June 8
Desmond Ng

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, Mr K Rajaragnem, 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.