Tolerance to noise may vary from one culture to another. Night noise guidelines released in 2009 by the World Health Organisation leave little doubt over the harm noise causes to human health. In Germany, three per cent of heart attacks were attributed to road traffic noise.
A noise action plan about to unfold over Malta may seem disappointing at first glance to all those who were seeking respite from another long hot noisy summer.
The Noise Abatement Society of Malta, which has also proposed a bylaw on barking dogs (not included in the directive under discussion), has sent its comments on the plan to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Fireworks, loud music from outdoor entertainment venues, neighbours who open the windows and turn up the volume – none of these feature clearly in the 2002 EU directive which sets out to address environmental noise as “unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic, and from sites of industrial activity”.
Noise from domestic activity is simply not subject to the European directive, which sets out to reduce the number of people affected by major roads and industries with integrated pollution prevention and control permits. Noise limit values for these are determined by each member state.
Mapping of noise from the above will be overseen by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Even the airport will fall within criteria to be monitored as thresholds change.
The Mepa unit which is responsible for pollution from waste, air emissions and radiation is also responsible for noise pollution and will be obliged to take measures where limits are exceeded.
So far the unit has received €4.9 million aid for environmental monitoring co-funded by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund and the government. Malta will be catching up on overdue reporting obligations this year and is preparing to send more data to the EU Commission in time for the second round of reporting in 2012.
In a draft five-year action plan presented for public consultation on the Mepa website last month, British noise consultants Acustica Ltd noted that the authorities have the power to replace diesel vehicles with compressed natural gas or convert to electric.
Other measures may include control of truck routes, enforcing speed limits and sound barriers in noise-sensitive school, hospital and residential areas. The plan is to be ready within two years and submitted to the EU Commission by 2014.
Other actions may include better road surface maintenance, redesign of street space, reducing traffic volume, better planning of new developments and building insulation such as double glazing. Enforcement of control on vehicle noise emissions and tyre noise regulations based on existing EU levels also comes into the picture.
In a preventative approach, quiet areas in the vicinity of a major road, below a 24-hour average of 55 decibels, may be preserved. The preservation of relatively quiet areas in open countryside is also a possibility.
Road tolls which tax polluting vehicles for noise and air emissions are part of the Eurovignette road user charge, although it appears funds will be re-invested in transport infrastructure.
Toll gates are now being proposed on the Gozo route. In the event that the Gozo tunnel proposal comes to fruition it is likely that the ferry boats will be taken out of service.
The Gozo Channel ferries currently serve the European Ten-T route joining the islands and it is unclear whether Gozitans stand to lose their subsidy on the crossing should the trip fare be replaced by a tunnel toll fee.
A hush fell on the room where engineer Eivind Grøv cited various examples of undersea tunnels in Norway which had replaced the local ferry service. At the public dialogue meeting organised by Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said examples of subsea tunnels in Norway, the Faroe Islands and the Shetlands were given, among others.
Transport Malta has commissioned a funded study to be carried out over the next three months to decide whether it is worth carrying out a geological feasibility study. Initial design projections indicate a probable steep descent into a rock-cut cavern which may bottom out under Comino.
Yet not even the scientists can be certain of what they will find when they start digging.
Grøv touched on the risks that “cannot be zeroed in a viable way”. He admitted that unpredicted adverse conditions can be encountered during construction, but added that in his experience, despite seepage and other problems, no tunnel project had been abandoned yet.
Tunnelling under the seabed, one project ran into wet sand that was dealt with by heavy grouting in pre-drilled holes. Another was delayed by a year when it ran into adverse conditions at the deepest point.
Travel time to the airport from Gozo would be reduced, although the immense cost to the landscape and character of Gozo may be difficult to calculate, and undersea tunnels require constant maintenance.
Reservoirs with a capacity for two days of inflow would be built in the tunnel to cope with inevitable seepage carefully monitored every 100 metres and diverted away from the road surface.
Fire and SOS stations would be positioned throughout the tunnel with telephones which would relay an automatic instruction to drivers depending on the type of incident.
Even large vehicles would find turning space in the event that they are instructed to exit the tunnel the way they came in.
Despite assurances by the engineer, who is also president of the Norwegian Tunnelling Society, the difficulty in disposing of massive amounts of waste rock debris from excavation is evident. Dumping it at sea, or on the coastline as a ‘reclamation’ project, would not go down well. It is possible that the proposed tunnel route would run under Comino, surfacing in the sensitive Ħondoq ir-Rummien area.
Every inch of coastline in Malta and Gozo is important for tourism and nature. Norway, the richest nation in Europe, with its long coastline may be better able to afford sea-tunnelling than our fragile island destination.
A tunnel poll on Gozo News website shows those in favour of the tunnel in the lead, although readers’ comments reflect the opposing side of the debate.
For example, Charles Muscat from Australia wrote: “A tunnel will destroy the tranquillity of such a beautiful island. There will be cars coming and going which will destroy what Gozo is really about.
“Tourists will find another place to visit which will ruin locally-run business. Think of the big picture and the future of your beautiful island for the sake of future generations.”
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