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환경부가 지난 3일 층간소음 배상액 산정기준을 확정 발표·시행 했지만 일관된 측정 방법과 배상 신청 금액에 대한 대책이 없어 논란이 예상된다.
중앙환경분쟁조정 위원회는 지난 몇 년간 층간소음으로 인한 이웃 간의 참극이 잇따름에 따라 피해기준을 강화하겠다고 밝혔다.
하지만 알려진 바와는 달리 배상 신청 금액과 객관적인 데이터 측정을 위한 기준이 정해지지 않았다는 사실이 밝혀져 당분간 혼란은 계속될 것으로 예상된다.
환경부는 소음 수인한도를 1분 평균으로 낮에는 40데시벨, 밤에는 35데시벨로 낮추겠다고 했다. 기준치를 초과할 시에는 소음 유발자가 배상 신청 비용을 포함한 피해 보상을 하도록 돼 있다. 층간소음으로 배상을 받은 사례가 한번도 없었던 것을 고려해 더 현실적으로 방안을 마련했다는 설명이다.
민사 소송으로 이어질 수 있는 만큼 일관된 측정 방법이 적용되어야 하지만, 측정 시간을 묻는 질문에 중앙분쟁위는 “1시간 이상”이라고 답변했다.
숭실대학교 소리공학연구소 배명진 교수는 “소음 측정 시 (소리가 전달되는 정도가) 아침, 저녁으로 다르고, 계절 별로 다를 수 있다. 세분화하고 구체화시켜 모든 케이스에 일관된 기준을 만들어야 한다”고 설명했다.
민원 신청 금액 또한 분쟁위가 제시했던 50만원과 달리 아직 정해진 것이 없다는 것으로 나타났다.
담당 사무관은 “예상 50만원이라고 한 것이 기정 사실화 된 것 같다”며 “국토부와 협의해서 3월정도 되야 신청 금액 등을 포함한 세부 사항을 발표할 것”이라고 해명했다.
취재 결과, 환경부가 언급한 배상제도신청비 50만원은 2012년 3월부터 2013년 12월까지 분쟁위의 층간소음 연구를 담당한 한국소음진동기술사회가 제출한 측정비용 예산 내역에 기준한 것이다.
한국소음진동기술사회 박영환 이사는 “총 예상 측정 비용 70만원 가운데 10%는 3,000만원 상당의 장비 구입 비용으로 쓰이고 그 외에는 녹음된 소리를 분석하고 보고서를 작성하는 기술사 인건비로 사용된다”고 설명했다.
아직 환경부가 한국소음진동기술사회에게 측정 외주를 맡길지 여부는 정해지지 않았지만, 소음측정비용은 1시간에 40만 원, 2시간에 50만원, 3시간에 60만원, 4시간 이상 측정시에는 70만원이 들고 수도권 이외 지역은 최대 20만 원의 출장비가 추가된다.
박 이사는 이어 “공공적 입장에서 지원을 받아 비용을 낮추면 좋겠지만 그럴 수 없는 상황”이라며 “새로운 제도가 시행되는 과도기이기 때문에 시행착오가 발생할 수 밖에 없을 것”이라고 말했다.
분쟁위가 정해놓은 소음 측정 조건 또한 논란이다.
소음 측정기는 크게 귀로 들리는 소음만 측정하는 방법과 촉감으로 느껴지는 진동까지 측정하는 방법이 있는데, 환경부의 현행 측정 기준은 소리만 감지하기 때문이다.
한국소음진동기술사회 박영환 이사는 “소음은 저주파만의 문제가 아니며 사람이 민감한 정도가 모두 다르다”며 문제는 바닥 두께, 소재에 따라 소음 크기가 다른 점에 있다고 설명했다.
이에 관해 시각이 엇갈리는 가운데, 숭실대 배명진 교수는 “소리의 50%는 청각, 50%는 촉감으로 들린다. 흔히 저주파라고 이 진동은 벽을 타고 내려와 피해자들에게 두통, 심하게는 멀미까지 유발할 수 있다”고 말했다.
