Figure 1: Pursuit of Noise. From “In pursuit and defence of silence in a noisy city”, by Anam Musta’ein (n.d.), https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/pursuit-and-defence-silence
What is noise pollution? According to Gonzalez (2014), pollution is the presence of substances or energy forms which if exposed over a specific period, can affect people, resources, and the physical environment. Specifically, noise pollution is characterised as “flow pollutants”, a type of pollutant that is short-lived but can cause harm to people, animals and the environment. Singapore is no stranger to noise pollution At only 710 Km2 in physical size and home to an estimated population of 5.5 million population, noises are all around the country.
When work-from-home (WFH) arrangements became the norm in Singapore due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic, many Singaporeans began to become exposed to many environmental noises, especially from their neighbours. According to Chia (2021), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) 11400 noise-related complaints were made in the first 8 months of 2020. Playing musical instruments, drilling and demolition by renovation works were some activities that encouraged these complaints by Singaporeans, including myself. Away from the HDBs, noise pollution can be found at construction sites, traffic along roads, and even the once-in-a-while fly-by of a military jet plane. These contributors to noise can be detrimental to both humans and animals. Noise pollution has been discovered to cause stress and psychological disorders, along with heart problems (Hahad et. al., 2019). Meanwhile, wildlife in Singapore’s parks and nature reserves can also be affected by noises coming from traffic and construction works.
To prevent such problems caused by noise pollution, the Singapore Government has come up with regulations and guidelines which minimise the amount of noise and its effects on people and the environment (MSO, n.d.). It is recognised nationwide that the acceptable noise range lies at an average of 65 dBA across all types of premises in Singapore. However, this does not manage the amount of time noise can be produced in each premise. Furthermore, it is essentially difficult to manage noise from traffic which affects the local wildlife in Singapore. As no study on noise pollution on wildlife has been made so far in the local context, there lies the need for one to better manage noise pollution and control it in Singapore.
Reference
About Singapore. (n.d.). https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Overseas-Mission/Xiamen/About-Singapore
Chia, L. (2022, April 22). Too much noise can harm your health. That’s potentially a problem in Singapore. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/too-much-noise-can-harm-your-health-thats-potentially-problem-singapore-2350251
Ditmer, M. A., Francis, C. D., Barber, J. R., Stoner, D. C., Seymoure, B. M., Fristrup, K. M., & Carter, N. H. (2021). Light and noise pollution impacts specialist wildlife species disproportionately. Biorxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.18.431905
González, A. E. (2014). What Does “Noise Pollution” Mean? Journal of Environmental Protection, 05(04), 340–350. https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2014.54037
Hahad, O., Prochaska, J. H., Daiber, A., & Münzel, T. (2019). Environmental Noise-Induced Effects on Stress Hormones, Oxidative Stress, and Vascular Dysfunction: Key Factors in the Relationship between Cerebrocardiovascular and Psychological Disorders. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2019, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4623109
Industrial Noise Control. (n.d.). https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/pollution-control/noise-pollution/industrial-noise-control
In pursuit and defence of silence in a noisy city. (2021). Todayonline. https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/pursuit-and-defence-silence
MSO | Noise Regulations in Singapore. (n.d.). https://www.mnd.gov.sg/mso/infosheet-on-noise-regulations-in-singapore