The Noise Burden Transferred

With the construction boom unyielding for the past years, many of us have been affected one way or another by the incessant construction noise.

According to this report "Noisy work restricted", starting from 1 Sep 2010, SINGOV is banning any construction within 150m from residential units from Saturday 10pm, to Sunday 10am. This means you can get to sleep in on Sunday mornings, unlike previously when construction is allowed 24-7 within certain noise range.

Then by 1 Sep 2011, you will get 2 nights of sleep from Sat 10pm to Mon 10am per week.

Sounds like an improvement? Of course.

But wait a minute...

(A) Does this mean construction is still allowed to go on everyday, except Sat night to Sunday morning?

YES.
The latest regulation means that from 1 Oct 2010, you will get 1 night of noiseless sleep per week, assuming construction noise is the only source of noise pollution in your area.

Up to 1 Oct 2010, construction is allowed to go on 24-7, with certain 'limits' on noise levels as such:


Taken from NEA's website.

Just in case you are wondering what the minimum level of 50 dBA or maximum level of 90 dBA sound like... See examples of dBA here and here.

You may be surprised to find out that at 50 dBA, it should sound like a refrigerator in operation.

And according to NEA's table, noises at 90dbA are only allowed away from hospitals and schools and for 5 minutes continuously only, not any longer. So what does 90dBA sound like? It should sound like a tractor or the 'quieter'-end of motorcycles.

If these are the noise limits, why are we still hearing noises which sound so much louder constantly?

The answer lies in where the noise measurements are taken.

Real life example: When the condo next to ours was under construction, quite a few residents from our development complained to NEA. 24-7 construction. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the people staying on the first and second floor with their bedroom windows only 2-3m away from workers throwing metal and wooden formworks from upper floors. So NEA came by and installed a 'noise recorder'.

You see, NEA had a plan. If the recorded noise level goes beyond the levels stated in the tables above, the main contractor will get demerit points (I assume up to some point, they will have to stop work, and so, suffer economic losses.) Sounds like a great plan!

The only problem was... The 'noise recorder' was not installed right outside the bedroom window or by the bed nearest to the noise source. Instead, it was installed on the roof top of our condominium block. Yes! ON THE ROOF TOP where no one stays and any noise/sound energy traveling upwards would have dissipated anyway. The conclusion when we called the NEA hotline was that the construction noise next door was within the permissible limits. =_=

(B) How long did SINGOV take to do something about this construction noise problem?

According to the news report, at least 4 years and 41,000 complaints later.

That's like how many hours of sleep affected? Will this eventually contribute to increase in healthcare costs for the country as a whole?

And remember... with this new regulation, you still only getting 1 or 2 nights of noiseless sleep. Is that supposed to be some kind of consolation?

(C) Why did it take so long?

O_o

Maybe it's because NEA says stopping construction for 12 or 24 hours per week (reduction of 7%-14% of construction hours) will increase construction costs by 2.0 - 2.5% and construction periods by 10% to 17%. If this is the cost of 1 night of sleep per week, guess who is bearing that cost now?

Or maybe, the poor unit in NEA which handles the 14,000 per annum noise complaints is only made up of a couple of senior officers and a few 'site inspectors' who has to go to site every time a complaint is lodged. That's more than 38 complaints per day or 1.5 complaints per hour, 24-7. Can you really blame these officers for not responding fast enough or smart enough? So when I lodge my complaints, I go for the middle managers and above, instead of these ground officers, such that the former group cannot pretend to not be aware of the situation, and perhaps... they will try to improve the situation.

My main gripe with the noise pollution is not just about how it affects people who have jobs. Yes, they don't get to rest well at night... As if that not bad enough... Imagine those who are stuck at home, e.g. homemakers, jobless, sick, or old. Some of these people are resting, recuperating and even dying at home. And HDB flats are supposed to be 'natural retirement communities', according to today's news.

Please... This is just plain apathy.
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And since we are at the topic of noise...

"The maximum amount of time a person can be exposed to 85 dBA without experiencing hearing damage is 8 hours; this is the average level of noise a person hears every day. However, continuous exposure to 85 dBA beyond the 8-hour limit will cause hearing loss. If a person is exposed to level above 85 dBA, the risk of hearing loss increases in a shorter amount of time. The maximum time allowed for 110 dBA (e.g. a crying baby) is 1 minute 29 seconds. If a person is exposed to a noise that has a measurement of 140 dBA (e.g. airplane departure), immediate inner ear damage would result."

~ The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

No wonder parents don't stop their kids from crying so loudly and freely, even in enclosed spaces such a mall or MRT train/plane cabin. Because they can't hear them as well anymore.
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And so, to the person from SPH who reads my blog daily... perhaps you will do a piece on noise pollution in Singapore and its factors, or get your friends at Mediacorp to put together a 30-minute feature on noise... Just walk around public spaces, measure noise levels, and calculate how much noise each of us are exposed to daily, then compare that with 'recommended noise-tolerance levels.