한국환경공단에 따르면, 작년 환경부 산하 이웃사이센터에 시민이 요청한 층간소음 상담건수는 15,455건으로 2012년의 7,021건의 두배를 훌쩍 뛰어넘는 수치를 기록했다.
일별로 따지면 2012년에는 매일 35.5건, 2013년에는 62.3건, 2014년 1월에는 95.7건으로 그 수치는 계속 증가한 것으로 나타났다.
피해 배상을 제외하고 이웃간의 분쟁을 조정하기 위한 목적으로 소음 측정을 원하는 경우에는 무료로 층간소음 이웃사이센터(1661-2642 )를 이용 할 수 있다.
이웃사이센터는 소음을 유발하는 가구와 피해 가구를 전화로 상담해주는 업무를 한다. 상담 1주일 후에도 분쟁이 지속될 시에는 담당 공무원이 2인 1조로 직접 찾아가 적게는 한 시간에서 최대 24시간까지 측정해주는 서비스를 제공하고 있다.
이웃사이센터를 운영하는 환경공단 측은 “측정 시에는 소음 유발자에게 알리지 않고 신청인은 모든 가전제품의 코드를 뽑고 집을 비워야 한다는 불편함이 있다. 단, 이웃사이센터에서 측정한 데이터는 분쟁위가 운영하는 배상제도에 적용이 안되며 갈등을 해결하기 위한 자료로만 쓰인다”고 설명했다.
코리아헤럴드 석지현 기자 (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
<관련 영문 기사>
Policy measures lagging behind spiraling noise pollution disputes
Environment Ministry guidelines under fire, with cost of noise measurement greater than potential compensation
A 73-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in jail last year for starting a fire in the apartment above that killed two people. The three-year-long dispute over noise pollution at the apartment complex ended in tragedy.
Shortly after the incident, a 43-year-old man stabbed two brothers to death, angry over noise they made in the upstairs apartment during the New Year holiday.
These sad incidents are just a sample of the neighborly clashes ranging from fist fights to horrendous homicides that are hitting many South Korean apartment complexes.
The underlying reason is that Korean apartment complexes or similar housing arrangements have notoriously thin floors that are far too ineffective at minimizing sounds and impact vibrations.
As the noise pollution issue grew more serious in recent years, the Korean government and civil sectors began actively seeking possible solutions. In a bid to contain the escalating noise disputes, authorities have decided to toughen rules against noise pollution and implement a program that compensates victims.
The government, however, has a long way to go to set up a refined and reliable dispute settlement system.
The National Environmental Dispute Resolution Commission, affiliated with the Environment Ministry, has an internal standard for judging whether a noise pollution claim is legitimate. According to the commission, a noise problem can be formally recognized only when the average sound level for a one minute period exceeds 40 decibels in the daytime and 35 decibels at night.
In theory, the alleged victims can get compensation from their noise-making neighbors through following the commission’s procedures. The compensation ranges from 520,000 won ($486) to 884,000 won, based on the extent to which the threshold is exceeded and the duration of the ordeal.
The newly revised compensation levels, announced on Feb. 3, are designed to reduce the frequency of noise-related disputes and offer a relatively inexpensive way to go about legal procedures, according to government officials.
But the government’s new noise policy failed to quiet down the vocal critics, who slammed the new guidelines as “impractical and unrealistic.”
According to sound engineering experts, low-frequency sounds -- sensed as vibrations -- were factored out from the ministry’s noise assessment standards, which means that the full impact on the victims may not have been taken into account.
“The role of vibration in sound was underestimated and excluded from the ministry’s measurement,” said Bae Myung-jin, professor of sound engineering at Soongsil University in Seoul.
