European noise campaign launched

Noise-induced hearing loss, long recognised as "the most prevalent, irreversible industrial disease", is also a major cause of work-related ill health, according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

The agency has launched a "Stop that Noise" campaign, to culminate in the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work on 24-28 October. A new European directive on occupational noise will come into force in February 2006.

A third of Europe's workers (more than 60 million people) are thought to be exposed to high noise levels for more than a quarter of their working time.