Noise pollution levels in the pediatric intensive care unit.

PubMed

Kramer, Bree; Joshi, Prashant; Heard, Christopher

2016-12-01

Patients and staff may experience adverse effects from exposure to noise. This study assessed noise levels in the pediatric intensive care unit and evaluated family and staff opinion of noise. Noise levels were recorded using a NoisePro DLX. The microphone was 1 m from the patient's head. The noise level was averaged each minute and levels above 70 and 80 dBA were recorded. The maximum, minimum, and average decibel levels were calculated and peak noise level great than 100 dBA was also recorded. A parent questionnaire concerning their evaluation of noisiness of the bedside was completed. The bedside nurse also completed a questionnaire. The average maximum dB for all patients was 82.2. The average minimum dB was 50.9. The average daily bedside noise level was 62.9 dBA. The average % time where the noise level was higher than 70 dBA was 2.2%. The average percent of time that the noise level was higher than 80 dBA was 0.1%. Patients experienced an average of 115 min/d where peak noise was greater than 100 dBA. The parents and staff identified the monitors as the major contribution to noise. Patients experienced levels of noise greater than 80 dBA. Patients experience peak noise levels in excess of 100 dB during their pediatric intensive care unit stay. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial traffic noise pollution assessment - A case study.

PubMed

Monazzam, Mohammad Reza; Karimi, Elham; Abbaspour, Majid; Nassiri, Parvin; Taghavi, Lobat

2015-01-01

Spatial assessment of traffic noise pollution intensity will provide urban planners with approximate estimation of citizens exposure to impermissible sound levels. They could identify critical noise pollution areas wherein noise barriers should be embedded. The present study aims at using the Geographic Information System (GIS) to assess spatial changes in traffic noise pollution in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and the largest city in the Middle East. For this purpose, while measuring equivalent sound levels at different time periods of a day and different days of a week in District 14 of Tehran, wherein there are highways and busy streets, the geographic coordination of the measurement points was recorded at the stations. The obtained results indicated that the equivalent sound level did not show a statistically significant difference between weekdays, and morning, afternoon and evening hours as well as time intervals of 10 min, 15 min and 30 min. Then, 91 stations were selected in the target area and equivalent sound level was measured for each station on 3 occasions of the morning (7:00-9:00 a.m.), afternoon (12.00-3:00 p.m.) and evening (5:00-8:00 p.m.) on Saturdays to Wednesdays. As the results suggest, the maximum equivalent sound level (Leq) was reported from Basij Highway, which is a very important connecting thoroughfare in the district, and was equal to 84.2 dB(A), while the minimum equivalent sound level (Leq), measured in the Fajr Hospital, was equal to 59.9 dB(A). The average equivalent sound level was higher than the national standard limit at all stations. The use of sound walls in Highways Basij and Mahallati as well as widening the Streets 17th Shahrivar, Pirouzi and Khavaran, benchmarked on a map, were recommended as the most effective mitigation measures. Additionally, the research findings confirm the outstanding applicability of the Geographic Information System in handling noise pollution data towards depicting noise pollution intensity caused

Spatial variation in environmental noise and air pollution in New York City.

PubMed

Kheirbek, Iyad; Ito, Kazuhiko; Neitzel, Richard; Kim, Jung; Johnson, Sarah; Ross, Zev; Eisl, Holger; Matte, Thomas

2014-06-01

Exposure to environmental noise from traffic is common in urban areas and has been linked to increased risks of adverse health effects including cardiovascular disease. Because traffic sources also produce air pollutants that increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity, associations between traffic exposures and health outcomes may involve confounding and/or synergisms between air pollution and noise. While prior studies have characterized intraurban spatial variation in air pollution in New York City (NYC), limited data exists on the levels and spatial variation in noise levels. We measured 1-week equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (Leq) at 56 sites during the fall of 2012 across NYC locations with varying traffic intensity and building density that are routinely monitored for combustion-related air pollutants. We evaluated correlations among several noise metrics used to characterize noise exposures, including Leq during different time periods (night, day, weekday, weekend), Ldn (day-night noise), and measures of intermittent noise defined as the ratio of peak levels to median and background levels. We also examined correlations between sound pressure levels and co-located simultaneous measures of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and black carbon (BC) as well as estimates of traffic and building density around the monitoring sites. Noise levels varied widely across the 56 monitoring sites; 1-week Leq varied by 21.6 dBA (range 59.1-80.7 dBA) with the highest levels observed during the weekday, daytime hours. Indices of average noise were well correlated with each other (r > 0.83), while indices of intermittent noise were not well correlated with average noise levels (r < 0.41). One-week Leq correlated well with NO, NO2, and EC levels (r = 0.61 to 0.68) and less so with PM2.5 levels (r = 0.45). We observed associations between 1-week noise levels and traffic intensity within 100 m of the monitoring sites (r = 0

Aspects of legislative cognizance of noise pollution in India.

