In 1999, in the 212 cities that conducted road traffic noise monitoring, the ratio of the cities with serious pollution, medium pollution, low level pollution and good acoustic environment was 5.2%, 8.5%, 27.3% and 59.0%. The average equivalent sound level of the road traffic noise in the key cities decreased by 2.7 decibels (A) in the recent decade.

Variation of the Average equivalent sound level of
road traffic noises in key cities

Among the 159 cities conducting regional noise environmental monitoring, the ratio of the cities with serious pollution, medium level pollution, low level pollution and good acoustic environment was 8.2%, 27.75, 25.2% and 38.9%.

 

Urban noise mornitoring in Haikou City

Management of Environmental Noise Pollution In 1999, State Environmental Protection Administration issued Notice on Further Enhancing the Noise Management during the Period of Examination for Colleges and Universities. Aiming at the social noise pollution that the public had complains the most, State Environmental Protection Administration, jointly issued Notice on Enhancing the Management of Social Noise Pollution and conducted enforcement inspection on the social noise pollution prevention at local levels together with Ministry of Public Safety and State Industrial and Commercial Administration.

Notice of Strengthening Ambient Noise Pollution Supervision Management during Period of University Admission Examinations

After State Environmental Protection Administration issued Notice of Strengthening Ambient Noise Pollution Supervision Management during Period of University Admission Exams in 1998, the Notice has played an active role in prevent and reduce the ambient noise pollution during the university admission examinations and has been welcome by the students and the people. In order to create silent environment for the students sitting for the university and college admission exams, SEPA required that from 20 June 1999 to 10 July 1999, the environmental protection departments at various levels should pay high attention to the supervision management of ambient noise pollution and conduct sound concrete activities for the people. For this purpose, the Notice is issued as follows:

  1. The environmental protection departments should set up "Complaint Telephone of Ambient Noise Pollution during University Admission Exams" which should be published in new media.

  2. The environmental supervision institutions of the environmental protection departments at various levels should play their roles of on-site supervision and enforcement, and should conduct supervision on the following situation and should stop and punish the violation:

  1. To conduct supervision and checking on construction sites, indoor decoration, outdoor entertainment activities and other places where it is possible to make noises at night and ensure that all the places with possible noise pollution under efficient control.

  2. From 20 June 1999 to the university admission exam period, special on-site monitoring should be conducted on the construction site and loud-speakers within 100 meters from schools.

  3. To strengthen management on the vehicle horn noise pollution on roads where it is forbidden to blow horns together with the public security departments; and to strengthen the on-site supervision on commercial entertainment centers at night together with culture departments.

  4. During university and college admission exam period, the supervision frequency of noise sources surrounding the exam sites should be increased.

  1. Upon receiving the complaints, the environmental monitoring institutions at various environmental protection departments should take actions of disposal and punishment immediately and should inform the result to the reporters. As to the noise pollution accidents with much complaint, significant influence and serious harm, it should reported by the news media.

  2. The environmental monitoring institutions of the environmental protection departments at various levels should coordinate with each other actively. The places with noises should be monitored and the evidence should be obtained in time so as to provide accurate and scientific evidence for the punishment of violation.

  3. The environmental protection departments at various levels should enforce the Notice strictly. SEPA will conduct checking on the enforcement in some cities.

  4. The environmental protection departments at various levels should take this supervision and checking as a chance so as to conduct long-term supervision and management on ambient noise pollution in a stable way and to make active exploration and summarize the experiences. The environmental protection departments at each province, autonomous region and municipality directly governed by central government are requested to submit the summarized materials to SEPA before July 31 1999.

Notice on Enhancing the Management of Social Noise Pollution

Environmental protection bureaus, departments of public security, and Industrial Commercial bureaus of all provinces, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government:

Since more than two years of implementing Law on Environmental Noise Pollution Prevention and Control of People's Republic of China, some success has been achieved in environmental noise pollution prevention and control in every areas. However, the public life noise pollution is still an environmental problem that people strongly complained. In order to guarantee a good environment for people's life and enhance the management of public life noise pollution, now we send the notice as follows:

1. Effective measures on environmental noise pollution prevention and control should be taken on the construction beverage and food business, service business, and entertainment business with possible noise pollution in population concentrated urban and township area, until the boundary noise reach the national standard of environmental noise discharge. Entertainment business should not be built in the place that may destroy the normal order of study and work of schools, hospitals, and office. The local environmental department should not agree with the construction of those who do not cord with the demand and department of industrial and commercial administrative management should not approve and issue their business licenses.

2. The boundary noise of beverage and food business, service business, entertainment businesses that have been built in urban and township population concentrated areas should cord with the national standard of environmental noise discharge. Units, which discharge noise in residential area, should take corresponding measures to reduce the noise so that it could cord with the national standard of environmental noise discharge, as well as strictly restrict the working in night. Units, which use equipment and facility such as air conditioner and cooling tower that may make noise pollution to the environment, should take measures so that the noise on the boundary could cord with the national standard of environmental noise discharge. For those units that violate above regulations and make serious noise to the environment, the local environmental department should order them according to the law to be treated within a stated time. As to units that could not cord with the environmental protection demands after being treated within the stated time, in addition to charge the exceeding discharge standard fee and impose the fine, the local environmental protection department should report to the People's government above county level and order them to stop business, transfer to other place, or close business within the limits of regulated authority. At the same time, the local department of industrial and commercial administrative management should change nullify their registration.

3. To forbid any organizations or individuals use the althorn in concentrated building area, which is sensitive to the noise in urban and cantonal area. To forbid using althorn or other thing that make strong noise to solicit customers in commercial operation activities. To forbid using acoustics that give over-loud sound and severely disturb the surrounding environment in activities such as entertainment and agora in urban and cantonal streets, squares, and parks. To forbid constructors to conduct works that make noise and disturb people during night and noon-rest time when indoor fitment is conducted in a dwelling building, which has been made available to the users. For any organizations or individuals who violate above regulations, the local department of public security will punish them according to the Law on Noise Pollution to the Environment Prevention and Control of People's Republic of China; if their activity violate public order management, the local department of public security will punish them according to the Regulation on Public Order Management Punishment of People's Republic of China.

4. The department of industrial and commercial administrative management can ask for an explanation for environmental noise pollution and its prevention and control in the supervising work of verifying the application for a license of beverage and food business, service business and entertainment business. The possible pollution or pollution facts should be reported to environmental protection department and some measures must be taken accordingly.

5. Any organizations or individuals have the authority to complain the act of environmental noise pollution by beverage and food business, service business and entertainment business to local departments of environmental protection, public security or industrial and commercial administrative management. Their complaints should be answered and treated promptly.

In accordance with above requirements, all the departments of environmental protection, public security and industrial and commercial administrative management should conduct a combination check on beverage and food business, service business and entertainment business in urban and township population concentrated area before November 15, 1999. And those fiercely against law and disturbing inhabitant by noise should be dealt altogether strictly. The units that should be focused on, will be selected according the information of complaints from the public hotline. The supervising and propaganda role of news and public organizations should be brought into full play. Cooperating with the combination check, they can make those beverage and food business, service business and entertainment business who severely against the law public. The checking result should be reported to the State Environmental Protection Administration before December 15, 1999.

State Environmental Protection Administration,
Ministry of Public Security of People's Republic of China, Industrial Commercial Administrative Management Bureau of People's Republic of China

Sep. 15th,1999