1. Noise pollution is the disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or animal life. The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused bymachines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains.[1][2] Outdoor noise is summarized by the word environmental noise. Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential areas. The Indoor noise is caused by machines, building activities, music performances, and especially in some workplaces. There is no great difference whether noise-induced hearing loss is brought about by outside (e.g. trains) or inside (e.g. music) noise. High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects in humans, a rise in blood pressure, and an increase in stress and vasoconstriction, and an increased incidence of coronary artery disease. In animals, noise can increase the risk of death by altering predator or prey detection and avoidance, interfere with reproduction and navigation, and contribute to permanent hearing loss. Bibliography • this page was last modified on 11 March 2014 at 12:24. • Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use andPrivacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_pollution What are the main causes of Noise pollution? preservearticles/2012011320628/what-are-the-main-causes-of-noise-pollution.html home of thousands of articles published and preserved by users like you. Here you can publish your research papers, essays, letters, stories, poetries, biographies, notes, reviews, advises and allied information with a single vision to liberate knowledge. Before preserving your articles on this site, please read the following pages: 2. The harmful ofnoise pollution Noise is the unwanted sound, usually of high intensity and it causes irritation and discomfort. Sources of noise are many, but it is always higher in urban and industrial areas than the rural one. Industries expose their workers to high noise load for long period of work every day. Road traffic particularly during peak hours is another noise pollution source to travelers as well as to the shopkeepers and residents of the concerned area. Uses of loudspeakers on almost all kinds of occasions like festivals and elections, worship, and during advertisements are common almost all the year round. Noise is defined physically as a complex sound with little or no periodicity and psychologically as a sound under sired by the recipient. The American National Standards Institute defines noise as any undesired sound or unwanted sound or sound without value. Its definition can be more appropriately stated as - Noise is unwanted sound or sounds of a duration, intensity, or other quality that cause some kind of physiological or psychological harm to humans or other living things. (1) 28 million people in USA have hearing loss and noise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss, especially in young people. (2) Noise negatively affects learning and behaviour. (3) Studies show that childrens learning is negatively affected by noise in the classroom. Level of Noise Decibel is a ratio expressed on a logarithmic scale. This logarithmic scale takes care of wide range of sound power, intensity and pressure. The decibel (dB) scale begins from zero, which represents the faintest sound, which is audible to a normal ear. Decibel (dB) is used in environmental noise pollution as a measure of sound power level, sound intensity level and sound pressure level. A decibel (One-tenth of a bel) is a physical unit based on the weakest sound that can be detected by the human ear. It is named after Alexander Graham Bel, the inventor of the telephone. Recommended Noise Levels 3. The prevention of noise pollution Acceptable noise levels for outdoor and indoor as recommended by ISI (1954-1968). A permissible maximum outdoor noise level for urban residential areas is 35-45 dB. Ministry of Environment and Forest (India) has also notified the ambient standards in respect of noise in the Gazette of India on December 26, 1989. It is seen that there is little difference between daytime standards and nighttime standards. Daytime standards for industrial zone and silence zone are 75 dB and 50 dB, respectively. Permissible notice exposure levels for various maximum allowable durations are given which are recommended by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Causes of Noise Pollution The sources of noise are more in urban and industrial areas than in rural areas. The sources in general may be stationary or mobile. 1. Stationary Sources Use of loudspeakers on various occasions like festivals, elections, worships in temples, mosques and during advertisements, mining operations, use of bulldozers, drillers and dynamites to break rocks, household gadgets like vacuum cleaner, TV, radio, stereo, grinder, mixer etc., common vegetable and fish markets. 2. Mobile Sources Road traffic, railway traffic, air traffic, navigation etc the sources of noise can be classified in following categories: (1) Transportation / Traffic noise (2) Industrial noise (3) Noise from construction work (4) Neighborhood noise 4. The steps we can take for prevention and control of Noise pollution ? Follow the below given steps for controlling and preventing noise pollution. • Control of Noise pollution at Source • Noise producing industries, railway stations, aerodrome, etc. should be located far away from the residential areas. • We should play various music systems such as stereos, television, etc. at low volume. • We should not use loud speakers during night. Even during time they should be used at low volumes. • Various machines should be well maintained so that they produce less sound. • It is observed that certain persons blow horns of their vehicles unnecessarily, or remove silencers of the exhaust pipes of vehicles. Such practices produce lot of noise and should be avoided. • Laws should be framed so that the persons producing unnecessary noise are punished. Control of Noise Pollution by obstructing the path of Noise • By constructing soundproof buildings, the menace of sound pollution can be minimized. • Plants also help in controlling noise pollution because they absorb high frequency sound waves. Thus, planting trees along the roads help in controlling noise pollution. Bibliography 1. Correspondence to: Professor Stephen A Stansfeld, Department of Psychiatry, Medical Sciences Building, Barts and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK. E-mail: [email protected] 1.website bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/68/1/243.full 2. Knipschild PV. Medical effects of aircraft noise: community cardiovascular survey. Arch Environ Occup Health 1977; 40: 185–90 3. Rosenlund M, Berglind N, Pershagen G, Jarup L, Bluhm G. Increased prevalence of hypertension in a population exposed to aircraft noise. Occup Environ Med 2001;58: 769–73 4. Rosenlund M, Berglind N, Pershagen G, Jarup L, Bluhm G. Increased prevalence of hypertension in a population exposed to aircraft noise. Occup Environ Med 2001;58: 769–73 Noise pollution prevention and control tips Below are a few things people and governments can do to make our communities and living laces quieter: Construction of soundproof rooms for noisy machines in industrial and manufacturing installations must be encouraged. This is also important for residential building—noisy machines should be installed far from sleeping and living rooms, like in a basement or garage. Use of horns with jarring sounds, motorbikes with damaged exhaust pipes, noisy trucks to be banned. Noise producing industries, airports, bus and transport terminals and railway stations to sighted far from where living places. Community law enforcers should check the misuse of loudspeakers, worshipers, outdoor parties and discos, as well as public announcements systems. Community laws must silence zones near schools / colleges, hospitals etc. Vegetation (trees) along roads and in residential areas is a good way to reduce noise pollution as they absorb sound.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 13:31:04 +0000
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