PubMed

Kumar, Brind; Oberoi, Sharad V

2011-04-01

The impacts of noise pollution are associated with the mental, physical, emotional and psychological well-being of an individual. Its damaging effects from various natural and man-made sources are potential hazards that need to be checked at the planning, executive and judicial levels. The paper presents an overview of the technological aspects of noise pollution, and seeks to visit its legislative aspects with respect to India. Excerpts from international laws are presented for a meaningful discussion. References are made from the conclusions of studies carried out by researchers and legislative cases involving noise pollution to make this paper useful for researchers, planners and administrators.

Assessment, analysis and appraisal of road traffic noise pollution in Rourkela city, India.

PubMed

Goswami, Shreerup; Swain, Bijay Kumar; Panda, Santosh Kumar

2013-09-01

The problem of road traffic noise pollution has become a concern for both the public and the policy makers. Noise level was assessed in 12 different squares of Rourkela city during different specified times (7-10 a.m., 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 3-6 p.m., 7-10 p.m., 10 p.m.-12 midnight and 4-6 a.m.). Noise descriptors such as L,eq, traffic noise index, noise pollution level, noise climate, Lday, Levening, Lnight and Lden were assessed to reveal the extent of noise pollution due to heavy traffic in this city. The equivalent noise levels of all the 12 squares were found to be much beyond the permissible limit (70dB during day time and 55dB during night time). Appallingly, even the minimum L eq and NPL values were more than 82 dB and 96 dB during day time and 69 dB and 91 dB during night time respectively. Lden values of investigated squares ranged from 83.4 to 86.1 dB and were even more than the day time permissible limit of traffic noise. The prediction model was used in the present study to predict noise pollution level instead of Leq. Comparison of predicted with that of the actual measured data demonstrated that the model used for the prediction has the ability to calibrate the multicomponent traffic noise and yield reliable results close to that by direct measurement. Lastly, it is inferred that the dimension of the traffic generated noise pollution in Rourkela is critical.

Road Traffic Noise Pollution Analysis for Cernavoda City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manea, L.; Manea, A.; Florea, D.; Tarulescu, S.

2017-10-01

In the present paper was studied the noise pollution in Cernavodă city. The noise measurements were made for nine intersections from different city areas. Noise measurements were taken for three chosen routes with high population density, heavy traffic, commercial and residential buildings. Average, maximum and minimum values were collected and compared with standards. The impact of road traffic noise on the community depends on various factors such as road location and design, land use planning measures, building design, traffic composition, driver behaviour and the relief. In the study area 9 locations are identified to measure noise level. By using sound level meter noise levels are measured at different peak sessions i.e. morning, afternoon and evening. The presented values were collected for evening rush hour.

Noise pollution mapping approach and accuracy on landscape scales.

PubMed

Iglesias Merchan, Carlos; Diaz-Balteiro, Luis

2013-04-01

Noise mapping allows the characterization of environmental variables, such as noise pollution or soundscape, depending on the task. Strategic noise mapping (as per Directive 2002/49/EC, 2002) is a tool intended for the assessment of noise pollution at the European level every five years. These maps are based on common methods and procedures intended for human exposure assessment in the European Union that could be also be adapted for assessing environmental noise pollution in natural parks. However, given the size of such areas, there could be an alternative approach to soundscape characterization rather than using human noise exposure procedures. It is possible to optimize the size of the mapping grid used for such work by taking into account the attributes of the area to be studied and the desired outcome. This would then optimize the mapping time and the cost. This type of optimization is important in noise assessment as well as in the study of other environmental variables. This study compares 15 models, using different grid sizes, to assess the accuracy of the noise mapping of the road traffic noise at a landscape scale, with respect to noise and landscape indicators. In a study area located in the Manzanares High River Basin Regional Park in Spain, different accuracy levels (Kappa index values from 0.725 to 0.987) were obtained depending on the terrain and noise source properties. The time taken for the calculations and the noise mapping accuracy results reveal the potential for setting the map resolution in line with decision-makers' criteria and budget considerations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Noise pollution alters ecological services: enhanced pollination and disrupted seed dispersal

