Some 70% of people in Panama are affected by noise levels greater than those allowed by international standards, according to a new study.
Vehicles are the major source of noise contamination, according to the research carried out by the University of Panama. In some areas traffic noise is as high as 81.5 decibels, well above the limit of 65 decibels considered safe by the World Health organization (WTO).
The noise pollution can lead to hearing loss and is responsible for absences from work and poor productivity, costing the nation some $40 million.
Government officials have responded by pledging to introduce new laws to curb noise pollution. The first areas to be targeted will be hospitals, schools and residential areas.
It will mean a ban on compressed air horns, traffic restrictions for heavy vehicles and measures in factories to reduce the noise of machinery.
Air pollution levels are also exceeding international standards with 90% of the problem coming from vehicular emissions, according to Vaco Duke Hernández, the deputy director of the University of Panama’s Specialized Analysis Unit.
‘Study results show that a great number of Panamanians are exposed to dangerous concentrations of airborne toxins every day, especially those who commute on our main streets and avenues, or who live along them,’ he said.
Duke Hernández explained that the pollution is most concentrated during the rainy months of May to the middle of December, which also roughly coincides with the Panamanian school year and that children are one of the population sectors that’s most sensitive to such pollutants.
‘We have to intensify our efforts to inspect and remove vehicles that contaminate the air and become serious public health threats,’ he said.
Other necessary steps, in Duke Hernández’s opinion, are the extension of the urban air monitoring system to measure a greater number of pollutants and measure air quality around schools, hospitals and other critical institutions.
