WHAT IS NOISE POLLUTION? WHAT YOU CAN DO

Yet another World Environment Day passed away on 5th June 2009. Citizen but least interested to save our Planet from the growing pollution!! Sound pollution is the new phenomena people are facing today.

All of us are constantly exposed to sound. Those like the twittering of birds, the rustling of leaves, and the gentle lapping of waves are natural sounds that would strike a responsive chord in most of us. But when even pleasant sounds become too loud, they become unwanted noise. Sound levels are measured in decibels (dB). It is a unit for expressing the relative intensity of sound on a scale from zero (for the average least perceptible sound) to about 130 for the average pain level.

Harmful effects of Noise:-

Noise is harmful. Noise pollution is unwanted human-created sound that disrupts the environment. The dominant form of noise pollution is from transportation sources, principally motor vehicles, referred to as environmental noise. The word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness. Sources of noise Damage caused by noise can range from bursting of eardrum, permanent hearing loss (in a recent survey 80% of Traffic Police in Pune were found to be deaf), cardiac and cardiovascular changes, stress, fatigue, lack of concentration, deterioration in motor and psychomotor functions, nausea, disturbance of sleep, headaches, insomnia, and loss of appetite and much other damage is caused. Pregnant women exposed to high noise levels may be at risk. Harmful effects are there even if you don’t feel you are being disturbed. Psychological disturbances and emotional distress also occur - violent conduct by persons continuously exposed to unbearable noise.

Noise pollution affects nearly every aspect of life and probably has damaging physical effects as well. The best-studied and best-defined effect on physical health is the effect of noise on hearing. The research results are clear: loud or sustained noise can damage hearing. The source of the noise is not very important; it can be a pile driver or rock music. What is important is that it can have a lasting impact.

Noise pollution also impacts people's sleep. It can result in mood problems and adversely affect job performance. Several research studies suggest that noise can cause high blood pressure. Others say that psychiatric diseases can be caused by noise. Some of these studies are controversial and are contested by other researchers because so many variables such as age, overall state of health, diet, smoking and drinking habits, socioeconomic factors, and other sources of environmental and social stress must also be taken into account.

It is clear, however, that noise, even though a "non-specific stressor", does cause a physical response. It elicits the same responses as a perceived physical threat would produce: it activates the nervous system, causes the muscles to tense and the heart rate and respiratory rate to increase and prepares the body to fight or to run away. This response-called the "fight or flight" response--underlies all responses to stress.

The long-term effects of this kind of stimulus, of being ready to flee or give battle, are not completely understood. Being continuously under stress is something like sitting on the edge of your chair or waiting for the other shoe to drop. Your body isn't quite sure what will happen next or how to respond, and that state constant confusion has been implicated in the development of a number of diseases.

It is also important to remember that people who sense that they have some control over what happens in their lives are impacted less strongly by stressors than those who feel they have no control, and noise is something over which we have very little control. (See our section on stress for more information about these important problems.)

Noise affects us in another significant way: people exposed to noise feel a greater sense of frustration and annoyance than people whose environment is not as noisy. Annoyance is the expression of the negative feelings experienced when one's activities or the enjoyments of one’s surroundings are disrupted. Annoyance can have a major impact on the quality of life and is generally a variable examined when studying the impact of noise.

In addition to the other environmental pollutants, noise can affect not only our moods but also our physical well being, and, just like water and air pollution, must be subject to greater study and more stringent controls.

The National Physical Laboratory has found that Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta are the noisiest cities in the world. Even the Election Commission has recognized the harmful effects of noise and banned use of loudspeakers during the elections. Widespread ill effects of Noise Pollution such as high blood pressure, increased acidity and peptic ulcer formation, deafness, mental agitation and disturbance of sleep generally became known to people in early 1980s. So far Bombay Police Act 1951 and Bombay Municipal Corporation Act 1888 considered noise as just a nuisance, now it is known as major health hazard. We in India are exposed not only to noises, common to most countries, but in addition we have to face misuse of loudspeakers, loud and shrill vehicle horns, noisy crackers, etc, which are firmly put down in most countries.

Sources of Noises

A survey carried out in Bombay by the Society for Clean Environment (SOCLEEN) and Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Hearing Handicapped revealed that the main sources for noise were:

1. Road Traffic
2. Use of loudspeakers
3. Bursting of crackers
4. Industrial activities
5. Railways
6. Aircrafts
7. Radio and Television

Rights and remedies
All of us are entitled to live in an environment free from pollution. Under the recently enacted Environment Protection Act 1986, the Government does have the power to curb noise pollution; rules have been framed for enforcing this aspect of the Act in 1989.

