Sound Pollution: What is the solution

Noise or sound pollution is one of the many forms of environmental pollution prevalent in today’s world, mostly as a by-product of industrialisation and modernisation. However, it is a much neglected issue in Asian countries like ours where discussions on environmental hazards often focus on matters like deforestation, air pollution etc.

In fact, noisy streets thronged with vehicles tooting horns and lottery sellers and vendors prattling incessantly over loudspeakers, have become a trademark of city life in countries like Sri Lanka and India which do not adopt comprehensive policies for the regulation of sound pollution.

This is in stark contrast to many developed as well as other developing nations in the world where the gravity and the detrimental effects of sound pollution have received the attention they deserve, which in effect has resulted in effective laws and noise maps to curb the menace.

They include stringent regulations which go to the extent of prohibiting the tooting of a vehicle horn unless it is essential to avoid an accident and requiring people to confine any sound they produce to the limits of their households.

It is in this backdrop that the Central Environmental Authority has proposed the enactment of several important regulations to address sound pollution including the controversial proposal to restrict public address through loudspeakers from 10 pm to 6 am.

The views expressed by many readers welcoming this move since the issue was taken up by Daily News Debate are prime proof that a large number of Sri Lankans are silent victims of many forms of sound pollution.

However, the regulations have proved to be double-edged with certain segments opposing the new regulations on the basis that they impinge on freedom of conscience by controlling the use of loudspeakers at places of worship.

It is also contended that they would have an adverse impact on the livelihood of persons like lottery vendors and especially those engaged in the music industry as amplifiers transmitting music in full blast are considered a must for musical shows held in the night.

Write to Daily News Debate as wind up the discussion on sound pollution next week. Send in your contributions (in 750-1,000 words) to ‘Daily News Debate’, Daily News, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, PO Box 1217, Colombo, or via e-mail to [email protected] before October 29, 2007.

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Curbing noise pollution: a significant move

Jayashantha Jayawardhana

Tharaka Perera, a student is sitting the O/L exam in December this year, starts to pore over his notes in the evening. Just as he seats himself in the chair at the table, his music-minded neighbour switches on his hi-fi set up, playing a song at its full blast.

He attempts in vain to concentrate on the contents in his notes, but soon it dawns upon him that, with the metallic sound coming from the next-door, it is next impossible to study. Closing his note-book, he begins to wonder whether people like his neighbour cannot enjoy music without disturbing others.

There are plenty of people who have much in common with Tharaka`s neighbour.

They want other people engaged in their thoughtless quest for fun in spite of the fact that the others do not have the slightest interest in the music that they enjoy and that it can be rather annoying to them. The witless inconsiderate music lovers of this kind are high on the list of noise-makers.

If they can be a little more considerate of their fellow-men, a serious problem can be readily solved with little intervention of the law.

Sources

But most people are simply blind to the deleterious impact their wild fun can have on others.

So sound pollution control laws have become a sine qua none for peace-loving people. What I have just mentioned is but one instance of sound pollution while there are countless instances of it.

We all knowingly or unintentionally contribute more or less to sound pollution.

Let us now ponder on how we happen to pollute sound: when we raise our voice to blame or to scold someone, unconsciously though, we become sound polluters; when we drive a vehicle with an under-performing engine emitting unnecessary noise, we more or less pollute sound; when we turn up the volume of our radio cassette recorder more than we ought to, again we pollute noise; when we throw thrashes, going on forever with ear-splitting music and ceaseless laughter of the merrymakers or the party-goers, we deprive our neighbours of their sleep as well as their peace of mind for hours on end and make a whacking contribution to sound pollution; when we operate machines like blenders, grinders, electric drills and electric saws whose noise literally benumb our ears, we are at fault ourselves; when we hold pirith-chanting continuing all night, aiming to bring the blessings of the gods ruling the world upon us and our homes, we pollute the sound and ruin the peace of our neighbourhood in spite of our good intentions; when we run a rice-mill, a timber-mill, a press or a black-smith’s shop giving out incessant noise, we are again guilty of polluting sound; when we use air-crafts or trains to transport passengers or goods, we can scarcely argue that we are innocent of sound pollution; when we run a stone-quarry, emanating the ceaseless noise of blasts and hammer-blows hitting the granite, we cannot just claim that we are only trying to earn a living and that we do not intend to pollute sound; when we organize entertainment events like musical shows, lasting on most occasions almost until pre-dawn and even when we make a small contribution of Rs. 20 to such an event, we contribute to sound pollution; and finally when we wage war, we maliciously pollute sound with gunfire, artillery and bomb-blasts, which, I believe, is the worst of all.

