Crack down again!

（柔佛‧昔加末）昔加末县议会秘书慕斯达化表示，县议会將继续动用庭令，对付违反条例的养燕单位，进行拆除音响和扩音器的工作。

昔加末县议会执法组於8月17日，於昔加末旧市区的燕楼拆音响和扩音器。县议会是在取得庭令的情况下，向3家养燕单位（包括20层楼大厦）展开取缔行动。

慕斯达化表示，在检举养燕单位方面，地方政府面对一些难题，因为州政府主张禁止及查封养燕单位，但是联邦政府却主张发出准证给养燕单位，这“灰色地带”导致县议会在进行检举行动时，往往会陷入混淆的状况。

他披露，针对养燕单位问题，以副首相丹斯里慕尤丁担任主席的地方政府国家理事会將做出最后的定夺，不过最终的定案尚未明朗。

“既然不能贸然拆除养燕单位，县议会只能在接获任何严重性的噪音投诉后，即刻申请庭令以拆除养燕单位內的音响系统。”

他希望政府能儘快做出妥善的决定，以解决养燕单位所產生出的诸多问题。

Source: sinchew.com.my 星洲日报／大柔佛‧2009.08.19



Will you give us a break?

The public and BH ranchers are asking the same question.

If we are not able to control the noise problem, all will face the impact, nobody will gain.

May be this is the time for those uncooperative BH owners to slow down their BH music a bit...

Do not take thing for granted.

Do not underestimate what the local council can do.

Do not ask why we are not allowed to proceed when some of us do not give a damn on what they have done onto others.

Be a wise, responsible & reasonable farmer, then it will be alright.

In the same time I pray that the local government will not one broad sweep nailing down everyone.

Item

40 dB is too low

Even though noise from BH's speakers should be controlled, personally I feel that the current permissible sound level 40 dB (specified by the guideline) is considered difficult to achieve.

According to WHO's recommendation, the standard for the residential area should be 55db during the day, 45db during the night.

In order to justify my argument, I substantiate herewith some info related to this matter.


Q : What does a decibel measure?
A : The decibel is a measure of sound intensity as a function of power ratio, with the difference in decibels between two sounds being given by dB=10 log 10 (P 1 /P 2 ), where P 1 and P 2 are the power levels of the two sounds.
Q : What is the decibel level of normal sound?
A : The level of normal conversation is about 50 to 60 dB.

www.encyclopedia.com




the Montgomery County Noise Control Ordinance makes it illegal to:
• Operate, or allow to be operated, a radio, television, or other electronic sound-producing device on public or private property if the sound exceeds 55 decibels at the receiving property line.

www.montgomerycountymd.gov


Sound that the human ear can perceive is measured in decibels, or dB(A), with a device known as a decibel meter. Good quality sound measuring equipment can easily exceed $10,000, and takes a trained technician to operate and interpret documented test results. This is not equipment that you can obtain from the local rental company.

People often compare various sound situations for their own perspective. The average background noise in a house is about 50 dB(A), while a car driving down a street will be measured at 60 dB(A) at a distance of 300 feet. A “quiet” vacuum cleaner will emanate sound at 70 dB(A), about the same noise level that is attributed to an expressway when standing 100 feet away from it. Nearby trees on a breezy day will measure about 55 to 60 dB(A) on a decibel meter.

The human ear can only distinguish sound differences of about 3 dB(A) or greater. This means that a sound source must be at least 3 dB(A) louder than ambient, or background environmental, sound before there is a noticeable difference between a given sound and other background noises.

www.awea.org/faq/sagrillo/ms_noise_0404.html



Sound pressure levels in the dining room ranged from 70dB(A) to 85dB(A), with peak noise levels as loud as 100 dB(A). Typical residential sound levels in a noisy home are in the 50 to 60 db range. Levels in the 80-85dB range are more consistent with factories and shop floors.

www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea/Publications/ArchitecturalBarriers.htm


Therefore, acceptable noise level for residential area should be 55 dB.

Noise! Noise! Noise!

It is a terrible experience having to endure daily the incessant bird noises broadcast from the BH’s loudspeakers.

Noise is the most common public complaint of nuisance received by the local authorities. It contributes almost 90% of the total complaints arisen from the swiftlet farming activity in towns.

Under the stressing and repeated noise, people will go crazy and irrational. If the unbearable situation has exceeded their nose, it is not surprising if they dare to burn down your BH or do harm to your property.

Needless to say, this is due to the inconsiderate attitude of some BH owners. They direct the external speakers wrongly to their neighbours and blasting the recorded bird-luring sound at high volume, twenty four seven.

How can this unscrupulous action be accepted by your neighbours? Unless they are superhuman or saint or they are totally deaf, other wise, can you expect your non-stop bird sound goes unnoticed & will not arouse complaint? Do you think your neighbor will cooperate nicely & live peacefully under this kind of environment without having a grudge against you?

Put yourself in their shoes. Think of your family first before you really need to do so. Do you want others do the same onto you? As a caring person, you have many options to get thing done! You can control the sound level, the amplitude and sound-playing duration. You do not need to switch on the sound track if your birds are not around. By switching off the sound at certain hours in a day, will save your electricity bill as well as indirectly do your part in saving the earth and this I believe, will make your neighbors’ lives happier. It is a win-win situation.

Be professional farming!

For professional ranchers, they would direct the speakers skyward (in an angle more than 45 degree) with tolerable volume to the extent that even their neighbours may not aware of. They also would switch on the external sound and control it with timer from 8am to 8pm only. A friend of mine from Medan even switches on the sound between 5pm to 8pm only.

Do not enjoy your harvest at the expense of your neighbours.

Do not let the selfishness affect the good name of this industry. Jealous people may capitalize on this to influence the authorities to shut down all town BHs in whole Malaysia.

Do not let the short-sightedness dampen the growth of this entire industry and affect the survival of your fellow ranchers

Just do not let the unkind deed take away our dreams.

Enough said.

BH water leaking problem

A lot of BH owners like to do a small water pond on top of the roof slab for their own good reasons.

However, this may create problems not only to the BH itself, but also to their neighbors.

Stagnant water not only will cause mosquitoes breeding, it will also affect the BH's internal conditions.

Can you sleep well if people begrudge you for the dengue outbreak? (even though it's not caused by you). Would your farming life still be peaceful with people resenting you for a small pond?

I doubt.

If I have the choice, I won't go for the pond construction on top of the roof. It's a time bomb and we never know when it will back-fire on us. I would rather avoid inviting public wrath.

The reason is : if the roof slab is not properly cast, it is highly likely that water leaking will occur. The water will permeate through the porous slab and drip down to the floor below or soffit of slab.

This subsequently will damage the nesting planks and the mold also will form on the planks eventually.

If the waterproofing is not done on the wall, the ponding water also can seep through the brick wall and wet & stain your neighbour's wall surface.

If your neighbor know you, then may be he will give you a courtesy call to remind you of the incident. Otherwise, he will straight way call for press conference to insist you shut down your BH operation.

Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.

BH owners should be considerate and must always make sure that this thing do not happen by applying waterproofing to the pond and from time to time do checking on the wall whether there is any visual crack line or not.

If found, immediate action has to be taken. For this we can consult the waterproofing specialist. There are a lot of methods can be deployed to treat the leaking problems. Different circumstances different treatment will be given.

The above just my humble 2 cents. Any offense is unintentional.