Noise pollution: People are upset, authorities say it's difficult

(Baonghean) - Noise pollution has become widespread, causing negative impacts on people's quality of life. However, how to thoroughly handle this situation is a big challenge for authorities.

All kinds of noise pollution

During the recent Lunar New Year, on social networking sites and personal Facebook pages, many people expressed their annoyance and complained about their neighbors organizing spontaneous karaoke sessions at home all night long, making them feel like they were being tortured.

Facebook Hoang Tran (with an address in Anh Son district) shared: “I work in Saigon, on Tet holiday I return home hoping to have a moment of rest and reunion with my family. But unfortunately, around my house there are 3 families with large sound systems, dozens of “garden” singers and all kinds of music taking turns “torturing”. I know that on Tet holiday, everyone has the right to sing, but singing day and night like this is too annoying”. This status line quickly attracted hundreds of likes and many comments expressing opposition to such noisy actions.

Electronics and mobile phone stores continuously turn on loud speakers to advertise, causing noise in public places. Photo: Thao Phuong

In Vinh city, many businesses, electronics stores, mobile phone stores, clothing stores, bars, coffee shops, etc. compete to open advertisements and promotions with extremely loud sound to attract customers' attention. Especially near the holidays, many people living near commercial streets such as Nguyen Van Cu, Le Hong Phong, Dinh Cong Trang, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, etc. always complain that they feel tired when having to endure the extremely loud sound coming from many directions.

Not only that, in the evenings, this situation often occurs on streets with many drinking establishments. The loud cheers, combined with the sound from the loudspeakers of buskers, gum sellers, etc., make people suffer from deafening noise. Bui Nhu Trang (2nd year student, Vinh University) shared: Every night, the noise from the night food stalls and buskers makes it impossible for me to concentrate on studying. There are also small children in the room next door, the noise makes the sleeping baby startle and cry all the time."

Another culprit contributing to the current noise pollution is the vehicles. Although the use and installation of car horns have been specifically regulated, many vehicle owners still deliberately install and use them without awareness, causing significant impact on people around them; even many accidents occur due to the sound of the horn.

When asked for a foreigner’s opinion on this issue, Lan Robertson (Scottish, lecturer at Neoling English Center) said: “I find noise pollution in Vinh city and many other places in Vietnam quite alarming. In our country, karaoke is not allowed on the streets, construction sites are not allowed to operate at night. Even when traveling on the bus, the driver must ask the passengers’ permission before playing music...”.

According to many scientific studies, having to endure loud noise affects human health such as insomnia, headaches, tinnitus, reduced work efficiency, etc. However, this reality is still happening every day, every hour without a complete solution.

Difficult to handle

Since 2010, the national technical regulations on noise have been issued, clearly stating the subjects, scope, and maximum allowable limits of noise. In particular, in special areas including medical facilities, libraries, kindergartens, schools, etc., the maximum allowable limit for noise is 55 dBA from 6:00 to 21:00 and 45 dBA from 21:00 to 6:00; in normal areas including residential areas, separate or adjacent houses, hotels, motels, and administrative agencies, the allowable limit for noise is 70 dBA from 6:00 to 21:00 and 55 dBA from 21:00 to 6:00.

Although there are quite strict regulations, in reality, the handling of noise pollution still has many shortcomings. When people feel annoyed by noise, they often report it to the ward or commune. However, at this unit level, the government can only rely on regulations on time to maintain order such as after 22:00 or use measures such as reminders and mediation, but do not have the conditions of human resources and sound measuring equipment to impose penalties.

Recently, Vinh city has fined 5 bars and karaoke establishments for noise pollution violations. However, Mr. Bui Quang Phuong - Head of Vinh city's Department of Culture and Information admitted that the number cannot reflect the current noise pollution situation in the city.

According to Mr. Phuong, the difficulty in handling the issue is that when listening to sound by ear, noise can cause frustration and discomfort for many people, but if the specialized agency inspects and measures, the noise is within the permitted level, so it is not possible to impose a fine.

The increasing density of people and vehicles in traffic increases noise pollution. Photo: Thao Phuong

Discussing this issue, Mr. Ho Sy Dung - Head of the Department of Environmental Protection said that the handling of violations is decentralized to local units. Based on people's feedback, the department will coordinate to conduct monitoring, supervision and draw conclusions on the level of violations. Mr. Dung said that up to this point, the number of cases directly reported by people is not much, so it cannot be thoroughly handled.

Thus, to limit noise pollution, in addition to the awareness of maintaining a quiet living environment, people must enhance their responsibility and report to the authorities when detecting violations. In addition, local authorities and specialized agencies need to strengthen coordination in interdisciplinary inspections and specialized equipment to identify violations; at the same time, arrange forces to "post" at locations where violations frequently occur to have timely handling plans.

Thao Phuong