Thoughtful Engineering Helps Protect Aquatic Wildlife During Pile Driving
Construction work is a noisy undertaking. We all experience this firsthand when living, working, or traveling in the vicinity of a construction site. Consider that we experience these sounds in the relatively inefficient medium of air where sound travels about 1125 ft./sec. (at sea level). Underwater, however, sound travels approximately 4X faster than that! Such powerful sounds can disrupt wildlife by altering their behavior, preventing them from hearing important sounds within their surroundings, or causing hearing loss.
One particularly damaging source of aquatic noise pollution occurs during offshore pile driving. Thankfully, this can be addressed through the introduction of underwater noise mitigation systems. These technologies typically involve using columns of air bubbles rising within an enclosure housing the pile being driven into the seabed to attenuate sound waves. The bubbles minimize the acoustic impact on the aquatic wildlife surrounding the worksite, keeping them safer as a result.
The Coalition for Responsible Equitable Economic Development (CREED LA) proudly supports environmentally-responsible construction projects throughout Los Angeles that not only have a positive impact on the local community, but support LA’s working families as well.
CREED LA fights to ensure that developers pay fair wages to all the hard working construction professionals throughout the industry while simultaneously providing them with quality health care, continued training, and trustworthy retirement plans.
To learn more about how our non-profit organization supports those building a better, greener world for us all, contact CREED LA at (877) 810-7473.