Ministry of Environment to Improve Management and Reduction Standards for Construction Site Noise

The 4th Comprehensive Noise and Vibration Management Plan (2021~2025)

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Environment has decided to improve the construction site noise management system by reflecting the public's lifestyle patterns in related standards and construction hours, and by differentiating penalties according to construction scale and region to manage and reduce construction site noise and vibration.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Environment announced that it has established the "4th Comprehensive Noise and Vibration Management Plan (2021-2025)" containing these details and will begin full implementation starting this year.

The main goal of this comprehensive plan is to minimize public inconvenience caused by sensory pollution such as inter-floor noise due to COVID-19 and noise generated at construction sites.

The Ministry of Environment set the vision as "Improving the quality of life of the people through the creation of a quiet living environment," with policy goals of achieving 40% public satisfaction with noise and vibration and reducing the population exposed to noise and vibration by 10%.

First, to effectively manage and reduce noise and vibration, the Ministry plans to improve the construction site noise management system by establishing source-centered reduction measures and strengthening management. Additionally, to encourage noise measurement management at construction sites, guidelines for installation and operation of measuring devices and plans for utilizing measurement data will be prepared. Furthermore, before use inspection, the floor impact sound insulation performance of apartments and other multi-family housing will be verified, and additional specialized inter-floor noise service agencies will be designated to strengthen management and services for reducing inter-floor noise.

The Ministry will also promote the establishment of a health impact-centered noise and vibration management foundation. To analyze health effects caused by noise and vibration exposure, a step-by-step implementation plan (roadmap) for noise-health impact surveys will be prepared, and a basic survey to derive correlations will be conducted. Moreover, health impact evaluation indicators for managing noise and vibration from a health perspective will be developed, and these indicators will be utilized in development plan evaluations to reduce social costs caused by noise and vibration exposure.

New technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) will be actively utilized for noise and vibration measurement. Real-time noise and vibration measuring devices based on IoT will be developed to expand and operate measurement networks, and artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to develop technology that identifies the types of noise and vibration sources from the source and real-time noise maps for real-time management of noise and vibration information collected through the measurement network.

Along with this, to strengthen noise and vibration management capabilities, research and technology development for advancing noise and vibration management using IoT and AI will be enhanced, and professional qualification requirements for noise and vibration technology and measurement agencies will be strengthened to cultivate experts. Additionally, a National Noise and Vibration Integrated Management Center (tentative name) will be established to manage and analyze information related to the national noise and vibration measurement network and support utilization by local governments.

Hamina, Director of Environmental Health Policy at the Ministry of Environment, said, "It is crucial to clarify the extent of health impacts caused by noise exposure and present the justification for managing various noise sources," adding, "We will strengthen policies to create a quiet living environment to improve the quality of life for the people."