7. Control of Noisy Products (sections 14 to 17)

When technical or administrative difficulties make other forms of control inappropriate, Regulations to control noise from products prescribed in the Regulations may be made under the Ordinance. It will be an offence to manufacture, import, sell or hire a prescribed product if it is intended for use in Hong Kong and does not comply with noise standards set out in the Regulations. It will also be an offence to use such a product.

Powers are also available to require prescribed products to be fitted with noise control devices of a certain standard. Regulations may also require testing or labelling so that the claimed noise level of a particular prescribed product can be readily ascertained.

As an initial step, the Noise Control (Hand Held Percussive Breakers) Regulations and the Noise Control (Air Compressors) Regulations were made and came into operation on 1 March 1992. As of 1 June 1992, only the equipment complying with the noise emission standards shall be allowed to be imported, manufactured or supplied for use in Hong Kong. From 1 September 1992, in addition to compliance with the noise emission standard, every hand held percussive breaker shall be fitted with a Noise Emission Label before its usage. For air compressor, similar requirements came into operation on 1 December 1992.

An application for such a label must be made to the Authority in the prescribed form and accompanied by a cheque of the prescribed fee. A Noise Emission Label will be issued if the Authority is satisfied that the relevant noise emission standard has been complied with. This would in effect phase out the particularly noisy equipment items and minimize the noise disturbances emanated from the work sites.