Disturbance and Irritation

The list of instances of noise pollution is so prolix that it can go on and on though I have ended it here.

Excessive noise is, needless to mention, always disturbing and annoying. When our neighbour’s cassette player starts to deafen us, we simply feel peeved and annoyed.

This annoyance or irritation, which is not very much harmful in itself, can, however, goad us to aggression depending upon our mood and the nature of our relationship with that particular person annoying us, which will probably result in very unpleasant consequences on both ourselves and the other party involved.

Simply stated, a dispute can easily develop into an altercation which may in turn develop into a quarrel. As a result of this, some relationships may be wrecked beyond repair.

If one is at a race track the noise is in context and the psychological effects are absent.

If one is at an outdoor picnic the race track noise will produce adverse psychological and physical effects. Further, an irritated person at his work place will certainly not do his best and will, naturally, tend to disagree with the others in a far worse manner than he would otherwise have done.

He will certainly be far less productive than he would otherwise have been; no one will be too pleased to be working with him, either. Things would be even worse if the vexed person is the head of a particular organisation.

Those under him will be in for an awful time. So it is only too clear that annoyance caused by noise can have very serious consequences on productivity in terms of human relations in an organizational context.

Noise health effects

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, noise health effects are two in nature; they are health effects and behavioral effects.

Noise pollution can cause hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, heartburn, ulcers, indigestion and hearing loss in addition to annoyance and aggression depending upon the level of sound or how loud it is.

Moreover, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems while tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression, and at times panic attacks.

Also it is notable that loud noise in any frequency range has deleterious effects across the entire range of human hearing.

Researchers have also found that chronic exposure to even moderately high levels of sound can result in hearing loss and that, compared to it aging itself is quite an insignificant factor as a cause of hearing loss.

In our country too, noise can pose a serious health threat if prompt action is not taken to curb the sound pollution.

So we believe it is high time that the relevant authorities took effective action towards quieting noise pollution.

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Sound pollution - an annoyance and a nuisance - a curb needed

M. Azhar Dawood

From dawn to dusk in our daily lives, we are bombarded with noise of all kinds wherever we may be. In our homes, workplaces, on the roads, market places, restaurants, railway stations, inside buses, religious places, etc. Noise inducted stress creates severe tension in our daily living and may lead to various forms of illnesses.

Early morning prayer calls through loudspeakers have been viewed as a menace as it disturbs the peace prevalent at this particular time. Pirith chanting and Bana preaching have not escaped the critics wrath communication through loudspeakers have been nonexistent for a long, long time, and every one has lived with it.

Relaying of Azan (call for prayers) five times a day and the chanting of Pirith, early morning or late into the night, have been part and parcel in this multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-lingual country. However, now this practice has come in for scrutiny because of the negative impact they have in the environs.

The call time for prayers takes about five minutes and for five times a day, twenty five minutes. On the other hand, Pirith or Bana goes on for many more minutes. Both have been accused of noise pollution.

We do not dispute the fact. At many political meetings, I have witnessed personages on the platform suspend proceedings whenever there was a prayer call, respecting the religious sensibilities of the minority community should there be any change for prayer calls in the future, Muslim brethren should take it as a big issue as there are religious extremists, waiting in the wings, to fish in troubled waters.

Let’s co-operate with the authorities and learn to live and let live. Islam is a religion of peace.

The Act, concerning sound pollution, which would find its place in the statute book is a very sensible topic. It should be handled very carefully so as not to hurt the religious sentiments of the respective followers. With the changing times and progressive thinking, time honoured traditions may have to fall in line.

The proposed law may call the Mosque authorities throughout the island to reduce the noise level within the Mosque premises. It should not be misconstrued by the misguided Muslims as an assault on their religion. The Opposition should not go to town and mislead the innocent public to gain political mileage. We trust saner counsel would prevail.

Beside the sound pollution from religious places, there are residential areas where peace and quiet takes a turn during the day and sometimes late into the night. Reception halls, public parks rented for functions and social gathering, bell out music to the highest decibel. The other day, we the residents, were subjected to high pitched music till one in the morning.

The reception hall being hired for a social was the cause of the disturbance. Music dished out over the public address was indeed deafening, caring not a tuppence to the sick, elderly, small children and others who need a peaceful sleep after a hard day’s work. Nobody in the vicinity raised a voice of protest.

The Police station is just 250 metres away but they never bothered. This particular reception hall pollutes the environment well past midnight at least four times a month.