PubMed Central

Francis, Clinton D.; Kleist, Nathan J.; Ortega, Catherine P.; Cruz, Alexander

2012-01-01

Noise pollution is a novel, widespread environmental force that has recently been shown to alter the behaviour and distribution of birds and other vertebrates, yet whether noise has cumulative, community-level consequences by changing critical ecological services is unknown. Herein, we examined the effects of noise pollution on pollination and seed dispersal and seedling establishment within a study system that isolated the effects of noise from confounding stimuli common to human-altered landscapes. Using observations, vegetation surveys and pollen transfer and seed removal experiments, we found that effects of noise pollution can reverberate through communities by disrupting or enhancing these ecological services. Specifically, noise pollution indirectly increased artificial flower pollination by hummingbirds, but altered the community of animals that prey upon and disperse Pinus edulis seeds, potentially explaining reduced P. edulis seedling recruitment in noisy areas. Despite evidence that some ecological services, such as pollination, may benefit indirectly owing to noise, declines in seedling recruitment for key-dominant species such as P. edulis may have dramatic long-term effects on ecosystem structure and diversity. Because the extent of noise pollution is growing, this study emphasizes that investigators should evaluate the ecological consequences of noise alongside other human-induced environmental changes that are reshaping human-altered landscapes worldwide. PMID:22438504

Noise pollution alters ecological services: enhanced pollination and disrupted seed dispersal.

PubMed

Francis, Clinton D; Kleist, Nathan J; Ortega, Catherine P; Cruz, Alexander

2012-07-22

Noise pollution is a novel, widespread environmental force that has recently been shown to alter the behaviour and distribution of birds and other vertebrates, yet whether noise has cumulative, community-level consequences by changing critical ecological services is unknown. Herein, we examined the effects of noise pollution on pollination and seed dispersal and seedling establishment within a study system that isolated the effects of noise from confounding stimuli common to human-altered landscapes. Using observations, vegetation surveys and pollen transfer and seed removal experiments, we found that effects of noise pollution can reverberate through communities by disrupting or enhancing these ecological services. Specifically, noise pollution indirectly increased artificial flower pollination by hummingbirds, but altered the community of animals that prey upon and disperse Pinus edulis seeds, potentially explaining reduced P. edulis seedling recruitment in noisy areas. Despite evidence that some ecological services, such as pollination, may benefit indirectly owing to noise, declines in seedling recruitment for key-dominant species such as P. edulis may have dramatic long-term effects on ecosystem structure and diversity. Because the extent of noise pollution is growing, this study emphasizes that investigators should evaluate the ecological consequences of noise alongside other human-induced environmental changes that are reshaping human-altered landscapes worldwide.

Noise Pollution in Irbid City — Jordan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odat, Sana'A.

2015-09-01

Noise defined as any sound that annoys or disturbs humans or that causes or tends to cause an adverse psychological and physiological effect on humans. Irbid is one of the most populated cities in Jordan. It is environmentally noise polluted due to the rapid and widespread introduction of mechanical methods for production and for their transportation. L10, L50, L90 and LAeq noise levels were measured during the day time and night time to assess and evaluate the noise levels from mosques, schools, celebration halls, streets, building works, industrial areas and commercial areas. The results of the investigation showed that the measured noise levels from all the selected sources were high during the day time and the noise problem is not only limited to day time, but continues in night time in this city. These noise levels were higher than those set by Jordanian limits during day time and night time. A significant correlation between the measured statistical noise levels L10, L50 and L90 and equivalent continuous noise level LAeq were also detected. The mean value of industrial noise source was motors of large vehicles and engines. Whereas the presence of slow moving vehicles, low speed and honking of horns during traffic ingestion periods lead to an increase in noise levels in commercial areas. The noise from building machines and equipment (dredges, concrete mixers, concrete pumps and jackhammers) is quite different from that of traditional equipment. The construction machines have engines that produce a loud, fluctuating noise with varying frequencies that can propagate the sound for a long distance. The noise produced by these engines is particularly disturbing due to the wide variations in frequency and volume.

Influence of traffic-related noise and air pollution on self-reported fatigue.

PubMed

Jazani, Reza Khani; Saremi, Mahnaz; Rezapour, Tara; Kavousi, Amir; Shirzad, Hadi

2015-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to environmental pollutions is related to health problems. It is, however, questionable whether this condition affects working performance in occupational settings. The aim of this study is to determine the predictive value of age as well as traffic related air and noise pollutions for fatigue. 246 traffic officers participated in this study. Air pollution data were obtained from the local Air Quality Control Company. A sound level meter was used for measuring ambient noise. Fatigue was evaluated by the MFI-20 questionnaire. The general and physical scales showed the highest, while the reduced activity scale showed the lowest level of fatigue. Age had an independent direct effect on reduced activity and physical fatigue. The average of daytime equivalent noise level was between 71.63 and 88.51 dB(A). In the case of high noise exposure, older officers feel more fatigue than younger ones. Exposure to PM10 and O3 resulted in general and physical fatigue. Complex Interactions between SO2, CO and NO2 were found. Exposure to noise and some components of air pollution, especially O3 and PM10, increases fatigue. The authorities should adopt and rigorously implement environmental protection policies in order to protect people.

The ringing bells: perspective of Karachiites regarding noise pollution.

