inspector of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration. The registers and cards are kept for 40 years from the date of the last entry. The employer enters the results of tests and measurements of a harmful factor in the test and measurement card on an ongoing basis.

• Assess and document the occupational risks associated with hazards that cannot be excluded. During the occupational risk assessment, all factors of the working environment occurring during the performed works and the methods of performing the works are taken into account.
• Apply preventive measures (technical and organizational), as a result of occupational risk assessment, in order to ensure occupational health and safety for employees. In particular:
• eliminate hazards at the source of their origin,
• apply new technical solutions,
• replace dangerous technical processes with safe or less dangerous ones,
• prioritize collective protection measures over individual protection measures.
• Inform and train employees on health and safety at work
• The employer is also obliged to refer the employee to preliminary, periodic and follow-up medical examinations and to cover the costs of these examinations. These obligations are specified in the Regulation of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of 30 May 1996 on medical examinations of employees, the scope of preventive health care for employees and medical certificates issued for the purposes provided for in the Labour Code, Journal Of Laws Dz.U. 1996 No. 69, item 332, consolidated text of Journal of Laws Dz.U. of 2016, item 2067).