Published on Jul 7, 2005

Every weekday evening Centre Point at Siam Square offers a free open-air disco for teens – the music is funky, the flashing disco lights groovy, and the volume is . . . well, not that loud.

By order of the Ministry of Public Health, DJs are not allowed to pump the volume as high as they might normally. The noise level must not exceed 90 decibels.

As part of its “90 Decibels, Healthy Ears” campaign, the ministry is inviting teen partygoers and trend-setters to its mobile demonstration discotheque that plays music at acceptable volumes, rather than blasting it at ear-splitting decibels. The campaign underpins official efforts to reduce noise levels at all entertainment venues below the legal limit of 91 decibels.

Despite the softer techno thump, the simulated disco at Siam Square is a jazzy affair. It sports a 16-square-metre dome with sound-absorbing walls, and a resident DJ who booms dance and hip-hop grooves. Yet rather than just work the turntables, he is also on hand to explain the health hazards of a blaring din.

The downside is that only 15 people can squeeze into the disco dome at a time, meaning that no large crowds can cut the rug together. To drive the point home to teen partygoers, images from a video display inside and photographs outside demonstrate the damage that ears suffer during prolonged exposure to deafening sounds – 91 decibels and up – which may lead to permanent hearing loss.

Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul presided over the official opening of the noise-campaign discotheque at Centre Point yesterday. The event is being held 4pm and 8pm everyday through Friday.

The initiative comes ahead of the ministry’s drive to enforce noise-control regulations at night spots starting July 22. The law also limits the working hours of employees exposed to excessive noise levels, said Kamjad Ramakul, director of the Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases.

People who work at places with noise levels above 90 decibels and below 91 may work up to seven hours a day. Those who work where noise levels remain between 80 and 90 decibels may work for eight hours and those who work at places where noise levels do not exceed 80 decibels may work longer shifts, Kamjad said. On its nationwide tour, the moveable demonstration discotheque will also make stops in Chiang Mai and Phitsanulok.

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation