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Call it a jackhammer, and you'll be corrected. "We prefer the term 'pavement breaker'," says Robert Aicher, president of the Zo-Air Company. Whatever you call them, they're loud; in the range of 120-125 decibels at the ear of the operator and approximately 90 decibels at a distance of 50 feet, near somebody's front door. Aicher has done yeoman's work developing the "No Racket Jacket," which reduces those levels by around 9 decibels. The jacket is light, doesn't interfere with the operation of the breaker and can be fitted to any model.

The evolution of the jacket is a tale of a collaborative and innovative approach bringing together the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, KeySpan Energy (now National Grid) and Zo-Air. It is also the tale of foresightful regulation driving the market.

It all began in 2002, when the DEP began the first major recrafting of New York's Noise Code in thirty years. At the direction of City Hall, every provision in the code was scrutinized. A concerted effort brought input from the spectrum of city interests ranging from the League for the Hard of Hearing to industry, residents, and commercial nightlife. The development of the code was a model of inclusion. The law was adopted in 2006, coming into effect in 2007

Construction noise is a perennial problem in many jurisdictions, and one that is notoriously unapproachable. Many simply accept as fact that some operations and equipment are inherently noisy, and thus give them a pass or apply curfews. The DEP was unwilling to resign itself, and the residents of New York, to enduring excessive construction noise. They engaged construction noise expert Erich Thalheimer of Parsons Brinkerhoff. Thalheimer, who oversaw the noise remediation program during Boston's Big Dig project, assisted in the drafting of the "Rules For Citywide Construction Noise Mitigation." The rules were promulgated in 2007.

In 2004, prior to writing of the Construction Rules, or even the adoption of the code, City Hall issued a press release announcing the effort to reduce construction noise:

"Reducing sound resulting from construction: The new code provides updated and sensible means of limiting noise from construction sites located near residential neighborhoods. By establishing uniform best management practices for all work sites, using greater discretion in granting permits for night and weekend work and mandating "noise management plans" that include portable sound barriers, noise jackets for jackhammers at all construction sites the code will decrease noise pollution."

At that time, the noise jacket for jackhammers was the brainchild of an attorney at the DEP, Charles Shamoon, who happens to also have a degree in Chemical Engineering, and played a vital role in the drafting of the Noise Code. Cosmo Iannicco of Keyspan picked up on the idea, and after batting it around with Shamoon for a while, he contacted Aicher at Zo-Air, which supplies the utility with pavement breakers and other industrial tools. It helps that Aicher, who founded Zo-Air, is just about the most knowledgeable guy around when talking breakers, and in 2006 he set to the task of designing the jacket with relish. Four editions later, as he calls them, he has a finished version and has so far sold about 75 of them. Aicher said that the single biggest customer is Empire City Subway, a construction subsidiary of Verizon, and that ConEd is testing the jacket for a breaker mounted on a backhoe.

Contrary to what you might think, most of the noise from a breaker comes from the internal components, says Aicher. A reciprocating piston hits the striker plate which transmits the energy to the tool bit, as many as 1800 times a minute. The bottom of the breaker housing is wide open and Aicher said it transmits the noise "almost like a bell".

The jacket covers the lower housing from just below the handle bar, and encloses the opening at the bottom. There is a 1.25-inch opening through which the tool bit can travel. Not only does this significantly reduce the sound emissions of the unit, it also serves to insulate the operator from the exhaust air of these pneumatic units, and the oil often spewed onto the worker's legs. The exhaust air and oil escape around the bit at the bottom, and Aicher says there's no significant backpressure buildup to impair the operation of the breaker.

The jacket is made of three layers of a material d escribed as "neoprene-like" which are sewn together, and the closure is four inch wide industrial Velcro. The jacket requires an upper strap over the handle bar, much like suspenders, to keep it from blowing off due to the air pressure. The whole jacket weighs two pounds.

Preliminary testing has shown that the jacket reduces sound levels by approximately 9 dBA, which represents just about a halving of the perceived loudness of the unit. In terms of potential annoyance to residents in the middle of the night, that's a big deal. In terms of potential hearing loss for the operator, it's even a bigger deal, because hearing loss is not a function of perceived loudness but rather of sound intensity, which the jacket drops by about 88%. Certainly, hearing protection will still be required while operating a jacketed breaker, but double protection (ear muffs and plugs) may not; the jury's still out (i.e., the testing's not done).

"They said it couldn't be done", and it never is, if no one tries. Yet, sometimes someone does. Foresightful regulation by the DEP and a can-do collaborative attitude of the utilities and one motivated vendor will have a demonstrable impact on protecting workers and improving the quality of life for the people of New York City. And, you know, if you make it in the greatest stage on earth, the rest of the world will eventually follow. [Zo-Air Company, Inc, Holbrook, NY (800) 675-1313]