If you are concerned or troubled by noise pollution and seek to remedy the situation, the answer is simple -- you must be prepared to act. Preferably form a group in your society or locality which is prepared to take up all violations of the Environment Protection Act, with the police; the Municipality and if necessary, the Courts.

First and foremost examine your own actions and consider whether you are creating unnecessary noise, which affects your neighbours and surroundings. You may not have control over all sources of noise, but you can at least control the noise levels emanating from your own radio, TV, car etc. Also don’t buy firecrackers that make noise - buy only the ones that light up your celebrations. Persuade your friends and neighbours to do the same.

If you are still troubled by obnoxious noise in your neighborhood caused by loudspeakers, film shows, late night parties, crackers etc., ring up the police control room (100) as well as the nearest police station. You are not bound to give your name and address. Please keep an accurate record of your complaints. If you phone the police control room, ask for your complaint ticket number.

Also get the name and designation of the officer who answers the phone, as well as the time and the date. If the concerned police officer refuses to act, the police commissioner will then be able to pull up his recalcitrant officers. Do make sure you mention all the relevant details in your complaint.

It is also advisable to make a written complaint to nearby police station with copy to Police Commissioner and copy to Bombay Environmental Action Group, preferably make a group complaint, if the problem persists.

NOISE FROM MOTOR VEHICLES:-

Complain to Regional Transport Commissioner or the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic). Give the offending vehicle number/s, and the date, time and place of the offense.

SALE AND USE OF BANNED CRACKERS:

Present Police regulations ban firecrackers between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Although this is a violation of the Environment Protection Act, even this is completely ignored, and the police have taken no action although the Bombay Police Act empowers them to do so. Moreover the maximum fine for violation according to the Bombay Police Act is Rs.50/- but the EP Act provides for a fine of Rs.1 lakh and jail for five years. Even if a single case is brought to court and exemplary punishment given, there will be a major change in attitude the contempt, which some people have for the general welfare of the people and inability of the police to act. There are special regulations for firecrackers near hospitals, nursing homes, etc. but these are also totally ignored causing patients intense agony (as has been repeatedly pointed out in the press).

The police routinely issue lists of banned types of firecrackers. However neither the public, the police or the explosives department can state, by looking at a cracker, that it is illegal. For instance, an atom bomb must not weigh more than 21 gms. Is any one able to say looking at it, that it is under 21 gms? Or the authorities supposed to carry weighing scales and weigh each and every item in all shops? The only way is to control manufacture at the source.

If shops in your neighborhood are selling banned crackers, call the police. Remember that it is easier to control this nuisance at the point of origin rather than after the damage has been done and the incriminating evidence blows up. If any shops are doing noisy labor works or machine works in residential cum commercial buildings, in the name of Shop, it can also put into the notice of concerned authorities for immediate stoppage of their works.

What happens when the police fail to respond?

The answer is simple- escalate your campaign. If the sub-inspector on duty refuses to act, see the station inspector, if the station inspector refuses to act, write to the Police Commissioner. If police control room refuses to respond, call the Police Commissioner. If you are worried that revealing your identity will make you vulnerable to local pressures, ask a friend who lives in the other end of town to complain on your behalf, or write to a concerned environmental group such as Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), Society for Clean Environment (SOCLEEN) or Association of Medical Consultants, addresses can be get into the website of http://www.go-green.co.in/effects_of_noise.htm

You will be surprised at the tremendous impact a letter to the Editor of any of the leading newspapers will have on the lethargic public machinery. Citizen can also form an anti noise committees in your locality with the help of renowned NGOs.

When the nuisance is beyond tolerable limits and other means do not work, file a writ petition in the City Court or direct into the High Court. The above groups will be glad to help you in every way. This method has been successful in the past. Once there is a court order the police are bound to act, or face contempt of court.

Contact your local MP/MLA/Councilor and bring to his notice the harmful effects of noise as well as your own particular problem. Write to Department of Environment, Government of India, as well as State Environment Department.

Other ways in which you can help

If you are interested in helping others besides helping yourselves, are you prepared to spare your time or your money or both? If the answer is yes, then please write to BEAG, Mumbai Environmental Group.

Decibels (dB)
A decibel is a logarithm of the radio of the sound pressure experienced to the reference pressure (which is the threshold of hearing). It is a unit for expressing the intensity of sound on a scale from zero (for the average least perceptible sound) to about 130 for the average pain level. Even small values in dB levels mean large difference in terms of sound pressure. For example the sound pressure at 120 dB is a hundred times more than at 80 dB. An increase of just 3 dB means there is doubling in sound pressure.

Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000

High decibel levels in public places were found to be harmful to the physical and mental well being of people hence Central Environment Ministry formulated above rules on 24th February 2000. Suggestions and objections were invited from the people 6 months prior to this. Industrial and construction works, loudspeakers, public address systems, generators, horns, music systems and mechanical appliances were some of the major sources of noise.

‘Church of God’ in Chennai started using band and loudspeakers during the prayers, which was disturbing the neighborhood. Majestic colony residents filed the writ in Chennai High Court. The dispute ultimately came up before Supreme Court bench of Justice M. B. Shah [former C.J. of Bombay High Court] and Justice S. R. Phukan.

The court commented as follows:

“Undisputedly no religion prescribes that prayers should be performed by disturbing the peace of others nor does it preach that they should be through voice-amplifiers or beating of drums. In our view, in a civilized society in the name of religion, activities which disturb old or infirm persons, students or children having their sleep in the early hours or during day-time or other persons carrying on other activities cannot be permitted. It should not be forgotten that young babies in the neighborhood are also entitled to enjoy their natural right of sleeping in a peaceful atmosphere. A student preparing for his examination is entitled to concentrate on his studies without their being any unnecessary disturbance by the neighbors. Similarly, old and infirm are entitled to enjoy reasonable quietness during their leisure hours without there being any nuisance of noise pollution. Aged, sick, people afflicted with psychic disturbances as well as children up to 6 years of age are considered to be very sensitive to noise. Their rights are also required to be honored.”

“Further, it is to be stated that because of urbanization or industrialization the noise pollution may in some area of a city/town might be exceeding permissible limits prescribed under the rules, but that would not be a ground for permitting others to increase the same by beating of drums of by use of voice amplifiers, loudspeakers or by such other musical instruments and, therefore, rules prescribing reasonable restrictions including the rules for the use of loudspeakers and voice amplifiers framed under the Madras Town Nuisance Act, 1889 and also the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 are required to be enforced. We would mention that even though the Rules are unambiguous, there is lack of awareness among the citizens as well as the Implementation Authorities about the Rules or its duty to implement the same. Noise polluting activities which are rampant and yet for one reason or the other, the aforesaid Rules or the rules framed under various State Police Acts are not enforced. Hence, the High Court has rightly directed implementation of the same.”

We realized that in spite of Supreme Court judgment as above, the Police Commissioners of Mumbai and Pune were not implementing Noise Rules, 2000. Some NGOs and Individuals affected therefore issued legal notice to them through their lawyers, following which the loudspeakers were banned from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in 2001 and 2002 in Mumbai and Pune. This affected the several hundred crore commercial disco dandiya very adversely. Central Environment Ministry at the instance of politicians hurriedly slipped in an amended rule on 11th October 2002 without giving any notice to the public.

Conclusion

Indian culture is essentially very noisy. There is no parallel in the world to the noise pollution generated during festivals and religious celebrations in India. Another point is uncivilized social environment in which our children are brought up. We spit and put red spray after chewing paan and tobacco anywhere on road. We urinate and at times even defecate in public places at our convenience. [We never thought it necessary to build enough public toilets]. The worst part is, we don’t feel much ashamed of our behavior. Perpetrators of noise always feel that the people around should bear with them, though inconvenienced! Such is our selfish thinking.

Globalization gives us more opportunities, but some people are misusing it by using making small type of units in residential complexes, wherein they run their units and making nuisance to the citizen living near them. In our City, Nashik also not an exceptional case and we can find out number of small scale industrial type units working till midnight in various parts of Nashik City. Glass cutting, Aluminums and Brass Cutting units, Marble and Tile Makers, Plywood based business are increasing and they are getting permission from the authorities without taking its neighbors consent. They neither gets NOC from MPCB, Shops and Establishment Office or Municipal Corporation/Panchayat. Some are working in open and some, in unauthorized additional structures made out by the owners.

District Administration, Municipal Authorities and District Pollution Control Board Officers should take action against growing menace of this kind of unauthorized structures and polluted units and they should not wait to receive citizen’s complaints for this. All the units working who are causing harms to its neighbors in the name of shops and even working till midnight should be stopped immediately or shift them to the Industrial Galas where they can work round the clock.

“Noise Pollution is injurious to health “is a comparatively new concept over past 30 to 40 years. In India, we must accept this concept in the larger interest of preserving public health. We must put sensible restrictions on our festivals and religious celebrations. Unfortunately, politicians, commercially minded people and people with false notions about religion are not prepared to accept this change, largely because of their ‘votes and notes’ politics.

“Health is not only free from disease but also is a state of physical and mental well being”- such is the W H O definition of health. Under article 21, it is the right of the people to live in health and peace while culprits do not have any right “to make noise” under Indian constitution.