Lee Yong-ja, a 60-year-old housewife who has been confronting her neighbors upstairs for more than a year, said she measured the noise level herself with an acoustimeter and compared the readings with the ministry’s new standards.
“No matter how loud it was, the figures didn’t even get near the halfway point of what they suggested,” she said.
Adding more confusion to the dispute settlement system is that rules on measurement methods and the application costs remain fuzzy at best.
Last month, the Environment Ministry had said that victims of noise pollution need to pay 500,000 won for a noise measurement, a step required to get government assistance and initiate legal procedures.
But it has since retracted its earlier policy and officials said they have yet to finalize details.“It will take some time before we finish mapping out the details, including application fees and measurement procedures. We apologize for the hasty announcement of the guidelines,” Bok Jin-seung, an official in charge of the noise dispute system at the ministry, told The Korea Herald.
Another tricky problem involves fees for noise measurement. According to ministry officials, victims themselves have to shoulder the costs for getting the noise level recorded in accordance with preset rules, but the procedure is fairly expensive.
According to the Korea Professional Engineer Association’s noise and vibration center, which previously conducted noise research for the Environment Ministry, the measurement costs will range from 400,000 won to 700,000 won.
“We own a noise meter that costs about 30 million won. About one-tenth of the total cost is for the expensive device and the rest is for hiring engineers who will analyze the recordings and write reports,” Park Young-hwan from the KPEA center said.
Whether the ministry will outsource the measurement work to the KPEA has not been decided, and when asked whether it views the service as overpriced, the Environment Ministry declined to answer.
In Korea, where 65 percent of the total population lives in multiplex houses including apartments, many neighborhoods have been turned into battlegrounds over noise pollution.
According to the FNMC, more than 15,450 noise complaints were reported nationwide last year, doubling from 7,020 cases reported in 2012.
“We’ve been seeing some extreme cases of noise disputes here in recent years,” said Seo Hye-jeong, a public relations official at the Floor Noise Management Center.
The center, launched by the Korea Environment Corporation in March 2012, offers counseling on the phone and free on-the-spot measurement services.
Victims of noise pollution in apartments can call the center to get help with settling disputes between neighbors. Mediating experts will make calls to the victims and their neighbors, helping them to reduce noise and preventing friction.
When phone counseling is not enough, a team of two experts make a visit to measure noise levels in the victim’s house, without informing the neighbors upstairs.
“The purpose of our service is to help people find peaceful ways to solve the problem,” Seo said, adding that measurement results by the center have no legal effect, so they cannot be used for the dispute settlement procedures of the Environment Ministry.
Beyond being a neighborly nuisance, noise pollution through walls and floors is a serious problem in terms of mental and physical health as well, according to experts.
Professor Bae Myung-jin of Soongsil University said the exposure to sound vibrations above the normal limit could cause headaches and even motion sickness if they last for more than five minutes.
By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
Policy measures lagging behind spiraling noise pollution disputes
Environment Ministry guidelines under fire, with cost of noise measurement greater than potential compensation
A 73-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in jail last year for starting a fire in the apartment above that killed two people. The three-year-long dispute over noise pollution at the apartment complex ended in tragedy.
Shortly after the incident, a 43-year-old man stabbed two brothers to death, angry over noise they made in the upstairs apartment during the New Year holiday.
These sad incidents are just a sample of the neighborly clashes ranging from fist fights to horrendous homicides that are hitting many South Korean apartment complexes.
The underlying reason is that Korean apartment complexes or similar housing arrangements have notoriously thin floors that are far too ineffective at minimizing sounds and impact vibrations.
As the noise pollution issue grew more serious in recent years, the Korean government and civil sectors began actively seeking possible solutions. In a bid to contain the escalating noise disputes, authorities have decided to toughen rules against noise pollution and implement a program that compensates victims.
The government, however, has a long way to go to set up a refined and reliable dispute settlement system.
