IT WAS reported in the media last Friday that the Ministry of Public Security had taken the initiative of establishing an Inter-Agency Task Force with the intention of eliminating noise nuisances from the society.  The Agencies which would form part of the Task Force are a number of Government Departments together with the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown and that the Coordinator of the Task Force would be Mr Deonarine Ramaroop.

Mr Ramaroop outlined the activities in which the Task Force would be engaged. Quite professionally, Mr Ramaroop declared that all the Agencies which form part of the Task Force would be collaborating to ensure that all the Laws and Regulations governing noise nuisance are enforced.  Actually, it is failure to enforce these Laws which has led to the spread unchecked of loud noises everywhere and at all times of the day and night.

In addition to enforcing the Laws, Mr Ramaroop went on to identify some of the other areas of activity of the Task Force.  These would include the loud music and other noises which proliferate the minibuses and other public transport.  It would also include curbing of random and spontaneous open air and roadside “boom boxes”; loud music emanating from motor vehicles; motor cyclists who remove noise controllers from their machines so as to make loud, deafening noises when they ride and shops, especially in downtown Georgetown, which place a boom box in their doorway or on the adjoining pavement which blare loud and raucous music all day.

The Task Force will enforce the Silent Zones around the Parliament when in session, as well as around the Law Courts and the Hospitals;  they will also address industrial noises and will be pioneering in Guyana the use of the available technology to establish and measure noise levels for the purposes of compliance and prosecutions.
It is expected that the Task Force will be properly staffed and funded so it could acquire noise-testing equipment and have a desk, or at least facilities, where members of the public could phone in and report any noise nuisances which could be dealt with immediately.

Noise Pollution which used to be called Noise Nuisances in the recent past is an environmental factor which insidiously damages the health of both man and animal.  Noise is measured in decibels or DBS.  A level of 80 DBS or lower is safe to live with, but above that, one could bear it for some time only before it begins to harm.  One could stand 85 DBS for 8 hours; 100 DBS for 15 minutes  and 115 for only 30 seconds.

The most obvious damage of noise pollution is impairment of hearing, eventually leading to deafness.  An example of this could be seen in the regular minibus drivers and conductors whose buses play loud music non-stop throughout the day. They cannot easily hear when commuters give them instructions and they all seem to speak louder than normal.
Loud and disparate noises damage one’s psychological health. People who work in industrial establishments which generate a great deal of noise are often in a state of some mental confusion and are often in stress.

Excessive noise leads to cardiovascular effects and increased incidence of coronary artery disease.  Many people who have heart disease could have contracted it from noise pollution.
Loud noises is one of the causes of hypertension and many people would intuitively understand this since loud noises often lead to headaches and the feeling of being “unnerved”.

One of the worst effects of noise pollution is that it results in poor sleep quality. If one is not able to sleep well this could affect one’s health in a variety of ways including a drain of energy.
Education was not mentioned among the Task Force main activities. Educating the public as to the dangers of noise pollution is a key factor in the success of the Task Force.  We would therefore enjoin the Task Force to work out a comprehensive programme of education of the dangers of Noise Pollution.

The Guyana Consumers Association would like to congratulate the Ministry of Public Security on its establishment of the Task Force and to offer its support to Coordinator Deonarine Ramaroop. .