March 2013 saw the introduction of a volume safety limit for new portable music players such as iPods. New mobile phones and portable music players sold within the EU must now have a sound limit of 85 Decibels (dB). This is above the 80 dB which is regarded as the safe limit. This is similar to the volume of noise created by the noise of traffic or someone shouting. The 80dB limit was determined by the European Commission Assessment which concluded that 80dB was a safe level regardless of the length of time people were exposed to sound at this level.