Noise Pollution

The word ‘noise’ comes from a Latin word ‘nausea’ meaning seasickness.

Definition: Noise pollution is human or machine created unpleasant, unwanted or undesirable

sound that disrupts the activity or happiness of human or animal life.

Human Acoustics: The science of human hearing is called human acoustics. Sound wave set
up oscillation in the eardrum made up of tympanic membrane in the outer ear. The oscillation
in the eardrum induces movement of the three soft bones (malleus, incus and stapes) in the
middle ear behind the eardrum. The movement or oscillation in the middle ear passes through
viscous fluid in the inner ear, creating oscillation of the fluid. These oscillations then reach the
auditory nerve and are finally transmitted to the brain.

Eardrum (tympanic membrane) outer ear  Soft bones (malleus, incus, stapes) middle ear
 (Viscous fluid) inner ear  Auditary nerve  Brain

Frequency: The number of oscillation per second or the number of waves passing through a
point in one second.
Human detectable frequency range: 20-20,000 Hz
Human speech: 200-3000 Hz
Most sharp audio sence: 2000-5500 Hz

Intensity and Pressure of sound

The intensity of sound is defined as the amount of sound energy passing through a unit area of
the medium per unit time. The unit of intensity is Wm-2. The second parameter of sound is
sound pressure which is measured in Nm-2, the pressure is created by sound wave during its
propagation through the medium.

Pitch: Pitch is a characteristic of musical sound that helps the listeners in distinguishing a shrill
note from a grave (dull or flat) note.

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Quality: Quality is a characteristic of musical sound that distinguishes between two or more
sounds of the same pitch and loudness from each other.

Loudness: Loudness is a subjective impression related to the intensity component of sound. It

depends on the intensity of the sound as well as the sensitiveness of ear of the listener. Also,
the same sound may appear to be loud to one person and faint to other so it is not entirely a
physical quantity.

Noise and its measurements

Noise is actually expressed in terms of the loudness of sound which is measured in bel (B) or
decibel (dB). It is not an absolute value like kilogram, second, meter etc, it is a ratio expressed
in terms of logarithmic scale and is mathematically given as:

SIL in decibel (dB)=10 Log10(I/I0), where I=measured intensity and I0=reference intensity.
Thus, decibel measures how much intense is the sound compare to a reference intensity. Human
ear can receive a vast range of sound intensities from around 1x10-12 to 1000 Wm-2. The
reference intensity I0 is taken as 1x10-12 Wm-2, which is considered to be an intensity level just
audible to human ear i.e., threshold of hearing. Due to presence of practical difficulties in
accurately measuring intensity it better to introduce another variable called sound pressure
level:

SPL= 20 Log10(P/P0), where P=measured pressure and P0=reference pressure, usually equal to
2x10-5 Nm-2. Human ear can detect sound pressure ranging from as low as 2x10-5, the threshold
of hearing to over 200 Nm-2, the threshold of pain.

Measurement of noise level in decibel is used in an instrument called sound level meter. It
consists of three internationally accepted weighing networks, namely A, B and C. Noise level
measured with network A is designated as dBA. In this scale, the frequencies to which human
beings are more sensitive are given more importance, in the measurement of effect on human
hearing. The disadvantage of dBA scale is that it is not related to human ear frequency response
as well as environmental conditions, on which noise is measured. In case of dBA scale,
although it is a characteristic of human ear capacity, it does not take account of peak noise
level, duration of noise and its quality. Therefore, other scales of measurements of noise levels
with proper refinements are done.

L10(18 hour index): It is the arithmetic average hourly values of the noise levels exceeded for
10% of the time over 18 hour between morning 06:00 to night 12:00 clock on any normal week
day. This scale is used to measure road traffic noise in UK and it considers peak noise level,
fluctuation of noise due to nature of vehicles and traffic density.

Lepn (equivalent perceived noise level): It is the noise level measured in dBA scale and the value
is taken to be ( dBA scale+ 13). Lepn is used for measuring noise level of aircraft, recommended
by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The measurement takes care of both the
peak frequency of the aircraft and duration of flyover.

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Leq(equivalent noise level): It is the weighed average sound level over the time of measurement
and is represented as Leq and given in dBA unit. Equivalent noise level is accepted by
International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO). Leq is used to measure industrial, railway
traffic as well as residential noise.

Noise Threshold Limit Value: The noise threshold limit values as per the American National
Standard Specification of sound level meters, SI(187) TYPE 52A, is given in the table below.

Table: Noise Threshold Limit Value

Duration per day(hour) Sound level(dBA)

16 80
8 85
4 90
2 95
1 100
½ 105
¼ 110
1/8 115

When daily noise exposure is composed of two or more periods of noise exposure of different
levels, there combined effect needs to be considered rather than the individual effect of each.
When the sum of following functions exceeds unity, then the noise exposure is considered to
exceed the threshold limit value.

C1/T1 + C2/T2 + C3/T3 + ............ + Cn/Tn = F(C, T)

F(C, T) is known as noise exposure index, Cn indicates the total duration of exposure at a
specific noise level and Tn indicates the total duration of exposure permitted at that level.

