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THE deafening roar of a Formula One
car may be sweet music to fans.
At full throttle, each car's noise
level could go up to 130 decibels (dB) - just shy of the 150 dB
produced by a jumbojet.
Good for an F1 fan, not so great
if you're trying to get a good night's sleep.
To ensure a sound slumber for
guests, some hotels situated along the F1 route are considering
measures to combat the noise pollution.
Singapore will host the race
next year. (See report on facing page).
The solution seems to be
double-glazed windows, which are expected to cut down the noise
level by at least 90 per cent.
The major hotels which line the
5.2km street circuit include The Ritz-Carlton Millenia, The
Oriental, Marina Mandarin, The Fullerton, Swissotel the Stamford
and The Pan Pacific.
The New Paper understands that
The Fullerton and Marina Mandarin are discussing the possibility
of installing double-glazed windows.
The Fullerton declined to
comment, but Marina Mandarin confirmed that it has plans to
install such windows.
Swissotel the Stamford said all
its balconies already have double-glazed windows to shut out
traffic noise.
Ritz-Carlton Millennia would
only say that it is discussing refurbishment plans and have not
addressed the double-glazed windows issue yet.
The Oriental said it has not
finalised any of its refurbishment details yet.
But at least one hotel, The Pan
Pacific, will not be installing double-glazed windows for now.
REFURBISHMENT
A hotel spokesman said: 'We
expect that most guests who check in during that period to be
visiting for the event. However, the hotel is currently
undergoing refurbishment for all 775 rooms and suites and this
exercise will be complete by January 2008.
'Guests who visit for F1 will
enjoy the newly-refurbished accommodation.'
Double-glazed windows can absorb
as much as 90 to 95 per cent of the noise, said Abdeen Glass
Merchant, which installs such windows for commercial and
residential projects here.
Abdeen's director, MrKRajaragnem,
said a double-glazed window is usually made up of two or more
pieces of glass sealed to form a single unit with an air space
between each piece.
The air space is about 6mm thick
for an ordinary double-glazed window.
Mr Rajaragnem said: 'The air
space absorbs the noise so that it doesn't penetrate the window.
Quite a number of the hotels here already have double-glazed
windows to cut off the traffic noise.'
But installing them is not
cheap, he said.
For example, it will cost about
$1.2million to install double-glazed windows for 100 rooms in a
seven-storey building.
Sound engineer Joshua Chia said
that while the noise level from the F1 race may not be loud
enough to crack windows, it is certainly disruptive.
He said: 'It's even worse than
living with a highway next to your window because the noise
level of a passenger car is about 60 to 70dB. You definitely
need double-glazed windows with an F1 race happening
downstairs.'
When central London held an
exhibition F1 street race in 2004, some Londoners criticised the
organisers for the noise pollution and logistics chaos.
The International School of
Monaco, which overlooks the harbour in Monaco, had to close for
two days when the F1 street race was held last month, reports
said.
A school spokesman said: 'You
simply cannot hear a thing; you couldn't teach a word.'
In the US, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration defines 90dB of continuous
noise for eight hours a day as sufficiently hazardous to require
hearing protection. |
