IN a throbbing Oxford nightclub, two respectable women listen to the latest dance classic and turn to each other and grin.

Dance-mad clubbers Helen Wheeler and Peta Donaghy have just landed their dream job - and are determined to make the most of it.

Both women work for Oxford City Council's environmental health department - which involves checking out the city's clubbing hot-spots.

They both love to visit nightclubs in their spare time. And now they are getting paid to indulge their passion.

But their work has a very serious side. Helen and Peta recently spent two nights exposing themselves to the latest dancefloor hits to investigate a new health threat facing local young people - dance deafness.

And as they checked the volume of hits by Ultra Nate, Brainbug and DJ Quicksilver, they loved every minute.

Helen, 35, of Headington, Oxford, who has a seven-year-old daughter Jenny, said: "We knew we were working but we certainly enjoyed it.

"We had a job to do but spent two very happy nights touring the clubs. I have been night-clubbing for years and we both love a good dance."

Mum-of-three Peta, of Middleton Stoney, who has two teenage sons and a teenage daughter and also enjoyed visiting some of her favourite venues.

"I have a lot of foreign students staying with me and they all go to the clubs. This was very familiar territory." For those who may not have donned disco togs for a while, we're not talking about playing the Stylistics or Leo Sayer a touch on the loud side.

Club music these days is as loud as the sound of your average pneumatic drill - with the sound of thundering basslines hitting decibel levels not much below that of a jet taking off.

The city council's environmental health department has become so worried about music volumes that embarked on a major survey of all the city's main nightspots.

It is not just clubgoers who are putting themselves at risk. The city council is now concerned about the men and women who work in clubs every night.

The two women have already been around Oxford's largest seven clubs, discreetly clutching noise meters. And their findings hardly came as music to the ears of the city's health and environment committee.

Noise levels were found to have exceeded 90 decibels in four cases and clubs could find themselves facing legal action if they don't warn staff of the risk to their hearing and offer them ear protection.

"It is as noisy in a nightclub as any major factory environment," says Helen. "But employers are only now waking up to the dangers. "Club owners can take a number of measures including turning the music down, but there are other options such as providing quiet areas for staff where they can go for a break from the noise."

Peta, who is also in her thirties, added: "The public is at less risk because they have a choice whether or not to go to clubs, but it has to be an informed choice.

"Every time you stand next to a speaker with 90 to 100 decibels, you damage your ears and that is irreparable. The more often you do that, the more damage you will do."

The monitoring is part of the Good Health is Good Business Campaign, which is being backed by Oxford City Council.

Principal environmental health officer Ian Wright said: "Not a lot of councils want to get involved in this area of health and safety. It can mean being perceived as kill-joys. "But then young people aged from 18 to 25 think they are indestructible. They think it a great laugh when they have to shout at each other afterwards, because their hearing has been affected.

"I think the character of music has changed since the seventies disco and eighties club scene. Club-goers now say you should feel the beat, rather than just hear it."

James Hawkins, general manager of Oxford's Park End Club, said his club would be adhering to council advice.

"I think customers are aware it is going to be noisy but the law protects staff. Noise levels were found to be high near the dance floor and we have been advised to rotate staff to quieter areas of the club.

"We shall be making ear-plugs available to staff and then it will be up to them. As for DJs, they tend to be employed on a freelance basis.

"But I don't believe this club is particularly loud. I've been to clubs in London, where the music is verging on the deafening." WHAT THE LAW SAYS ON NOISE

Where noise levels are over 85 decibels, club owners are required by law to tell staff about the risk of damage to their hearing.

Employers must provide ear protection where noise is excessive.

Club owners also have a duty to ensure that they do not expose members of the public to risks to their health under the Health and Safety Act 1974.

Rock gigs still pose the biggest threat. Volumes in many Oxford clubs exceed 90 decibels but volumes of 117 decibels have been recorded at some concerts.

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