Some noise measuring equipments: Sound level meter; cassette recorder; magnetic tape
recorder; pen recorder; Leq meter, noise analyser etc.

Noise classification according to the source:

1. Transport Noise: It can be subdivided into the three ways

a. Road traffic noise: Road traffic noise is measured in dBA scale and noise level given in
L10(18 hour index). The limits of noise level are different in different countries, such as 70 dBA
in USA, 83 dBA in France and 80 dBA in India. But the above rule is violated in almost all the
big cities. For example in Kolkata average noise levels are 90 dBA between 10:30-12:00 hours
and 18:00-19:30 hours.
b. Aircraft noise: Aircraft engines produce noise during takeoff, landing and flight. The faster
and larger the aircraft, the more is the noise and thus jet engines produce the most noise.
Although lesser in number, the aircrafts like fighter aircrafts which fly supersonically, become
the nosiest source. Aircraft noise is measured in Lepn scale and expressed as (dBA+13).

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c. Rail traffic noise: It is not that serious like road traffic and aircraft noise because of lower
frequency. Introduction of diesel or electrical engine in place of steam engine, welded tracks
and improve coaches has contributed a lot in reducing noise. Moreover, most railway tracks
run through rural areas which are wider places surrounded with trees. However, noise created
by rail traffic affects people in the railway station and the inhabitants of areas near the railway
tracks. The rail traffic noise is measured in
Leq scale.

2. Occupational Noise: This is mainly produced by industrial machines and processes like
blasting operation, shipbuilding, factories and mills producing different kinds of products.
Occupational noise is also due to machines used for domestic purposes like television, washing
machines, vacuum cleaner etc.
Table: Some industrial noise levels.
Industrial sources Noise level(dBA)
Steel plate riveting 130
Boiler marker’s shop 120
Farms tractor 103
News paper press 101
Milling machines 82

3. Neighbourhood noise: Use of loudspeakers, fireworks, loud music during festivals,

marriage ceremonies and public meeting cause noise pollution which affect the nearby
residence. The prescribed permissible sound level for cities in India by Central Pollution Board
of India is given below.

Area Day(dBA) Night(dBA)

Industrial 75 65
Commercial 65 55
Residential 50 45
Educational institute, court, 50 40
hospital.

Table: Some example of noise levels and their physical/physiological effects on human
beings.
Noise level (dBA) Effects
65 Heard at a distance of 1 meter.
80 Annoying
110 Discomforting
135 Painful
150 Significant change in pulse rate.
160 Minor damage in hearing.
190 Major damage in short time

Harmful effects of noise pollution on human beings:

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1. Physical effects: The physical effect of noise pollution is hearing loss. People who are
exposed to high noise level for a long period, get affected by temporary or permanent hearing
loss.

2. Physiological and psychological effects:

a. Chang of heart rates and narrowing of arteries.
b. Noise pollution can accelerate blood pressure.
c. Sudden noise causes miscarriage in female.
d. It can create lack of concentration and fatigue.
e. It interfere normal development of infants.
f. It disturbs sleep leading to insomnia.
g. It can create emotional disorder and depression.
Effects on migratory birds: The high noise pollution along with high rise buildings reduces
the number of migratory birds. Such an effect is already observed in Alipore zoo in Kolkata.
Where the numbers of migratory birds were 15000in 1982 it become 2000 in 1990, which come
down to 599 in 1997 and now none of these birds are visiting this zoo.

Control of noise pollution: Noise pollution is basically controlled by three means namely
technical process, legislative measure and personal effort.

1. Technical process: By technical process noise pollution can be controlled by reducing the
noise at the source or preventing its transmission or by protecting the receiver.

At the source:

a. Lubrication of machines generally reduces the noise produced.

b. Tightening the loose nuts.
c. Reducing the eccentricity generally reduces vibration and noise.
d. Use of silencer to control the noise from automobile.
e. Reducing the speed of operation.
[Eccentricity is the unbalanced air gap between the rotor and stator of an induction motor. It
may be caused by incorrect position of the rotor or stator]

In the path:

a. Keeping the noisy machine covered in an enclosure so that the sound does not escape and
reach the receiver.
b. Construction of noise barrier on road sides for the benefits of the nearby residential
communities.

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c. Heavy curtains on the windows, acoustical tiles on ceiling, wall and floor, sealing of all air
leaks can be employed to reduce the noise coming in from outside.

At the receiver:

a. Do not use horn except in an emergency.

b. Keep auto and track engine, air conditioner and appliances in good condition.
c. Purchase the least noisy air conditioner, vacuum cleaner, mixer grinder, washing machine
etc.
d. Respect your neighbour’s right to silence.
e. Tell your friends about the hazards of noise pollution.
f. Get organised.
g. Keep conversation and rest areas in the home away from the sources of noise.
Legislative measure: Creating and implementing noise pollution acts.
Personal efforts: Ear protection equipments can be used, reduce the use of loud speaker in
congested places, proper planning during construction of building.