Noise Pollution

Pollution

Water

Pollution Air
Noise
 Noise Pollution

• What is sound?

• What is noise?

NOISE pollution is a matter of opinion

 Sound
• Sound is a form of energy that is transmitted
by pressure variations which the human ear
can detect
• Sound is a physical phenomenon that
stimulates the sense of hearing
 Sound
• Sound, a manifestation of vibration, travels in wave patterns
through solids, liquids and gases

• When one plays a musical instrument or say a guitar, sets air

particles into vibration and generate pressure waves in the air
• A person nearby may then hear the sound of the guitar when the
pressure waves are perceived by the ear
 Basic physics of sounds
• Sound is a form of energy which is produced by mechanical
vibrations of a sound source

• These vibrations are transmitted or carried away from the

source in the form of sound waves
 Basic physics of sounds
• Sound waves can be transmitted through solids, liquids or
gases (except vacuum)

• In air, sound waves can be visualized as a series of tiny quick

pulses, slightly above and slight below the ambient
atmospheric pressure
Sound propagation
Sound propagation
 Characteristics
• Distance between the pressure peaks (or valleys) is called as
wavelength
• The waves appear to move outwards from source of vibration
• Frequency: The number of wavelengths that appear to pass a fixed
point in 1 second
• The height of the peaks, called as amplitude of waves and
represents the pressure intensity and is related to the volume or
loudness
 Characteristics
• A single wavelength is called as a cycle
• Frequency: The number of cycles per second (cps)
• Cycles per second is also term as Hertz (Hz), more commonly
used unit of sound (1 Hz = 1 cps)
• A sound wave having frequency of 1000 Hz
• Frequency and speed of sound (which is a constant in given
transmission medium)
 Characteristics
• A sound wave travels at a speed of about 1500 m/s in water and
about 5000 m/s in steel
• In air under standard temperature and pressure, sound travels at a
constant speed of about 340 m/s
• In normal human voice covers a range of 250 to 2000 Hz
• The natural loss of hearing ability (presbycusis) is not related to
noise exposure
0 16 Hz 20 kHz 5 MHz
• Human ear can detect sounds in the frequency range of 20 to
20,000 Hz
• Most people hearing is best in the range of 200 to 10,000 Hz
• An important relationship among wavelength, frequency and speed
• The speed of a wave is equal to the product of wavelength and
frequency
• V=λxf

Where V = speed of sound m/s or ft/s

λ = wavelength, m or ft per cycle
f = frequency, Hz or cps
 Problem
• Sound waves in air at 21 0C travel at a speed of
344 m/s. How long would it take to hear
thunder from a bolt of lightening that
occurred 5.0 km from an observer?

Speed = Distance / time

• What is the wavelength of a sound travelling through the
steel rails of railroad track if the frequency of the sound
caused by a moving train is 500 Hz? (Assume that sound
travels at a speed of 5000 m/s in steel).

V=λxf
 Basic terminology
 Loudness is related to the amplitude of the wave
 Intensity: Amount of sound energy received / sec is known as
intensity of sound. Its Unit is decibel (dB).
 Pitch: is a function of the frequency of the wave that produces it
 A high pitched sound (shrill whistle) has a relatively high frequency,
compared to a low pitched sound (frog horn) which has lower
frequency
 A high pitched sound must have a shorter wavelength than a low
pitched sound
 Noise
The word noise is derived from the Latin term nausea. It has
been defined as unwanted sound, a potential hazard to health
and communication dumped into the environment with regard
to the adverse effect it may have on unwilling ears
 Noise
 Noise is perhaps one of the most undesirable by product of
modern mechanized lifestyle
 It may not seem as harmful as air or water pollution, but it is
a pollution problem that’s effect human health
 It can effect people at their home, in the community, or at
their work places
 Sound or Noise
• Sound can become noise (unwanted sound)
• Noise is sound with any kind of negative effect on human
health and well-being (biological, social, psychological,
behavioral and performance outcomes)
Sound Noise
 Pleasant to hear  Unpleasant to hear
 Constant pitch  Constantly varying pitch
 Regular periodic motion  No regular periodic motion
 Produces meaningful  Produces no meaningful
Communication Communication
 Unit is Hertz (Hz) Hz=  Unit is decibel (dB)
cycle/sec.
 Noise standards

