Overcoming noise pollution

Noise is a collection of mixed sounds with different frequencies and intensities, causing discomfort to listeners. Recently, noise pollution has been quite common in some localities in the province, posing many potential health risks and affecting people's quality of life.

Applying modern machinery in production helps reduce noise pollution. (In photo: Workers of Khanh Dat Furniture Manufacturing Company Limited, Giao Tien Commune (Giao Thuy) check machinery before operating).

Many sources of noise pollution

There are many common sources of noise such as: car horns, motorbikes of all kinds; sounds emitted from production sites, construction sites, karaoke singing in residential areas, portable speakers... According to research experts, noise pollution silently affects human health. People living in areas with too much noise often have trouble sleeping, are prone to stress, hearing damage, loss of body balance, and nervous breakdown. People undergoing medical treatment living in noisy places will have a slower recovery process. Ms. TTY, who used to live and sell goods along National Highway 10, through Loc Ha ward ( Nam Dinh city), shared: "Long-term exposure to the noise of traffic makes me always feel tired, my hearing is significantly reduced. Especially at night, many cars still honk loudly, causing many people living along the road to have trouble sleeping." Because she could not stand the noise along National Highway 10, Ms. Y sold her house and moved to a quieter place. Worryingly, many motorcycle and motorbike owners are now modifying horns and exhaust pipes with high sound intensity and power, causing disorder and insecurity; potentially causing traffic accidents, especially for women and the elderly who are easily startled, leading to staggering and losing control... Mr. Tran Quang V, who has many years of experience playing large displacement motorbikes in My Loc district, said: "Not only "modifying" horns, many people also "modify" exhaust pipes. Although different in type and price, all modified exhaust pipes have the characteristic of exploding loudly and rumbling. When Mr. V first bought the motorbike, he modified the exhaust pipe, air chamber and bought a new Akrapovic exhaust... After a period of use, many passersby complained and gave him feedback, so he reinstalled the original exhaust pipe of the motorbike."

In recent times, noise pollution control in residential areas still seems to depend on people's awareness. Every day at 5 pm, Ms. Le Thi Lan in Loc Vuong ward (Nam Dinh city) picks up her grandchild to go home. Before she can talk to her grandchild, she quickly closes the door because of the deafening sounds from the neighbor's karaoke system. Ms. Lan shared: "I am old, near my house there is a cafe that "sings to each other"; some families nearby also often sing karaoke at high volume, sometimes several families sing together, each with a different style of music, creating a mixed sound that causes headaches. Neighbors, I gently remind them to turn down the volume but they are annoyed and the next day it continues..." Coming to work with a tired mood due to many days of insomnia, Ms. Tran Thi Lua, My Phuc commune (My Loc) complained to her colleagues about the frequent sound of kite flutes in her living area recently. Large kites with wingspans of several meters, attached with large flutes, are often anchored in the sky from morning to night with loud sounds that keep people awake. Faced with this situation, people have directly tracked the location of the kites to advise kite flyers and reported to local authorities for preventive measures.

One of the common sources of noise comes from production activities, concentrated in mechanical manufacturing villages, carpentry villages... According to the results of monitoring the current environmental status of the province in recent years, the noise in some craft villages in the province exceeds the permitted standards (QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT - National technical regulation on noise) but at a low level. Small-scale, individual facilities mostly do not have solutions to reduce noise during the production process, causing many people living nearby, especially direct workers, to have symptoms of tinnitus and hearing loss.

Synchronize solutions

From August 25, 2022, Decree 45/2022/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for environmental violations will take effect. Accordingly, the penalty for noise violations is up to 160 million VND for individuals and 320 million VND for organizations if it exceeds 40 dBA (unit of measurement for sound noise). The lowest penalty is from 1-5 million VND for noise exceeding technical standards from 2 dBA to less than 5 dBA. Regarding noise sources from vehicle horns, Decree No. 100/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government stipulates administrative sanctions for violations in the field of road and railway traffic, in which Section 1, Chapter II stipulates sanctions for violations of road traffic rules. For cars and similar vehicles, a fine of 200,000-400,000 VND will be imposed for the act of "honking in urban areas and densely populated areas from 10:00 p.m. the previous day to 5:00 a.m. the following day, except for priority vehicles on duty as prescribed" (Point g, Clause 1, Article 5); from 800,000 VND - 1 million VND for the act of "honking, revving the engine continuously; honking the air horn, using high beams in urban areas and densely populated areas, except for priority vehicles on duty as prescribed" (Point b, Clause 3, Article 5)... Although the provisions of the law on the use of car horns are relatively complete, in reality, in recent times, it has been difficult to punish traffic controllers who violate regulations on car horns because in the process of detecting and handling traffic vehicles, the authorities still lack sound measuring devices.

In order to overcome shortcomings and limitations and strictly implement the responsibility of State management on environmental protection in craft villages, on February 3, 2023, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 61/UBND-VP3 requesting departments, branches and localities to strengthen environmental protection work in craft villages in the province. Organize reviews and include in the plan for converting occupations, relocating establishments and households producing in industries and occupations that are not encouraged to develop and establishments that cause long-term environmental pollution... In addition, to reduce noise pollution, in recent times, functional branches and localities in the province have implemented many synchronous measures. Many localities in the province have developed conventions and village regulations based on the consensus of the people. For weddings, it is stipulated that families are not allowed to use loudspeakers or performing arts past 10:00 p.m. Funerals must be economical, using loudspeakers for funerals no later than 10pm and not turning on loudspeakers before 5am... Many localities have made the implementation of conventions and village rules a criterion when considering awarding the title of cultural family, cultural neighborhood, village, and hamlet. Functional forces: Traffic police, Traffic inspectors, Market management strengthen coordination in checking and handling vehicles that violate regulations, establishments that produce and sell horns that do not comply with regulations... At the same time, promote propaganda, raise awareness, consciousness and responsibility of people when participating in traffic, regulations of the Road Traffic Law; do not abuse honking on the road. Many schools invite traffic police officers to impart legal knowledge on traffic safety, points to note when participating in traffic to teachers and students.

In the coming time, functional sectors and localities will continue to implement many synchronous solutions, including promoting propaganda to raise awareness and resolutely sanctioning administrative violations of noise. In addition, each citizen also needs to raise awareness of self-implementation of legal regulations and build a healthy cultural environment./.

Article and photos: Viet Du

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