Senglea residents have asked for sound sensors to be installed around Palumbo Shipyard if noise and vibrations are to be accurately measured before the yard is issued with an environmental permit.
In a letter outlining the measures Mepa should take into consideration before issuing the permit, residents’ representative Anna Spiteri called for “competent noise engineers” to be engaged. These engineers should not make use of hand-held noise meters, she said.
“These meters, as are currently used by Palumbo’s noise engineer, give only a one-off random point-and-shoot reading and have limited range. They are not appropriate to measure noise and vibrations in large industrial complexes such as Palumbo’s shipyard.” In the letter, the residents also called for the installation of noise shields in areas where high-noise-density work is done.
Residents have been complaining for some time about noise pollution from the yard, claiming it is so bad they cannot sleep at night and has ill effects on their health. Earlier this month, a court acquitted Palumbo representatives of disturbing the residents’ repose as it could not be proven that the noise came from the shipyard.
The company is still to receive an environmental permit from Mepa. Ms Spiteri said the residents had “every right to ask for, read and scrutinise the reports and studies handed over by Palumbo”, as outlined by the European Commission’s Aarhus Convention.
“The Environmental Permitting unit has the obligation to organise a public consultation meeting where residents have the right to ask questions and receive satisfactory answers,” she said in her letter to Mepa chairman Vince Cassar and Environmental Permitting unit manager Michael Sant.
On air pollution, the residents called for a ban on grit blasting and permits for high- and low-pressure blasting to be granted for specific times of day and that is be carried out in dock six. “No blasting is to be done at night and the disposal of the slurry caused by the water pressure blasting is to be monitored continuously by trained Mepa in-spectors,” Ms Spiteri said.
To adequately monitor the air quality at the shipyard, an air pollution monitoring station should be installed, with an online feed that is accessible to all, she added.
Similarly, all Mepa permits issued for works being carried out at the shipyard should be made available online.
“In this way, it would be very clear to everybody when Palumbo is adhering to the permits and when not, leaving no room for disputes. The eventual environmental permit should also include a monitoring board on the same model as presently prevailing with the Freeport Terminal.”