Starting on Jan. 1, people could get relief from noise pollution resulting from construction work around their residence or office, as the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will begin to issue fines, the administration said yesterday.
“Starting next year, whether it is regular or low-frequency noise, as long as people feel that construction work may exceed levels stipulated in regulations, they can call 080-0066666 and request EPA inspection at the source,” the administration’s Director-General of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙) said.
The EPA receives about 40,000 complaints of noise pollution every year, Yang said. In the past year, 27 percent of noise complaints concerned noise coming from construction work, he said, adding that the greatest irritant could be low-frequency noise.
“Because low-frequency noise has a longer wavelength, it can go through walls and into buildings. In construction, low-frequency noise mostly comes from motors or generators. To control it, the source needs to be regulated and turned down,” Yang said.
He said low-frequency noise is also prevalent in other forms of noise pollution.
“Among the 15,160 inspections made by the EPA since 2005 at entertainment establishments and factories, 4 percent failed to comply with regular noise regulations while 12.7 percent failed to abide by low-frequency noise regulations,” he said.
The administration set low-frequency noise limits to between 20Hz to 200Hz, Yang said.
Offenders will face fines of between NT$18,000 and NT$180,000, and could be forced to cease construction work, he said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
RSS