What are the dust and noise rules for demolition?
Section 18 of the Environmental Public Health Act requires reasonable precautions to protect people in public places from flying dust and falling fragments during demolition; fines rise from S$2,000 to S$10,000 for repeat offences. NEA's code for environmental control officers lists water sprays, netting, screens and debris chutes, and recommends restricting noisy demolition to daytime. Construction noise limits and permitted hours are covered in our noise guide.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Demolition and Strip-Out Safety in Singapore: Permits, Structural Stability, Asbestos and Waste. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
In Singapore, demolition is high-risk construction work needing a permit-to-work system. Hacking non-load-bearing walls and false ceilings is exempt from BCA plan approval, but removing columns, beams, slabs or load-bearing walls needs approved plans, a BCA permit and a PE's method statement. Older buildings need an asbestos survey first, and debris must go through NEA-licensed collectors.
More questions on this topic
- Do I need a BCA permit to strip out an office?
- Is a strip-out 'demolition work' under the WSH regulations?
- Who must prepare the demolition method statement?
- What happened in the Tanjong Pagar demolition collapse?
- Do I need an asbestos survey before demolition?
- Can demolition debris go into the building's bins?
- What is temporary propping and when is it needed?