Lecture 2 - Noise Pollution and Control

NOISE CONTROL
Environment technologies
 Noise pollution is traditionally not placed among the top environmental problems facing
the society; however, it is one of the more frequently encountered problem
 Noise is a subjective matter. Some people may find one sound musical, while other
people find it annoying!
 An estimated 6% citizens are exposed to noise that poses a threat to their hearing.
 More than five million children in the United States, ages six to nineteen, suffer from
noise-induced hearing impairment.
INTRODUCTION
NOISE:
Sound that is unwanted or disrupts one’s quality of life is
called as noise. In general noise pollution refers to any
noise irritating to one's ear which comes from an external
source
SOUND:
The sound is a form of energy, consisting of special kind
of waves, which are usually transmitted through air in the
form of pressure waves. These waves are received by
species and transformed into electrical impulses in the
ear and carried to brain which enable us to hear.
MEASUREMENT OF SOUND
 Sound waves are characterized by cyclic changes of air pressure

above and below average atmospheric pressure.
 Sound pressure fluctuations are exceedingly small and expressed as
microbars (µbar)
 Minimum audible sound pressure level is 0.0002 µbar or 20 µPa – the
faintest sound which human can hear and called ‘threshold of hearing’
 The highest sound pressure that can be perceived by human ear
without causing pain is about 1000 µbar.
 The human ear can actually perceive sound pressures as high as
10,000 µbar (1kPa) before immediate physical damage to eardrum.
MEASUREMENT OF SOUND
 Measuring sound levels with pressure units that can vary over a wide
range of values is impractical and inconvenient.
 A logarithmic relationship called as decibel (dB) scale is used for the
measurement of sound.
 The magnitude of sound expressed in decibels is called as sound
pressure level (SPL), mathematically defined as;
SPL = 20 x log (P/Po)
Where SPL = sound pressure level, dB

P = sound pressure, µbar
Po = reference pressure, µbar (0.0002 µbar)
 SPL of 0 dB does not mean the absence of sound – it’s the threshold of
hearing
RELATIVE SCALE OF SPL
COMMON EXAMPLES
Whispering = 20 – 30 dB
noise in office = 30 – 40 dB
Public library = 30 – 40 dB
Normal conversation = 50 – 60 dB
Alarm clock = 70 – 80 dB
Jet planes taking off / landing = 140 – 150 dB
80 dB is the level at which sound becomes physically painful and can be
termed as noise.
Ambient air quality standards noise level should lie between 50 – 75dB in
day time and 40 – 70 at night time.
NOISE POLLUTION AT HOME
DECIBEL: MAXIMUM EXPOSURE: EXAMPLE:
85 8 hours Heavy traffic; Noisy

restaurant
88 4 hours --
91 2 hours Lawn mower; Hair dryer
94 1 hour Motorcycle
97 30 minutes --
100 15 minutes Chainsaw
103 7.5 minutes --
106 3.7 minutes --

109 112 seconds Rock concert
112 56 seconds --
115 28 seconds --
118 14 seconds --
121 7 seconds Thunderclap; Night club;

Ambulance; Airplane
taking off
124 3 seconds --
127 1 second --
130-140 Less than 1 second Gun shot; Fire cracker; Jet

take-off
SOURCES OF NOISE POLLUTION
 Industrial noise
 Traffic noise
 Domestic noise
 It may be natural, such as wind, thunder, movement of water or man made.

 The man made civilization items like Jet plane, vehicles, railway engines,
factories generators, construction machinery, television, radio, public
address systems have something common - it is the noise.
 The most offending noise source are compressors, generator furnaces,
grinding mills, releasing valves etc. that are used in many industrial
processes and are installed in partially or closed or open sheds. 80 – 120 dB
noise level is common to most units which is hazardous.
EFFECT OF NOISE POLLUTION ON HUMANS
 Noise pollution can damage psychological health

 May cause hearing problems
 High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep disruption
(Blood pressure rise of 5 to 10 mmHg on 8 hrs. of exposure to
even 70 dB of sound level)
 SPL of 140 dB is painful
 It can also cause memory loss, severe depression, headache and
panic attacks
Health Effects
 According to the USEPA, there are direct links

between noise and health. Also, noise pollution
adversely affects the lives of millions of people.
 Noise pollution can damage physiological and

psychological health.
 High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep

disruption, hearing loss, and productivity loss are
the problems related to noise pollution.
 It can also cause memory loss, severe

depression, and panic attacks.
EFFECT OF NOISE POLLUTION ON WILDLIFE
Wildlife too have been affected by noise.

