PART IIINOISE

Noise from plant or machinery

Noise from plant or machinery48

1

Provision may be made by regulations—

a

for requiring the use on or in connection with any plant or machinery of devices or arrangements for reducing the noise caused by the plant or machinery;

b

for limiting the level of noise which may be caused by any plant or machinery when used for works to which Article 40 applies or which may be caused outside a factory within the meaning of the Factories Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 [1965 c.20] by the use of plant or machinery in the factory;

and regulations under this Article may apply standards, specifications, descriptions or tests laid down in documents not forming part of the regulations.

2

The Department before making regulations under this Article, shall consult persons appearing to the Department to represent producers and users of plant and machinery with a view to ensuring that the regulations do not contain requirements which in the opinion of the Department would be impracticable or involve unreasonable expense.

3

Any person who contravenes or causes or permits another person to contravene regulations under this Article shall be guilty of an offence against this Part; but in any proceedings for a contravention of regulations made under paragraph (1)( a) it shall be a defence to prove that means were used for the purpose of reducing the noise in question which were not less effective for that purpose than the means required by the regulations.

4

Without prejudice to the generality of Article 86(2), different regulations may be made under this Article for different localities, and each district council shall enforce the provisions of regulations within its district.

5

Nothing in this Article or in regulations under this Article shall be construed as derogating from any other provision of this Part.