It is being attacked on two fronts by two ministries. One from an occupational health and safety position and the other to clamp down on noises in communities which annoy residents. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has already drafted a law to deal with the workplace, while the Environmental Engineering Division (EED) of the Ministry of Physical Planning and the Environment is having laws drafted to deal with the nuisance angle. However, the EED is not waiting on the new laws but is already dealing with complaints under another law which broadly covers the subject.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Rawle Eastmond said he now had on his desk a draft of the Health and Safety At Work legislation to mandate new and improved safety standards for workers. It addresses such areas as dangerous fumes, lack of oxygen in confined spaces, storage of gas and similar substances, precautions in respect of explosives, and noise.

"In respect of noise, other Government agencies have an interest and want to comment on the bill, so I cannot guarantee that I can take this to Parliament before year end," he told the Daily Nation.

Noise in the workplace can severely damage or destroy workers' hearing and this legislation was expected to place the onus on the business owner to ensure that all noise levels were "below a level likely to be injurious or hazardous working therein" and where it was not possible to reduce the noise level, workers must be adequately protected. 

The Environmental Engineering Division of the Ministry of Physical Development and the Environment is also determined to clamp down on unwanted noise. In the pipeline is the creation of specific standards. Until those were created and laws drafted, Jeffery Headley, senior Environmental Engineer, said that his department had adopted the standards set by the European Union and the United States.

"We have officers trained in the area; we have some sound meters and are getting more equipment in the new financial year. Usually, Barbadians call the police first about music at parties and the police come and ask them to turn down the music and they do; but as soon as the police goes the music goes back up. Many Barbadians are not aware that they can complain to the Environmental Engineering Department and we will take the complaint to its logical conclusion," Headley said.

The EED has received complaints mainly about karaoke, vehicle body repair shops, wrought iron works, and mechanics. The resonance of the karaoke music and the pounding of repairmen's hammers have annoyed many Barbadians. As far as mechanics' shops are concerned, new standards have been devised and are being implemented to reduce the level of noise and fumes coming from these business places, especially those in close proximity to residential areas.