Politics Noise in the National Council chamber does not pose a health risk
Heated debates, discussions and phone calls: it can certainly get loud in the National Council chamber. However, measurements from the summer session now show that noise pollution does not pose a health risk.
19.11.2025, 10:32
SDA
The noise level in the Grand Chamber was usually between 63 and 69 decibels during the summer session. This is shown by an analysis by the parliamentary services, which was also made available to the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday. The CH Media newspapers first reported on this.
On June 2, 81 decibels were measured for around one minute - as well as on two other days in the same month. This is comparable to loud road traffic or a running vacuum cleaner. However, the limit values were never exceeded, the parliamentary services told CH Media.
The evaluation clearly showed that noise levels between 63 and 69 decibels are the norm: on June 2, for example, a level of 63 decibels was exceeded for 274 minutes and a level of 66 decibels for 145 minutes. Above 69 decibels it was loud for 36 minutes, above 72 decibels for only four minutes.
According to the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (Suva), noise below 85 decibels is "largely harmless as long as the exposure is not excessive", as stated on their website. From a noise level of 85 decibels over 8 hours at the workplace, hearing protection is mandatory, as this is classified as harmful.
