NOISE POLLUTION

• THE CONCEPT OF SOU

• SOUND PRESSURE
L E V E L , F R E Q U E N C Y, A
P R O PA G AT I O N
• SOUND LEVEL
CONTENTS • MEASURING TRANSIENT
NOISE
• THE ACOUSTIC
ENVIRONMENT
• H E A LT H E F F E C T O F N O I
• NOISE CONTRO
The ability to make and detect sound provides humans with the
ability to communicate with each other as well as to receive useful
information from the environment. Sound can provide warning, as
in the fire alarm, information, as from a whistling tea kettle, and
enjoyment, as from music. In addition to such useful and
pleasurable sounds there is noise, often defined as unwanted or
extraneous sound.
TRUCKS AIRPLANES INDUSTRIAL MACHINNERY AIR CONDITION
1 THE
CONCEPT • Sound is transfer of energy without
OF SOUND transfer of mass.

• Sound travels through a medium such

as air without a transfer of mass.

• Sound travels at different speeds in

different materials, depending on such
physical
1 THE
CONCEPT • Sound travels at different speeds in

OF SOUND different materials, depending on such

physical properties of the material as its
modulus of elasticity.
 SOUND PRESSURE
2 L E V E L , F R E Q U E N C Y,
A N D P R O G AT I O N • The intensity of a sound wave is
measured in watts, a unit of power.

• When a person hears sounds of different

intensities, the total intensity heard is
not the sum of the intensities of the
different sounds.
 SOUND PRESSURE
2 L E V E L , F R E Q U E N C Y,
A N D P R O G AT I O N • The human ear tends to become
overloaded or saturated with too much
sound. Another statement of this
phenomenon is that human hearing
sums up sound intensities
logarithmically rather than linearly.A
unit called the bel was invented to
measure sound intensity.
 SOUND PRESSURE
2 L E V E L , F R E Q U E N C Y,
A N D P R O G AT I O N • Sound pressure is the magnitude or
amplitude of sound.
• The pitch is determined by the
frequency of the pressure fluctuations.
• Sound waves propagate away from the
source.
• Sound pressure decreases with
increasing distance from the source.
3 SOUND LEVEL

We know that the ear is an amazingly

sensitive receptor, but is it equally sensitive at all
frequencies? Can we hear low and high sounds
equally well? The answers to these questions lead
us to the concept of sound level.
 • much more energy must be generated at
SOUND LEVEL
3 the lower frequency in order to hear a
tone at about the same perceived
loudness, indicating that the human ear
is rather inefficient forlow-frequency
tones.
• Sound level (SL) is measured with a
sound level meter consisting of a
micro_x0002_phone, amplifier, a
frequency-weighing circuit (filters), and
an output scale, shown in Fig. 22-6.
 SOUND
LEVEL

• It is possible to conduct such experiments for

many sounds and with many people and to draw
average equal loudness contours (Fig. 22-5).
 SOUND
LEVEL

• The weighing network filters out specific

frequencies to make the response more
characteristic of human hearing. Through use,
three scales have become
interna_x0002_tionally standardized (Fig. 22-7).
 SOUND
LEVEL

• Figure 22-8 shows a typical hand-held sound

level meter.
4 MEASURING TRANSIENT NOISE

Transient noise is still measured with a sound level

meter, but the results must be reported in statistical
terms.
Measuring some noises, particularly those commonly called community
noise, such as traffic and loud parties, is complicated further. Although
we have thus far treated noise as a constant in intensity and frequency
with time, this is obviously not true for transient noises such as trucks
moving past a sound level meter or a loud partynear the measurement
location. An unusual noise that may occur during a period of general
quiet is an intennittent noise and has a still different effect on people.
• Transient noise data are gathered by reading the
SL at regular intervals. These numbers are then
ranked and plotted, and the L values are read off
the graph.
• Suppose the traffic noise data in Table 22-2 are
gathered at 10-s intervals.
• Note that since 10 readings are taken, the lowest
reading (Rank no. 1) corresponds to a SL that is
equaled or exceeded 90% of the time. Hence,
70dB(A) is plotted versus 90% in Fig. 22-9.2
Similarly, 71dB(A) is exceeded 80% of the time.
5T H E ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT

• The types of sound around us vary from a

Beethoven concerto to the roar of a jet plane.
Noise, the subject of this chapter, is generally
considered to be unwanted sound, or the
sound incidental to our civilization that we
would just rather not have to endure.
 THE ACOUSTIC
ENVIRONMENT

• The intensities of some typical environmental

noises are shown in Fig. 22-10. Laws against
noise abound.
• In the industrial environment, noise is regulated
by the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Act (OSHA), which sets limits for noise in the
workplace. Table 22-3 lists these limits.
 ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT

• In the industrial environment, noise is regulated

by the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Act (OSHA), which sets limits for noise in the
workplace. Table 22-3 lists these limits.
6 H E A LT H E F F E C T O F N O I S E

• The human ear is an incredible instrument.

• The effect of excessive noise on our ability to
hear, on the other hand, has been known for
a long time (Suter 1992).
 SOUND
LEVEL

• The human auditory system is shown in Fig. 22-

11.
• Prolonged exposure to noise of a certain
frequency pattern may cause either temporary
hearing loss that disappears in a few hours or
days or permanent loss.
• People who work in noisy environments
commonly find that they hear worse at the end
of the day.
• Performers in rock bands are subjected to very
loud noises (substantially above the allowable
OSHA levels) and commonly are victims of
temporary threshold shift.
 SOUND
LEVEL

• Temporary threshold shift is generally not

damaging to your ear unless exposure to the
sound is prolonged.
 SOUND
LEVEL

• As people get older, hearing becomes less acute

simply as one of the effects of aging. This loss of
hearing, called presbycusis, is illustrated in Fig.
22-14. Note that the greatest loss occurs at the
higher frequencies.
• Noise also affects other bodily functions
including those of the cardiovascular system.
Noise alters the rhythm of the heartbeat, makes
the blood thicker, dilates blood vessels, and
makes focusing the eyes difficult.
7 NOISE CONTROL

• The control of noise is possible at three

different stages of its transmission:
1 Reducing the sound
produced,

Interrupting the path of

2 the sound, and NOISE CONTROL

Protecting the recipient.

3
NOISE CONTROL

• When we consider noise control in industry,

in the community, or in the home, we should
keep in mind that all problems have these
three possible solutions.
INDUSTIAL NOISE CONTROL

• Industrial noise control generally involves

the replacement of noise producing
machinery or equipment with quieter
alternatives.
COMMUNITY NOISE CONTROL

• The three major sources of community noise

are aircraft, highway traffic, and
construction.
• Construction noise must be controlled by
local ordinances.
• Control usually involves the muffling of air
compressors, jackhammers, hand
compactors, etc.
NOISE IN THE HOME

• Private dwellings are getting noisier because

of internally produced noise as well as
external community noise.
• Some examples of domestic noise are listed
in Table 22-5.
 • While noise was considered just another
annoyance in a polluted world, not much
attention was given to it. We now have
CONCLUSION
enough data to show that noise is a definite
health hazard and should be numbered
among our more serious pollutants.It is
possible, using available technology, to lessen
this form of pollution. However, the solution
costs money, and private enterprise cannot
afford to give noise a great deal of
consideration until forced to by either the
government or the public.
THANK FOR LISTENING