Institute Of Technology Demands Compensation For Noise Pollution

[Jai Dee]

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang campus asks for compensation for noise pollution caused by Suvarnabhumi airport

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang (ลาดกระบัง) campus demands Airports of Thailand Public Co. Ltd. keep its pledge to pay it noise pollution compensation worth 214 million baht.

Deputy rector Siriwat Pothivejakul (ศิริวัฒน์ โพธิเวชกุล) said the university will give the company until September 28 and if the money still is not paid it will bring the matter to the Administrative Court.

Mr. Siriwat said noises from airplanes taking off and landing at nearby Suvarnabhumi airport have affected daily activities of about 20,000 students, teachers and officers at the institute as well as local communities.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 15 September 2006

[Jai Dee]

SUVARNABHUMI PROTEST

Locals demand action over noise

Residents say they will sue using environmental law

Officials from a college and other residents located near Suvarnabhumi Airport said yesterday they would sue Airports of Thailand (AOT) for breaking environmental laws.

Kitti Teeraset, rector of King Mongkut Institute of Technology Lat Krabang (KMITL), told a gathering of about 1,000 teachers, students and local residents yesterday that AOT must consider the environmental impacts of the new airport on the surrounding community.

Kitti also called the AOT's decision on Wednesday to put on hold a Bt214-million project to soundproof KMITL's buildings pending a study by the National Institute of Development Administration insincere and an attempt to buy time. After the airport opens, the noise of aircraft taking off and landing will disrupt classes at KMITL, Kitti said.

"It is said that we may have to stop our classes every time an aeroplane flies by. Soon there will be something like 76 flights per hour. Imagine how difficult it will be to educate people in these conditions," he said.

Dismissing a rumour that the college had released balloons into the sky as an aeroplane flew past, Kitti said KMITL was not a criminal organisation. KMITL's protest against AOT will be peaceful, he said, adding that the lawsuit would help clarify the community's stance.

Sonthi Kachawat, a director at the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, urged the government to buy surrounding properties that have high Noise Exposure Forecasts (NEF), a criterion for predicting the noise impact of airports. He offered the example of a residence for railway employees that is located in an area with an NEF score of 40-45, which is considered harmful to health.

For areas where the NEF score is 30-35, including the KMITL campus and nearly 30 villages, Sonthi said that if the noise level proved to be 10 decibels higher after the opening than it is now, the government should pay compensation. He said the government could also sponsor efforts to soundproof buildings with materials like double-layer glass or just buy the affected properties.

"Now it's just two weeks until the opening, and the noise-detectors that are supposed to be installed at 13 locations - as required by the environmental impact assessment report - have not been purchased yet," Sonthi said.

The devices are intended to help the airport and AOT gather information on the effect of the noise on residents, he said.

If the government fails to install the devices as planned, then the residents could sue in the Administrative Court, he added.

Kitti said that if their requests remained unanswered, the airport's opponents would hold a bigger protest outside the college on September 28, the official opening day.

KMITL deputy rector Siriwat Bhothivejjakul presented a list of projects that the college wanted completed before the airport opens. The list included a request that the college's 22 buildings in the 30-35 NEF zone receive Bt214-million worth of soundproofing.

The list requests Bt4 million to install lights on college buildings that are taller than 20 storeys, which is above the height limit set by airport safety regulations, he added.

Siriwat said the AOT must also clarify who will be responsible for checking on the noise and quake effects of the new airport to make sure they remain within acceptable limits. The government should also set up a semi-automated air-quality monitoring station, he added.

He also said the airport would attract much more traffic to the area, so he proposed that the road cutting through the university be closed and another road built outside the school to protect teachers and students from ill-intentioned outsiders. He urged the AOT to develop a plan to keep the university and nearby communities in the loop over the next five years or so regarding measures to resolve the environmental impacts.

Sonthi said the level of noise disturbance depended on factors such as flight direction, aeroplane type, flight frequency and time of day. He also said that the flights between 10pm and 7am would be 10 times as disturbing as flights in daytime. He said the airport hoped to have four runways up and running between 2017 and 2020 to boost capacity to 100 million people a year.

Source: The Nation - 16 September 2006

[Jai Dee]

BMA worries of noise pollution and traffic around Suvarnabhumi

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is apprehensive that the traffic congestion and the noise pollution caused by the ongoing activities in Suvarnabhumi Airport may affect the people and schools nearby the area.

Mr. Apirak Kosayodhin, the Bangkok Governor, has assigned relevant units, especially the district offices in Lad Krabang and Prawet, to assess the intensifying traffic condition and the environmental pollution around Suvarnabhumi. He said members of the public and schools under the BMA may be affected from the activities relating to the new airport, and therefore, the assessment is necessary before its actual opening. As for the major transfers of equipments of all airways to Suvarnabhumi on September 27th, the BMA officials have already worked with the police on this issue, to facilitate the commuters on that day.

The BMA has set up all of the airport’s direction signs in Thai language. It is now installing the signs in English for travelers from Suvarnabhumi who want to travel to Bangkok. The BMA is confident that it will complete the task before the official opening. As for the mini-maps of Suvarnabhumi Airport, the BMA has begun distributing them to the general public this week.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 25 September 2006

[Jai Dee]

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang campus seeks 214 million baht to alleviate effects from Suvarnabhuni airport

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lat Krabang campus asks for 214 million baht from the Airports of Thailand Plc. for use in alleviating effects from Suvarnabhumi airport.

Privy councilor Surayud Chulanont (สุรยุทธ์ จุฬานนท์), as chairman of the university council, said loud noises and electromagnetic waves caused by flights in and out of the new airport have affected academic activities at the institute.

Gen. Surayud said the money, if approved, will be used in modifying university buildings to relief effects caused by the airport.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 28 September 2006

[Jai Dee]

Pollution Control Department suggests Airports of Thailand adjust flights lines to solve noisy problem

The Pollution Control Department has suggested that the Airports of Thailand adjust routes of airliners and move the plane parking space away from living quarters to solve the noise problem.

The Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) also suggested people in nearby areas of the new international airport to protect themselves from the problem by keeping doors and windows tightly closed.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 07 October 2006