According to the European Union, noise levels can drastically affect the quality of life. High levels of noise can cause heart disease, cognitive problems and tinnitus while prolonged exposure to even low levels of noise can trigger hypertension and disrupt sleep.
... 79 per cent of the Maltese who are victims of noise nuisance do not register a complaint- John Fenech
About 40 per cent of the population in EU countries are exposed to road traffic noise at levels exceeding 55 db(A).
Twenty per cent are exposed to levels exceeding 65 dB(A) during the daytime and more than 30 per cent are exposed to levels exceeding 55 dB (A) at night.
WHO says that the trend is that noise exposure is increasing in Europe compared to other stressors (like, exposures to second-hand smoke, dioxins and benzene), which are declining.
Furthermore, it is costing the English taxpayer between £7 billion and £10 billion per year. This figure comprises annoyance to the public, the adverse health effects that can be quantified and loss of productivity.
Which are the types of noise?
Environmental noise, which includes noise from transportation sources.
Neighbour noise that includes noise from inside and outside people’s homes.
Neighbourhood noise, arising from within the community such as industrial and entertainment premises, trade and business outlets, construction sites and noise in the street.
When is noise a nuisance?
Noise is “unwanted” sound that is either physically or psychologically distressing to the receiver. Noise is subjective as such; one person’s noise is another person’s sound.
Although noise nuisance in our islands is a daily occurrence around the clock, for several reasons, the public fails to complain beyond parochial level. Therefore, the polluter is exploiting this situation at the expense of those who are exposed to the hazard.
It is no exaggeration to say that 79 per cent of the Maltese who are victims of noise nuisance do not register a complaint. The reasons being that some do not care, others do not believe in effective enforcement and others still do not know to whom to report or the procedure to follow when raising a report.
Those that do make a complaint, generally report the nuisance to the police. Others place their complaint with the local councils, the health authorities or to the instigator of the noise source.
It is a fact that, on several occasions, the noise nuisance will disappear by the time the authorities arrive to investigate the complaint. Therefore, it is important that the complainant follows up the report.
The Environmental Noise Directive (END) is intended to cut the harmful effects of noise from transportation.
Legal methodology either in objective criteria or subjective terms is to manage noise from neighbour and neighbourhood sources.
Unfortunately, for non-statutory nuisance, as is the case in Malta, the law does not define exactly what is and what is not a nuisance. Nevertheless, the law had, on several occasions, decided in favour of those suffering from noise nuisance. In these cases, the evidence that demonstratea the risk to health was based on objective criterion.
In Malta, noise regulations are the remit of six ministries. This state of affairs leads to fragmentation, which is the cause of poor noise management and enforcement consequential to endless frustration for the victims of noise pollution.
The Noise Abatement Society of Malta, NASoM, set about to tackle this state of affairs since its inception, in October 2010. It initiated discussions with the authorities to seek solutions to this situation. In 2011, the NGO proposals were accepted by the authorities as a valid contribution towards improving the management of noise pollution.
As a result several of these proposals are reflected in the White Paper titled Neighbourhood Noise Prevention, Abatement And Control, including:
1. Establish the acceptable noise level thresholds for day, evening and night (WHO guidelines).
2. Set up a noise control board to manage and coordinate the various entities, monitor noise regulation compliance by the various sectors and keep track of the complaint/remedial progress.
3. There needs to be cooperation and interrelationship between the police, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Transport Malta, the Malta Tourism Authority, local councils and health inspectors to ensure effective management and enforcement.
4. Revise existing legal sources and transpose EU noise-related directives into the Maltese statute book.
5. Open a centralised call centre to receive noise complaints.
6. List noise pollution as a statutory nuisance.
Even so, the association feels the need to make further suggestions concerning mediation, education and the regulation of “one-off events”.
NASoM believes that, although noise nuisance is an ongoing topic, the relevant information about the subject is scant.
Therefore the association, with the cooperation of the Local Councils Association, got in touch with the local councils to find mutual ground to raise awareness about the health hazard created by unwanted sound. So far, the response was not encouraging. We hope that it will improve in the near future.
Nevertheless, if people feel they should be better protected from the hazard of noise pollution, they now have that opportunity to make the difference.
Finally, NASoM would like to thank Environment Minister Mario de Marco and his team for their dedication to bring about the much-needed change to the management and enforcement of neighbour and neighbourhood noise.
nasomalta@gmail.com
The author is chairman of the Noise Abatement Society of Malta.