Day time: 6 am to 9 pm
Night time: 9pm to 6 am
 Sounds and Noise
• Sound is a form of energy which is emitted by a vibrating body
and on reaching the ear causes the sensation of hearing
through nerves
• The frequency limits of audibility are from 20 HZ to 20,000 HZ ,
Sounds of frequencies less than 20 HZ are called infrasonic and
greater than 20,0000 HZ are called ultrasonic
 Characteristics of Noise
The characteristics of sound are
1. Sound intensity
2. Frequency of the sound
3. Periodicity and duration
• The sound intensity refers to the rate of flow of sound energy per
unit area in a specified direction; it therefore measures not only
sound pressure but also molecular air particle velocity, including
direction. Intensity is a vector quantity.
• The frequency of the sound is defined in terms of the number of
wave cycles that occur during one second; the unit used for
describing frequency is the hertz.
We can enjoy some sounds as music
However, sound can also be annoying noises
 Annoying sound
• Noise is a kind of pollution
• It is a common problem in crowded cities.
 Types of Noise
(1) Occupational Noise
(2) Community/Environmental Noise
The World Health Organization calls non-occupational noise or
community noise. Community noise (also called environmental
noise, residential noise or domestic noise) is defined as noise
emitted from all sources except noise at the workplace.
 Sources of Noise
There are numerous sources but may be broadly classified into two
classes such as : indoor and outdoor.
1. Outdoor - Industries/factories, vehicular movements such as car,
motor, truck, train, tempo, motor cycle, aircrafts, trains,
Construction work, defense equipment, explosions, playing of
loudspeakers during various festivals etc.
2. Indoor - Loudly played radio or music systems, and other
electronic gadgets etc.
• Can you give some examples of sources of
noise in a society?
 Sources of Noise
• Road Traffic Noise
• Air Craft Noise
• Noise from railroads
• Construction Noise
• Noise in Industry
• Noise in building
• Noise from Consumer products
 Noise level of different sources
• The intensity of sound is measured in sound pressure levels
and common unit of measurement is decibel, dB.
• The zero on a decibel scale is at the threshold of hearing, the
lowest sound pressure that can be heard, on the scale.
• On the scale 20 db is whisper, 40 db the noise in a quiet office,
60 db is normal conversation, 80 db is the level at which
sound becomes physically painful.
 The Hearing Process

Sound funnels into the ear canal and causes the eardrum to move.
The eardrum vibrates with sound.
Sound vibrations move through the ossicles to the cochlea.
 Sound vibrations cause the fluid in the cochlea to move.
 Fluid movement causes the hair cells to bend. Hair cells create neural
signals, which are picked up by the auditory nerve. Hair cells at one
end of the cochlea send low pitch sound information, and hair cells at
the other end send high pitch sound information.
 The auditory nerve sends signals to the brain, where they
 The Hearing Process

Sound funnels into the ear canal and causes the eardrum to move. The
eardrum vibrates with sound.
Sound vibrations move through the ossicles to the cochlea.

 Sound vibrations cause the fluid in the cochlea to move.

 Fluid movement causes the hair cells to bend. Hair cells create neural
signals, which are picked up by the auditory nerve. Hair cells at one end
of the cochlea send low pitch sound information, and hair cells at the
other end send high pitch sound information.
 The auditory nerve sends signals to the brain, where they
are interpreted as sounds.
Elements of Noise/sounds
 Effects of Noise
• Decreases the efficiency of a man
• Lack of concentration
• Fatigue
• It causes blood pressure
• Temporary or permanent deafness
 Effects of Noise
• Effect on vegetation poor quality of crops
• Effect on animal
• Effect on property
• Sleeplessness
 Control of noise pollution
 Can never be eliminated completely, but it can be
controlled
 Noise pollution can be controlled by paying
attention to one or all of the three elements
involved
Source : Modified by changing in design, treatment of machine surface,
noise source could be stopped or operation limited to certain times.
Transmission Path: Sound insulating enclosure, construction of noise
barrier, absorbing materials along the path.
Receiver : Altering the work schedule, by provision of ear protection.
Barrier Absorption, Transmission, Reflection, and
Diffraction
Typical Noise Barrier Effectiveness with Receiver At-
Grade
Vegetation
 Mitigation
• Sound insulation
• Double glazing
• Solid doors
• Sound walls (concrete)
• Ear plugs / ear muffs
• Standards, regulation & enforcement
 Noise control techniques
• There are 4 fundamental ways in which noise
can be controlled.
1) Reduce noise at the source
2) Block the path of noise
3) Increase the path length
4) Protect the recipient
 Noise pollution control
Noise Control at Source
• Reducing the noise levels from domestic sectors
• Maintenance of automobiles
• Control over vibrations
• Low voice speaking
• Prohibition on usage of loud speakers
• Selection of machinery
• Maintenance of machines
 Noise pollution control
Control in the transmission path
• Installation of barriers
• Design of building
• Installation of panels or enclosures
• Green belt development
Using protection equipment
• Job rotation
• Exposure reduction
• Hearing protection
 Some things can amplify noise
• High density housing
• Mixed business/residential areas
• Busy roads through residential areas
• Poor insulation