Case Study

Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project

Year Completed

2018

Capital Cost

$24M

About This Project

To support operations in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, a group of mining companies proposed a port development for Bathurst Inlet, or Hannigayok, as it’s known in Inuinnaqtun. The project included the port, a fuel tank farm, airstrip, maintenance shop, and work camp, along with a 200 km all-weather road to haul supplies in and precious metals out.

Scope of Services

For the project’s environmental noise assessment, we conducted a detailed study to predict noise levels during the construction and operation phases, and assess how that noise would affect people in the area.

Acoustical Challenges

Since the project included various infrastructure components and construction activities, we predicted and analyzed a number of disparate noise sources including operations from the port, airstrip, and quarry; ship, road, and air traffic; and pile driving and blasting activities, which, along with the noise levels of specific vessels, were also analyzed for their impacts underwater.

Once we predicted project-related noise levels, we evaluated how that noise might affect human activity near the project. Noise-sensitive areas near the project included temporary and permanent work camps and four traditional Inuit hunting camps.

For the work camps, we examined the potential for sleep disturbance and found that helicopter noise and other nearby noise sources could disrupt night-shift workers sleeping during the day. Our acoustics team found that this disruption could be lessened or eliminated by managing noisy activities or improving the outdoor-indoor noise reduction capacity of sleeping quarters.

When studying the hunting camps, we found that construction noise might affect one of the four—especially if work occurred at night. We recommended consulting with the community before and during road construction and managing construction activities to avoid nighttime work near the camps.

For the assessment, we built a software model that included international-standard algorithms for sources like road traffic and aircraft noise. For blasting noise, we conducted predictions to ANSI standards. The underwater noise predictions were based on a literature review and propagation calculations.

Project Benefits

In our report, we presented findings using noise metrics suitable for assessing effects on humans, and included detailed tables and graphics to illustrate the propagation of project noise.

The assessment showed that construction and operations noise from the port would not affect the Inuit hunting camps, yet we recommended a noise management plan for the life of the project to reduce noise impacts from other project infrastructure and maintain low noise levels.

While the final project included a much smaller port, with less supporting infrastructure, our noise assessment provided key acoustical insights and recommendations, details that helped realize the construction of the present port, fuel tank farm, airstrip, quarry, and camp.

The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads
Our Team

Mark Bliss

P.Eng., INCE

President

Mark Bliss, P.Eng., INCE

President

Mark Bliss is a professional engineer and member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering (INCE), with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia. He has practiced as an acoustical consultant since 2003.

Mark specializes in environmental noise and vibration assessment, with extensive experience evaluating transportation, industrial, construction, entertainment, commercial and other noise impacts. He has worked with all levels of government on noise policy and planning, and has appeared as an expert witness before the British Columbia Supreme Court and at municipal council hearings.

His work includes field measurement, noise modelling, mitigation assessment and detailed reporting, using national and international standards and specialized software such as Cadna/A. He has prepared Environmental Assessment Certificate applications to BCEAA, CEAA and IFC requirements, and has conducted third-party reviews and training in noise and vibration measurement and assessment.

Mark also has extensive experience in building acoustics, working on new construction and renovations to address environmental and mechanical noise, improve speech intelligibility and room acoustics, and achieve effective airborne and impact sound isolation. His work draws on CSA, ISO, ASTM, ANSI, WHO, Health Canada and other recognized standards and guidelines.
Gary Mak

P.Eng., PMP

Technical Director, Environmental Noise and Vibration

Gary Mak, P.Eng., PMP

Technical Director, Environmental Noise and Vibration

Gary Mak graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and joined BKL the same year. Gary has since worked in the areas of environmental noise assessments, mechanical/industrial noise control, and architectural acoustics.

Gary’s experience in architectural acoustics includes hospitals, educational facilities, performance spaces, offices, and operations buildings. His contributions to these projects include reviewing project acoustical requirements and building designs for partition sound isolation, room acoustics, mechanical noise control, and environmental noise control. For performance venues, Gary has experience working with more advanced techniques and parameters to assess and improve acoustical conditions for performers and audiences.

Performing noise and vibration impact assessments for transportation, construction, industrial, and commercial projects, Gary has established baseline noise conditions, predicted future noise environments, rated noise impacts, and determined mitigation measures to meet project criteria. In particular, he has worked on mines, terminals, rail, transit centres, district energy centres, and other industrial and transportation projects.

Gary is proficient in performing noise and vibration measurements with a variety of specialized equipment for investigations, bylaw assessments, room acoustics, and Sound Transmission Class (STC), and Impact Insulation Class (IIC) testing. He is also very familiar with using acoustical software including Cadna/A, Samurai, Insul, EASERA, and ODEON for impact analysis and design.
Brigette Martin

P.Eng., WELL AP

Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

Brigette Martin, P.Eng., WELL AP

Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

Brigette Martin graduated from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2009. Before joining BKL in 2015, Brigette worked as an acoustic consultant on various building and environmental projects throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Brigette has extensive experience with environmental noise including assessing noise impacts and designing noise mitigation for gas compressor and pump stations, power generation sites, port terminals, and transformers sites; modelling construction noise, and developing construction noise abatement and management plans; designing noise controls and preparing noise management plans for mines and quarries; and monitoring benchmark noise, developing 3-D noise models, and designing noise walls for road infrastructure projects.

In the area of building acoustics, Brigette has been involved in numerous projects and has consulted on sound insulation and mechanical services design, as well as controlling external noise intrusion and reverberation noise levels, and optimizing speech clarity for critical spaces.

Over her career, Brigette has gained experience with a wide range of technical equipment and software including Insul, SoundPLAN, Cadna/A, SONarchitect, Brüel & Kjær analyzers, and numerous other sound level meters.

Brigette has also developed and presented training courses for using acoustical software and sound level meters for acoustical engineers and clients throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Trevor Cheng

P.Eng., MIOA

Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

Trevor Cheng, P.Eng., MIOA

Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

Trevor Cheng holds a bachelor of applied science (engineering physics) from University of British Columbia and joined BKL in January 2016, with experience in environmental and architectural acoustics, as well as condition monitoring, and machine vibration analysis and diagnostics.

With BKL, Trevor has primarily been involved in transportation, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects. His work experience includes measuring baseline noise conditions, predicting future noise environments, assessing noise impact, and offering mitigation measures where appropriate.

Trevor also has experience in architectural acoustics, working on hospitals, performance spaces, and multipurpose buildings. He is proficient in measuring noise insulation performance, reviewing building designs, and predicting noise levels from HVAC equipment.

Prior to joining BKL, Trevor worked in London, UK, on a wide variety of projects ranging from large-scale architectural renovations to major airport improvement works. He has unique experience in measuring and assessing noise and vibration in buildings from underground rail sources.

He also has experience using sound level meters by Brüel & Kjær, Norsonic, and Larson Davis, and software tools such as Cadna/A. He is familiar with ASTC/AIIC testing and using acoustic software including Insul, SONarchitect, and EASE for indoor noise predictions.

Trevor is a member of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA) in the UK.