Samsung’s factory in Hungary causes unbearable noise to locals

The population of the city of Göd, home to Samsung’s factory in Hungary, is becoming more and more annoyed by the continuous noise caused by the factory. While locals are fighting for immediate noise reduction, a detailed environmental impact study, and the afforestation of the entire area between the residential area and the industrial area, the Göd battery plant has been expanded to a total of 120 hectares. 

Initially, the noise only affected the residents of Göd who are living in the vicinity of the factory (at a distance of 50 metres). From 2018, it was communicated to the locals that the factory was in trial operation. However, according to Zsuzsa Bodnár, the president of the Göd-ÉRT Environmental and Urban Protection Association, this was not true. As a result, the management of the factory placed the problematic cooling towers further back and built noise barriers in front of them.

Read also: Huge investment: Samsung plant in Hungary to create 2,700 jobs!

Units B and C were also built in the second phase of the factory. However, the latter have not received a commissioning permit yet, but the manufacturing activity has already started, reported Hungarian news portal Index. The lack of permits was uncovered by Göd-ÉRT after the association finally received a response to its request for public interest data. As a result, the Pest County government office ordered an investigation and immediately prohibited the production of the two units in February. Three months later, a penalty of EUR 2,850 (~HUF 1 million) was imposed to be paid by Samsung.

Despite all this, the noise remained, and production continues uninterrupted, which increasingly worries the locals, according to whom the noise is sometimes unbearable. Experts have also confirmed that the noise level emitted exceeds the permissible limit also outside the area of the factory. Subsequently, the environmental authority was forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of the complaints and establish a new noise protection area. According to a map prepared by locals,

more than 450 properties are affected by noise pollution.

On 19^th July, the locals sent a public interest announcement to the head of the relevant government office, demanding that Samsung close its factory due to the violation of the law. As a second solution, they are trying to contact the supervisory authority, forcing the government office to intervene in their case.