There are similar ‘nuisance’ halls and entertainment parlours where various activities are conducted well past midnight, disregarding norms and conventions. The Police deliberately avoid these places. The reason? The palms of corrupt Police officers have been well oiled by the clout wielding owners. The result? Poor residents have to endure the ordeal and suffer in silence.

Nowadays, sweep ticket sellers on bicycles are everywhere. They assail you with loud music and quick. Fire announcements of instant tickets to get rich quick. On the roads, in busy streets, noises galore from all directions as hawkers and vendors market various items.

Sound pollution is at its best at busy junctions. When village boys start to make kottu rotty towards nightfall, cacophony of noises mingle with the reckless tooting of horns of vehicles. To add salt to the wound, there are the sounds of past speeding motor bicycles and booming noises of rickety, ramshackle and belching buses.

Many unfortunate residents whose houses are along busy, main roads, and those that live near the vicinity of rail tracks are subjected to noises of vehicles and trains respectively. There are others who have to cope with the endless barking of stray days in the night.

The sound of fire crackers is deadly. What about the constant barking of guard and watch dogs in affluent houses? They are an annoyance and a nuisance in the day time and in the dead of night as it disturbs your peaceful sleep. People living closer to places of the upper crust in society are fermented with sounds of these “dutiful” days.

The woodworking machines in furniture workshops that are located in residential areas is indeed peace and quiet. There are other welding workshops and garages which let out noises at all times of the day, disturbing the peace in the environment.

Residents are compelled to put up with these sounds since complaints to the police or local authority would not bring any redress. laws should be enacted not only to ban the use of loudspeakers but also to prohibit entrepreneurs setting up workshops and garages in residential areas as the machines are operated in full gear, emanating sounds to burst one’s era drums.

We speak of modern technology and the immense benefits it has brought to mankind. Nevertheless, some modern gadgets in our homes have some negative aspects, from the immediate neighbourhood, radios and cassette players our turned on at high pitch, and our own grinders, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners make noises to perform their tasks.

Now a days, we could see apartment complexes and condominium flats looking decent and elegant. You could see them not only in the city of Colombo but also in the suburbs and other main cities in the country.

Imagine the plight of these people when selfish and irresponsible neighbours have late parties and socials with music and dancing till the wee hours, paying scant respect for the comfort and convenience of others.

This is the sad scenario in some of the places. The respectable ones with their schooling children or elderly parents or relatives have to grin and bear this unfortunate situation since they have no other alternative.

We know that libraries and community centres have been opened for the good of the many. One is for silent reading of newspapers books and magazines. But lately, sound pollution has invaded these places as well. A keen reader is unable to engage in silent reading, detrimental to the interests of the reading public.

There are individuals who do not care a tuppence when they start their chatting. Not so old types shout at the top of their voices whilst engaged in a game of carrom or draughts.

The Duplication Road community centre has gained notoriety for indecent noise pollution among the respectable types who come there for reading pleasure. The chief in charge is conspicuous by his absence.

Sound pollution, unfortunately, has come to stay with us, afflicting mankind with dire consequences. It is a major thereat to the quality of human lives. According to psychologists, it has a serious repercussion on the human psyche. They opine subjected to 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep and at 120 decibels, the ear registers pain. Noise induced hearing loss usually happens slowly with no pain.

When one is exposed to loud noise repeatedly, he or she would have hearing loss that lasts forever. Besides, sounds can cause lack of sleep, irritability, ulcers, stress, indigestion, hypertension, heat diseases, etc, according to medical experts.

The aged, the sick, the infant are definitely victims of noises from loudspeakers and other sources, early in the morning and late night hours during their sleep. A well-known local heart specialist in a recent write-up states that heart patients need about 6 hours of good undisturbed sleep, and if they get nocturnal angina due to noise pollution should be prescribed antiangial drugs.

Sometimes they are prone to acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). He further says that majority of heart attacks and strokes occur in the night and early morning, the ungodly hours when loudspeakers sounds come into play.

He is of the view noise pollution can cause severe stress and insomnia in some people who are sensitive to noise pollution due to high sounding loudspeakers, especially at night and early morning. Insomnia could lead to severe fatigue and headache the follwing morning.

Under the circumstances, it is incumbent on the part of all stakeholders to understand the gravity and act responsibly. The Minister of Environment is keen to bring in their necessary legislation in the best interests of all concerned.

In most developed countries and in some Asian countries, sound pollution has been prohibited through enactment of appropriate laws and regulations. It is high time, Sri Lanka follows suit, not only to ban sound pollution from loudspeakers but also from other irritating sources.