Volume 14, Number 4, December, 2006 - Noise News International

Panelists will speak on the effectiveness of public
pressure to influence politicians at local, member
state, and national levels to enact noise control
policy. Participants will learn how non-governmental
organizations representing the public can work
together to form an alliance against excessive noise.
As we move toward global cooperation in noise
control policy, it is now time to involve those affected
by noise which damages our hearing and our health
and diminishes our quality of life.
We have not previously explored the possibility of
establishing a framework alliance for noise control.
Many participants in earlier workshops have been
engineers involved in the technical aspects of noise
control, but now we hope to provide direction on
ways to involve the public and those organizations
that represent the public. We also seek the support
of the manufacturers, testing laboratories, standardssetting
bodies, and other organizations who are
concerned with the “global” requirements on the
noise levels of products.
This will be the fifth of a series of workshops that
are an outgrowth of a special session on noise policy
held during INTER-NOISE 1999 in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida. In a special technical session of that
congress, the following question was addressed: “Is
noise policy a global issue or is it a local issue?” The
consensus was that noise is a global policy issue,
although many noise problems can only be solved
with the active participation of local authorities. The
I-INCE General Assembly decided in 2000 that the
development of global noise control policy is a highpriority
task and established I-INCE Technical Study
Group 5, Noise as a Global Policy Issue, to report on
this policy question.
The first workshop in 2004 August in Prague, Czech
Republic, was devoted to a discussion of the draft
report prepared by TSG 5, “A Global Approach to
Noise Control Policy,” which considers both general
policy and specific policies related to occupational,
community, and product noise. This workshop
included detailed discussions of the findings of TSG
5 that were summarized in the 2004 December issue
of this magazine.
The second workshop held in 2005 August in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, addressed specific policy issues in
South America, Europe, and the Far East.
The third workshop held in Tampere, Finland, during
2006 May focused primarily on European noise
policy and its links to global noise policy. (See the
feature article on page 144 of this issue.—Ed.)
The fourth workshop in Honolulu, Hawaii, was
held in December, 2006, and focused on the
development, implementation, and enforcement of
noise policies worldwide.
UNITED KINGDOM
IOA Advances Government’s
Sustainability Targets
Members of the Institute of Acoustics have
been working with the Government to advance
sustainability. The Institute therefore welcomes the
announcement by Ruth Kelly MP on 13 December
2006 on the new Code for Sustainable Homes, and
the inclusion of sound insulation within the new
Code. The inclusion of points/credits for higher levels
of sound insulation will assist towards creating more
sustainable communities.
The increasing density of housing and the
advancements in home entertainment sound system
technology does require increasing levels of sound
insulation above the regulatory minimum standards.
Previous developments under the Approved
Document E (2003 with 2004 amendments)
included the introduction pre-completion testing and
robust details.
The new Code will encourage further innovation
into new products and systems which can lead to
advanced levels of sound insulation for new build
attached homes. The IOA through its members
whether in applied research or building acoustic
consultancy will no doubt be at the forefront of
advancing such new innovations.
Colin English, President of the Institute of Acoustics,
says “The Institute of Acoustics is pleased that the
Government chose to recognise the importance of
sound insulation in modern homes and is striving to
improve the quality of the environment.”
NNI
The British
Government
Recognizes the
Value of Sound
Insulation in
Homes
2006 December www.inceusa.org • www.noisenewsinternational.net • www.i-ince.org
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