The National Environmental Dispute Resolution Commission, affiliated with the Environment Ministry, has an internal standard for judging whether a noise pollution claim is legitimate. According to the commission, a noise problem can be formally recognized only when the average sound level for a one minute period exceeds 40 decibels in the daytime and 35 decibels at night.
In theory, the alleged victims can get compensation from their noise-making neighbors through following the commission’s procedures. The compensation ranges from 520,000 won ($486) to 884,000 won, based on the extent to which the threshold is exceeded and the duration of the ordeal.
The newly revised compensation levels, announced on Feb. 3, are designed to reduce the frequency of noise-related disputes and offer a relatively inexpensive way to go about legal procedures, according to government officials.
But the government’s new noise policy failed to quiet down the vocal critics, who slammed the new guidelines as “impractical and unrealistic.”
According to sound engineering experts, low-frequency sounds -- sensed as vibrations -- were factored out from the ministry’s noise assessment standards, which means that the full impact on the victims may not have been taken into account.
“The role of vibration in sound was underestimated and excluded from the ministry’s measurement,” said Bae Myung-jin, professor of sound engineering at Soongsil University in Seoul.
Lee Yong-ja, a 60-year-old housewife who has been confronting her neighbors upstairs for more than a year, said she measured the noise level herself with an acoustimeter and compared the readings with the ministry’s new standards.
“No matter how loud it was, the figures didn’t even get near the halfway point of what they suggested,” she said.
Adding more confusion to the dispute settlement system is that rules on measurement methods and the application costs remain fuzzy at best.
Last month, the Environment Ministry had said that victims of noise pollution need to pay 500,000 won for a noise measurement, a step required to get government assistance and initiate legal procedures.
But it has since retracted its earlier policy and officials said they have yet to finalize details.“It will take some time before we finish mapping out the details, including application fees and measurement procedures. We apologize for the hasty announcement of the guidelines,” Bok Jin-seung, an official in charge of the noise dispute system at the ministry, told The Korea Herald.
Another tricky problem involves fees for noise measurement. According to ministry officials, victims themselves have to shoulder the costs for getting the noise level recorded in accordance with preset rules, but the procedure is fairly expensive.
According to the Korea Professional Engineer Association’s noise and vibration center, which previously conducted noise research for the Environment Ministry, the measurement costs will range from 400,000 won to 700,000 won.
“We own a noise meter that costs about 30 million won. About one-tenth of the total cost is for the expensive device and the rest is for hiring engineers who will analyze the recordings and write reports,” Park Young-hwan from the KPEA center said.
Whether the ministry will outsource the measurement work to the KPEA has not been decided, and when asked whether it views the service as overpriced, the Environment Ministry declined to answer.
In Korea, where 65 percent of the total population lives in multiplex houses including apartments, many neighborhoods have been turned into battlegrounds over noise pollution.
According to the FNMC, more than 15,450 noise complaints were reported nationwide last year, doubling from 7,020 cases reported in 2012.
“We’ve been seeing some extreme cases of noise disputes here in recent years,” said Seo Hye-jeong, a public relations official at the Floor Noise Management Center.
The center, launched by the Korea Environment Corporation in March 2012, offers counseling on the phone and free on-the-spot measurement services.
Victims of noise pollution in apartments can call the center to get help with settling disputes between neighbors. Mediating experts will make calls to the victims and their neighbors, helping them to reduce noise and preventing friction.
When phone counseling is not enough, a team of two experts make a visit to measure noise levels in the victim’s house, without informing the neighbors upstairs.
“The purpose of our service is to help people find peaceful ways to solve the problem,” Seo said, adding that measurement results by the center have no legal effect, so they cannot be used for the dispute settlement procedures of the Environment Ministry.
Beyond being a neighborly nuisance, noise pollution through walls and floors is a serious problem in terms of mental and physical health as well, according to experts.
Professor Bae Myung-jin of Soongsil University said the exposure to sound vibrations above the normal limit could cause headaches and even motion sickness if they last for more than five minutes.
By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)
