Is the FAP saying that 95% SGs are simply liars?
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/95-feedback-construction-noise-not-valid-nea
[h=1]Up to 95% of feedback on construction noise not valid: NEA[/h]
Senior Noise Enforcement Officer Mr Zulkifli Mat Noor with a hand-held noise meter. Photo: Low Wei Xin
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[email protected] -
Published: 4:18 AM, May 8, 2015
(Page 1 of 2) - NEXT PAGE | SINGLE PAGE
SINGAPORE — Of the 40-odd complaints his team received daily last year about construction sites exceeding the noise limit, less than 10 per cent were found to be valid, said senior noise-enforcement officer Zulkifli Mat Noor.
Most of the complaints were from unhappy residents who wanted some quiet time after a hard day’s work, said the officer from the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) pollution control department.
=> So the FAP's solution to noise pollution is to set a high threshold to 'invalidate' SGs' complaints, and classify them as 'unsubstantiated'?
The agency said up to 95 per cent of the feedback it had received about construction noise levels in the past five years was unsubstantiated.
Last year, it received more than 16,000 such complaints, despite efforts to reduce noise levels at construction sites through initiatives such as the Quieter Construction Fund, which can be tapped by companies to buy quieter work equipment.
The residents who complained usually wanted to know whether the noise they were hearing had exceeded the limit set by the NEA.
Some of them filed complaints based on the noise levels registered by their mobile applications, which the agency said offer inaccurate measurements.
To prove its point, comparisons between a handheld noise meter and a mobile noise reader were made twice by NEA officials in the presence of the media during a visit to a construction site in Choa Chu Kang on Tuesday.
The mobile application recorded a higher reading of about 20 decibels at both times.
However, for some residents, it did not matter whether the noise they heard fell within the approved range.
“They understand if there is (ongoing) work in the day. But at night, they are more concerned about their own welfare ... they would want the activity to be lessened or eliminated,” said Mr Zulkifli, who was at the test site.
=> Shame on you SGs for 'being concerned with your own welfare' (and not that of the FAP's and its cronies')!
He also noted that some of the construction sites had valid reasons for continuing work into the night.
For example, those that experienced bad weather conditions carried on working after 7pm because they were unable to halt certain activities, such as laying the building’s foundation, which might pose a safety hazard if it was not completed.
Under the NEA’s construction noise regulatory framework, the noise limit is set at 70 decibels — the amount generated by a vacuum cleaner when switched on — over a five-minute interval after 7pm for sites within 150m of noise-sensitive premises, such as hospitals and residences. Companies that do not adhere to the stipulated limits can be fined up to S$40,000.
And once a complaint is received, noise-enforcement officers such as Mr Zulkifli will carry out an investigation by getting readings from noise meters installed at construction sites or noise-sensitive premises nearby. The NEA’s regulatory framework also requires sites with construction projects worth more than S$3 million and located within 150m of noise-sensitive premises to install real-time noise meters.
Projects below S$3 million, which have noise-sensitive premises within a stipulated radius, are required to install standalone noise meters.
Of about 5,900 construction sites that were active last year, about 1,800 installed real-time noise meters, said the NEA. MATTHIAS TAY
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/95-feedback-construction-noise-not-valid-nea
[h=1]Up to 95% of feedback on construction noise not valid: NEA[/h]
Senior Noise Enforcement Officer Mr Zulkifli Mat Noor with a hand-held noise meter. Photo: Low Wei Xin -
[email protected] -
Published: 4:18 AM, May 8, 2015
(Page 1 of 2) - NEXT PAGE | SINGLE PAGE
SINGAPORE — Of the 40-odd complaints his team received daily last year about construction sites exceeding the noise limit, less than 10 per cent were found to be valid, said senior noise-enforcement officer Zulkifli Mat Noor.
Most of the complaints were from unhappy residents who wanted some quiet time after a hard day’s work, said the officer from the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) pollution control department.
=> So the FAP's solution to noise pollution is to set a high threshold to 'invalidate' SGs' complaints, and classify them as 'unsubstantiated'?
The agency said up to 95 per cent of the feedback it had received about construction noise levels in the past five years was unsubstantiated.
Last year, it received more than 16,000 such complaints, despite efforts to reduce noise levels at construction sites through initiatives such as the Quieter Construction Fund, which can be tapped by companies to buy quieter work equipment.
The residents who complained usually wanted to know whether the noise they were hearing had exceeded the limit set by the NEA.
Some of them filed complaints based on the noise levels registered by their mobile applications, which the agency said offer inaccurate measurements.
To prove its point, comparisons between a handheld noise meter and a mobile noise reader were made twice by NEA officials in the presence of the media during a visit to a construction site in Choa Chu Kang on Tuesday.
The mobile application recorded a higher reading of about 20 decibels at both times.
However, for some residents, it did not matter whether the noise they heard fell within the approved range.
“They understand if there is (ongoing) work in the day. But at night, they are more concerned about their own welfare ... they would want the activity to be lessened or eliminated,” said Mr Zulkifli, who was at the test site.
=> Shame on you SGs for 'being concerned with your own welfare' (and not that of the FAP's and its cronies')!
He also noted that some of the construction sites had valid reasons for continuing work into the night.
For example, those that experienced bad weather conditions carried on working after 7pm because they were unable to halt certain activities, such as laying the building’s foundation, which might pose a safety hazard if it was not completed.
Under the NEA’s construction noise regulatory framework, the noise limit is set at 70 decibels — the amount generated by a vacuum cleaner when switched on — over a five-minute interval after 7pm for sites within 150m of noise-sensitive premises, such as hospitals and residences. Companies that do not adhere to the stipulated limits can be fined up to S$40,000.
And once a complaint is received, noise-enforcement officers such as Mr Zulkifli will carry out an investigation by getting readings from noise meters installed at construction sites or noise-sensitive premises nearby. The NEA’s regulatory framework also requires sites with construction projects worth more than S$3 million and located within 150m of noise-sensitive premises to install real-time noise meters.
Projects below S$3 million, which have noise-sensitive premises within a stipulated radius, are required to install standalone noise meters.
Of about 5,900 construction sites that were active last year, about 1,800 installed real-time noise meters, said the NEA. MATTHIAS TAY
