Regulations > Physical Agents Regulations, 2024

In these Regulations, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act bears the meaning so assigned and, unless the context otherwise indicates—

"action level"

means the level of a physical agent at which specified actions or counter measures must be taken;

"air velocity"

means the rate of motion of air in a given direction, measured as distance per unit time;

"air temperature"

means the temperature of air as determined by a standard thermometer, with units expressed in degrees Celsius (°C);

"artificial light"

means any light generated by artificial light sources;

"artificial ventilation"

means the system in which air is caused to circulate through a room by means of a mechanical apparatus which forces or extracts filtered air from such a room;

"clothing adjustment value"

means the single number that is added to the wet-bulb globe temperature to represent the effects of clothing worn during an activity;

"Chief Director: Provincial Operations"

means the provincial director as defined in the General Administrative Regulations, 2003, published as Government Notice No. R. 929 in Gazette No. 25129 of 25 June 2003;

"cold stress"

means a condition that occurs when the body can no longer maintain its normal core temperature;

"competent person"

means—

(a)

(i)

in terms of the exposure risk assessment, a person who has, in respect of the work or task to be performed, the required knowledge, training and experience in the physical agent and, where applicable, relevant qualifications specific to or including the physical agent: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act No. 67 of 2008), those qualifications and that training must be regarded as the required qualifications and training; or

(ii)

in terms of the exposure monitoring or inspections and tests of control measures, a person who has, in respect of the work or task to be performed, the required knowledge, training and experience in the identified physical agent and the relevant qualifications specific to or including the identified physical agent: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the provisions of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008, those qualifications and that training must be regarded as the required qualifications and training; and

(b)	a person who is familiar with the Act and the applicable regulations made under the Act;

"electromagnetic field"

means the static electric, static magnetic and time-varying electric and magnetic fields with frequencies up to 300 GHz;

"equivalent chill temperature"

means the expression of wind-chill reflecting the cooling power of wind on exposed flesh, which takes into account both dry-bulb temperature and wind speed;

"exposure"

means contact with a physical agent at the workplace and includes potential, accidental or possible exposure, and exposed has a derivative meaning;

"flicker"

means the impression of unsteadiness of visual perception induced by a light stimulus whose luminance or spectral distribution fluctuates with time;

"glare"

means the condition of vision that is caused by luminance that sufficiently exceeds the luminance to which the eyes are adapted and that causes annoyance or discomfort or reduction in visual performance and visibility;

"hand-arm vibration"

means the mechanical vibration which is transmitted into the hands and arms during a work activity;

"heat stress"

means the total heat load to which an employee may be exposed from the combined effects of metabolic heat, environmental factors and clothing requirements;

"illuminance"

means the expressed amount of light falling on a surface per unit area, measured in lux;

"illumination"

means the application of light to a scene, objects or their surroundings so that they may be seen, and lighting has a corresponding meaning;

"indoor air quality"

means the totality of attributes of indoor air at the workplace that affect a person’s health and well-being;

"luminance"

means the intensity of light emitted from a surface per unit area in a given direction;

"medical screening"

means a risk-based systematic medical assessment of a person or a group of people using a combination of medical history, physical examination and special tests or investigations to detect disease or abnormality;

"natural ventilation"

means the movement of air into, inside and out of a building due to natural causes;

"occupational non-ionising radiation"

means all radiations and fields of the electromagnetic spectrum that do not normally have sufficient energy to produce ionisation in matter and includes optical radiation and the electromagnetic field;

"occupational exposure limit"

means the limit or value set by the Minister for a physical agent in the workplace;

"optical radiation"

means the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes infrared radiation, visible light and ultraviolet radiation;

"physical agent"

means a source of energy which may result in injury or disease after exposure and includes, but is not limited to, cold stress, heat stress, vibration, non-ionising radiation and illumination;

"physical agent exposure monitoring"

means the systematic process of measuring the magnitude, frequency and duration of exposure to a physical agent;

"physical agent exposure risk assessment"

means a risk assessment and risk categorisation of potential exposure to a physical agent;

"physical agents technical committee"

means a committee established in terms of regulation 19;

"pitch, yaw and roll"

means the three dimensions of movement when an object moves through a medium;

"relative humidity"

means the ratio of the quantity of water vapour present in the air to the quantity that would saturate it at any specific temperature;

"specialised illumination"

means additional illumination developed or designed for use in hazardous workplaces, locations or precision tasks;

"stroboscopic effect"

means the change in motion perception induced by light stimulus, light luminance or spectral distribution, which fluctuates with time, for a static observer in a nonstatic environment;

"the Act"

means the Occupational Health and Safety Act,1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993);

"time-weighted average"

means the average of a number of representative measurements that are taken over a defined period of time;

"uniformity of illuminance"

means the ratio of the minimum illuminance to the area-weighted average illuminance (Ehmin/Ehav) or area-weighted maximum illuminance (Ehmin/Ehmax);

"vibration"

means the mechanical, periodic or random oscillations of an object about an equilibrium point;

"vulnerable employee"

means an employee who is at a higher risk of injury, disease or complications caused by exposure to a physical agent;

"wet-bulb globe temperature index"

means a combination of the effects of the four main thermal components affecting heat stress: air temperature, absolute humidity, air velocity and mean radiant temperature;

"whole-body vibration"

means mechanical vibration that is transmitted into the body, when seated or standing, through the supporting surface, during a work activity.

Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)

Regulations

Physical Agents Regulations, 2024

1. Definitions