What’s all this noise

Whether it is the distant sound of a highway, a busy street abuzz with people, or a river flowing through a park, we often do not think twice about the sounds we hear every day.

On the contrary, sounds of an industrial nature (like those produced by mining, manufacturing, and other heavy industries) have the tendency to command our attention and oftentimes, stir our frustration.

But why is that? It usually comes down to a few common characteristics that industrial facilities share.

Take, for example, a surface mine site. These sites often have intermittent sound sources that do not continuously operate but rather turn on and off with sound levels that vary. You will also hear many sounds designed to grab your attention in a busy mine environment, such as reverse safety beepers on equipment like loaders, trucks, and bulldozers. Other instances might include emergency blasting sirens and associated public address systems and loading facilities including rail yards and movements. Some sound sources also have irritating spectral characteristics, such as tones and strong low frequency components, which people can be sensitive to. Each of these factors makes it difficult for people to subconsciously block out the sound.

Historically in Canada, mining and industrial areas have been situated away from residential properties. However, that is changing year after year, as those areas expand and encroach on one another.

Here enters the noise clash. And no, that is not a new band name.

Are the regulations and bylaws ready?

The short answer is no, especially for mining sites.

For eastern Canada, in provinces such as Ontario and Quebec, the regulations are more present for mining operations. But, as you head west, things get a bit sparse and unregulated for both sound and vibration.

In British Columbia and Manitoba, there are no requirements to assess sound or vibration from mining operations unless an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required. Even then, the methods to be used are outdated and inconsistent.

In Alberta, some mine types are regulated but many key types, such as sand and gravel pits, are not. Operations of both current and proposed pits have been increasingly contentious with neighboring residents in recent years.

Many mining operations do not trigger an EIA, but still have the potential to cause a disturbance due to sound and vibration. Especially those that are governed by municipalities with bylaws or policies with criteria that are too lenient or inappropriate for the location.

Mines that are assessed are often using outdated evaluation parameters like average sound as opposed to other metrics that more accurately account for time-varying sound sources.

Will the bylaws cover it?

Many bylaws are designed for the sound generated by residential activities and can often explicitly exclude any regulation of industrial sound. They will often have a statement that says something like, “No person shall make or cause, or permit to be made or caused, any noise in or on a street or elsewhere in the city that is liable to disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort, or convenience of individuals or the public.”

If you think about it, you could argue that most sounds we hear can disturb the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort, or convenience of individuals or the public. So, this kind of bylaw has no practical application and is very hard to enforce.

There are often no objective or quantifiable criteria to reference. Those that do exist typically only refer to absolute levels. However, annoyance is more closely linked to the difference between the sound level of the source in question compared to the ambient sound level without it at a receptor location. Evidently, whether sound is reaching that absolute threshold or not, residents are suffering.

Areas that have no regulation for mining operations will often rely on noise or vibration complaints to assess whether there is an issue or not. The “let’s deal with it later” approach.

The problem with this approach is that once someone has got to the point where they complain about or are irritated by a sound, the sound needs to be attenuated much more to be acceptable compared to a person who is not at that point. In this way, dealing with complaints from noise and vibration costs businesses time and money that they would not have needed to spend had they took a proactive approach to mitigation in the first place.

The need for mines is increasing, especially for key manufacturing metals for things like electric vehicles, solar panels, and consumer electronics, and infrastructure requiring sand and gravel.

With this pressure, mine sites are being situated nearer to residential properties, and areas where sensitive wildlife and Indigenous people’s land uses are located. So, noise and vibration clashes from these sites to these surrounding uses are becoming more common, putting stops to important projects that are feasible in all other ways.

A lack of regulation is sometimes the preference. But if you live near a mine site that is not regulated for sound or vibration or has not got an effective management plan to control these emissions, then you will welcome new regulations. This works both ways. For mining operations, lack of regulation of sound and vibration leads to ambiguities and uncertainty, which causes time delays and additional costs to resolve, if they can be resolved at all. Municipalities are confused, residents are angry, and owners and operators are frustrated.

There are no goalposts, and that does not work.

How can we solve this problem? More proactivity, consistency, and clarity are needed. A sound and vibration assessment road map would be beneficial, including things like more consistency in the methodology, assessment criteria, and requirements for the management of sound and vibration from operations across the country.

The next step is for operators and regulations to consider noise and vibration at an early stage in feasibility and permitting stages of a project. If this is you, then consider involving an acoustics and vibration consultant in your project sooner than later. How does that sound? 

Dan Clayton is the technical discipline manager of the acoustics and vibration team at SLR Consulting Ltd.