Advance notice on the European Week - 2005 STOP THAT NOISE! - campaign
News release - 11.04.2005
Dear Member of the Press,
MEDIA ADVISORY NOTICE – not for publication
Dear Member of the Press,
Help us 'STOP THAT NOISE!' and support our pan-European awareness raising campaign on noise at work!
Why noise?
A common stereotype concerning noise is that it can only affect your hearing and that only people working in traditionally 'loud' industries, such as construction or metalworks, are at risk.
Were you aware that:
- noise could cost you much more than your hearing – it can be a causal factor in accidents and may act together with other workplace hazards to cause ill health
- noise could have a direct and devastating effect on millions of people working in the service sector across Europe (e.g. in education, entertainment, call centres etc.)
- by February 2006 all EU Member States are obliged to implement the 2003 EU Directive imposing new health and safety requirements for noise at work
- noise can be effectively controlled and its risks prevented or considerably reduced!
Key events
The campaign will be launched across Europe on 20 April 2005, i.e. on the International Noise Awareness Day. For local contact details please see: http://agency.osha.europa.eu/focal_points/index_en.htm .
The central press event will take place in Brussels on the eve of the International Noise Awareness Day, i.e. on 19 April 2005.
Part of the campaign is the Good Practice Awards competition to be held in all EU Member States. Further information about the awards will be available online at http://ew2005.osha.europa.eu/ .
The campaign will culminate in the European Week, which will take place 24 - 28 October 2005. It is an information campaign aimed at the workplace and all safety and health institutions and organisations, trade unions, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives are invited to take part and organise their own activities. These can include special audits and risk assessment activities in the workplace, organising training, distributing information material, launching a new workplace policy, suggestion schemes, encouraging participation of employees and their representatives or linking-up with other organisations, businesses or sub contractors to carry out activities in partnership. In addition, businesses and occupational safety organisations will be invited to sign an online campaign charter to demonstrate their commitment to more effective noise management.
The European Week's closing event, with the Good Practice Awards ceremony, will take place on 12 December 2005 in Bilbao.
Further information about the campaign will be available online at http://ew2005.osha.europa.eu/ .
Contact details
Bilbao:
Marek Kosarczyn, Press Officer, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao, tel. +34 94 479 43 86, email: kosarczyn@osha.europa.eu or:
Brussels:
For press registration to attend the press conference on 19 April 2005 please contact our office in Brussels:
Brenda O'Brien, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Brussels Liaison Officer, NCI Business Centre, Rue Wiertz 50, 1050 Brussels, tel. 0032 2 401 68 59, email: obrien@osha.europa.eu
Member States:
For information about national activities please contact our Focal Points' Network. The complete contact list is available at:
Other enquiries:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, e-mail: information@osha.europa.eu, fax: (34) 94 479 43 83.
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The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