Health status of several zoo animals deers, lions, are known to be
affected by noise.
They appear dull and inactive.
Several migratory birds have stopped resting in a habitat close to
noisy cities.
Grizzly bears and kangaroo rats in Malaysia have been affected by
noise. They leave that habitat and move to calm places.
This change of habitats alters their food habits and health.
NOISE CONTROL
There are four fundamental ways in which noise can be controlled:

 Protect the recipient
 Increase the path length
 Block the path
 Reduction at source
NOISE CONTROL
PROTECT THE RECIPIENT

Use of ear plugs / ear muffs
Reduce the sound level reaching the eardrum by as much as 40 dB
Very useful for industrial and construction workers, who are exposed to noise
for long periods of time.
Its not the practical solution.
NOISE CONTROL
INCREASING PATH LENGTH
Sound levels decrease significantly with increasing distance from the noise source

The fixed amount of energy is spread and diluted over an increasing distance

The intensity of sound decrease with the square of the distance from the source –

inverse square law
Wise planning efforts can successfully protect people from high noise levels.

NOISE CONTROL
NOISE BARRIERS
Barriers placed in the path of sound wave will absorb some of the sound energy – reducing the sound levels

Different materials absorb (soak up) or reflect (bounce back) sound energy in different amounts

 Sound absorbing materials are soft and made from fibrous materials (Heavy drapes, carpets, special ceilings, wall acoustic
materials)
 Sound reflecting materials are hard, smooth & impervious (gypsum boards, plastic, thick brick wall etc.)
The higher the STC (sound transmission class) rating of any building material, the better is the acoustical

privacy between adjacent rooms.

NOISE CONTROL
NOISE BARRIERS
Acoustical properties of ceiling materials are described in terms of noise reduction coefficients

(NRCs)
 NRC rating of 0.8 indicates that the material absorbs 80% of the sound that reaches it and only 20% pass through
it.
 Most acoustic ceilings have NRC’s between 0.5 and 0.9, while plaster and gypsum have NRC ratings below 0.1
Acoustic ceilings are most useful for reducing interior noise levels in offices, restaurants, stores

and noisy factories etc.

NOISE CONTROL
SOURCE REDUCTION
The most direct approach to control noise pollution is to reduce the sound produced by the source itself.

Industrial noise source reduction achieved by:


 Using rigid, sealed enclosures around machinery

 Acoustic absorbing materials lining the inside of the enclosure
 Absorbent mounts or pads
Regular and thorough maintenance of operating machinery


Lubrication and realignment of moving parts to keep vibration to the minimum


Replacement of the worn and loose bearings / gears is necessary


Machinery should be operated with its original design limits.



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NOISE CONTROL

 Sound waves are characterized by cyclic changes of air pressure

SPL = 20 x log (P/Po)

Where SPL = sound pressure level, dB

85 8 hours Heavy traffic; Noisy

91 2 hours Lawn mower; Hair dryer

100 15 minutes Chainsaw

103 7.5 minutes --

106 3.7 minutes --

121 7 seconds Thunderclap; Night club;

130-140 Less than 1 second Gun shot; Fire cracker; Jet

 It may be natural, such as wind, thunder, movement of water or man made.

 Noise pollution can damage psychological health

 According to the USEPA, there are direct links

 Noise pollution can damage physiological and

 High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep

 It can also cause memory loss, severe

Wildlife too have been affected by noise.

There are four fundamental ways in which noise can be controlled:

PROTECT THE RECIPIENT

INCREASING PATH LENGTH

inverse square law

privacy between adjacent rooms.

and noisy factories etc.

Industrial noise source reduction achieved by:

 Using rigid, sealed enclosures around machinery

Regular and thorough maintenance of operating machinery

Lubrication and realignment of moving parts to keep vibration to the minimum

Replacement of the worn and loose bearings / gears is necessary

Machinery should be operated with its original design limits.

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