Noise pollution call in Vietnam metros
Environment officials, health experts and local residents have voiced concerns about noise pollution in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Drivers' irresponsible and indiscriminate honking is a huge problem in urban centers like Hanoi, said the Head of the Hanoi Environment Management Office, Dang Duong Binh.
The honking was worst at crossroads since Vietnamese motorbike riders honk to hurry each other as the lights turn green.
Traffic levels were also an important factor, Duong said.
“At present, for every km of road in Hanoi, there are 5,000 motorbikes and hundreds of cars passing through every hour. So it is no surprise that our city is very noisy,” said Duong.
Traffic noise was not the only concern.
“Living near Tan Son Nhat International Airport, my family is bombarded by airplane noise all the time,” said a resident of Go Vap District, HCMC, Nguyen Duy Thang.
Not far from Thang’s house is Quang Trung Junior High School.
Teachers and students there said they suffer the same fate. “There is nothing we can do but move the school,” said a teacher.
And in Hanoi, some residents in the ancient quarter were complaining about the noise created by shops producing metal products.
A resident living in Hang Hom, or Casket-Making Street, said, “We have had to spend millions of dongs in reinforcing our walls and windows to prevent noise.”
According to the Hanoi Central Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, sound of over 80dB is harmful to health.
Consequences of lasting loud noise include sleeplessness, depression, heart diseases and high blood pressure.
Dang Duong Binh said Hanoi's average volume was around 85 dB at rush hour and from 67 to 75 dB at night.
According a HCMC Department of Natural Resources and Environment expert, noise at crowded intersections in HCMC was well over 80 dB and those living near the railways and the airport had to endure noise up to 300 dB.
Dang Duong Binh said locals should take more public transport to reduce traffic noise.
Environmental officials said it is everybody's social responsibility to reduce noise.
Lao Dong - November 5, 2007.
|