Photo credit: Douglas Pfeiffer Cardoso licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
John Beausang and Yvonne Rayne, Cork City’s Citizens Information Managers, write that peace and quiet are essential to our health and well-being and individuals affected by neighborhood noise have the right to complain to authorities about the noise. They cite legislation passed in 1992 that noise is indeed hazardous to our health, and provide steps to be taken by individuals living in Cork City, Ireland to lessen the noises intruding in their lives. It is always good to read about another city that provides its citizens with ways to lessen noise pollution.
Beausang and Rayne say that under the Environmental Protection Agency Act, local authorities can establish methods to prevent and limit noise and citizens can file complaints to their local authorities. They stipulate conditions that warrant complaints, e. g. individuals making noise in public places, noisy apartments, and, especially, dwellers of apartments, and tell readers that complaints can be made about loud alarm systems, dogs, noise from commercial properties, bars, and discos. Since they note that the law does not set noise levels that might be considered illegal, they suggest that individuals report levels if measured as well as times of disturbances. They also suggest that individuals responsible for the noises be contacted first and there should be some discussion about seeking solutions to abate the noise. But if these discussions do not result in noise abatement, then complaints can be sent to local authorities or the Environmental Protection Agency.
Beausang and Rayne’s article informs the people in Cork City about how they can take actions when noise intrudes in their lives. Citizens should be informed. But with noise legislation in place for 30 years, I was left wondering how effective the legislation has been in reducing noise in Cork City. While it is important that cities have legislation in place to curb noise pollution, legislation without enforcement is useless. I would like to know how effective the legislation has been.