PubMed

Ali, Liaquat; Zehra, Tabassum

2014-12-01

To identify the awareness regarding noise pollution and its adverse effects on human health in the people of urban areas of Karachi. Cross-sectional survey. Urban areas of Karachi, from September to October 2012. A survey was conducted with 50 selected subjects of urban areas of Karachi with their informed consent. The questionnaire covered aspects of noise pollution. Descriptive analysis was done with percent responses. All (100%, n=50) subjects admitted to be suffering from noise pollution. The source of noise pollution was vehicles in 64% (n=32). There was 90% (n=45) agreement for laws and regulations regarding noise pollution to be in place. Awareness sessions need to be conducted for the public regarding the effects of noise pollution on health with formulation of laws and regulations.

Road traffic air and noise pollution exposure assessment - A review of tools and techniques.

PubMed

Khan, Jibran; Ketzel, Matthias; Kakosimos, Konstantinos; Sørensen, Mette; Jensen, Steen Solvang

2018-09-01

Road traffic induces air and noise pollution in urban environments having negative impacts on human health. Thus, estimating exposure to road traffic air and noise pollution (hereafter, air and noise pollution) is important in order to improve the understanding of human health outcomes in epidemiological studies. The aims of this review are (i) to summarize current practices of modelling and exposure assessment techniques for road traffic air and noise pollution (ii) to highlight the potential of existing tools and techniques for their combined exposure assessment for air and noise together with associated challenges, research gaps and priorities. The study reviews literature about air and noise pollution from urban road traffic, including other relevant characteristics such as the employed dispersion models, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based tool, spatial scale of exposure assessment, study location, sample size, type of traffic data and building geometry information. Deterministic modelling is the most frequently used assessment technique for both air and noise pollution of short-term and long-term exposure. We observed a larger variety among air pollution models as compared to the applied noise models. Correlations between air and noise pollution vary significantly (0.05-0.74) and are affected by several parameters such as traffic attributes, building attributes and meteorology etc. Buildings act as screens for the dispersion of pollution, but the reduction effect is much larger for noise than for air pollution. While, meteorology has a greater influence on air pollution levels as compared to noise, although also important for noise pollution. There is a significant potential for developing a standard tool to assess combined exposure of traffic related air and noise pollution to facilitate health related studies. GIS, due to its geographic nature, is well established and has a significant capability to simultaneously address both exposures. Copyright �

Impact of noise and air pollution on pregnancy outcomes.

PubMed

Gehring, Ulrike; Tamburic, Lillian; Sbihi, Hind; Davies, Hugh W; Brauer, Michael

2014-05-01

Motorized traffic is an important source of both air pollution and community noise. While there is growing evidence for an adverse effect of ambient air pollution on reproductive health, little is known about the association between traffic noise and pregnancy outcomes. We evaluated the impact of residential noise exposure on small size for gestational age, preterm birth, term birth weight, and low birth weight at term in a population-based cohort study, for which we previously reported associations between air pollution and pregnancy outcomes. We also evaluated potential confounding of air pollution effects by noise and vice versa. Linked administrative health data sets were used to identify 68,238 singleton births (1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with complete covariate data (sex, ethnicity, parity, birth month and year, income, and education) and maternal residential history. We estimated exposure to noise with a deterministic model (CadnaA) and exposure to air pollution using temporally adjusted land-use regression models and inverse distance weighting of stationary monitors for the entire pregnancy. Noise exposure was negatively associated with term birth weight (mean difference = -19 [95% confidence interval = -23 to -15] g per 6 dB(A)). In joint air pollution-noise models, associations between noise and term birth weight remained largely unchanged, whereas associations decreased for all air pollutants. Traffic may affect birth weight through exposure to both air pollution and noise.

Environmental impact of noise levels in and around opencast bauxite mine.

PubMed

Kisku, G C; Barman, S C; Kidwai, M M; Bhargava, S K

2002-01-01

Until recently, noise pollution has not been paid adequate attention as air, water and land pollution. In order to assess (predict) the impact of bauxite mine noise on employees health and in and around bauxite mine environment, general noise sources and equipment noise were monitored. All these noise sources were compared with prescribed standard noise levels laid down by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Data has also been compared with reference site, north block hill top which is barren and virgin plateau/top covered with grass only and free from human interference. Equipment noise levels were much higher than the other zone of the mine which does not have the corresponding standards. Rock breaker recorded the highest noise level with 73.1 +/- 14.2 to 89.5 +/- 10.1 dB (A) while from ripper dozer it was least with 61.0 +/- 17.3 to 76.2 +/- 6.2 dB (A). Meteorological parameters did not have much influence upon equipment noise up to 100 feet from the source.

Noise, air pollutants and traffic: continuous measurement and correlation at a high-traffic location in New York City.

PubMed

Ross, Zev; Kheirbek, Iyad; Clougherty, Jane E; Ito, Kazuhiko; Matte, Thomas; Markowitz, Steven; Eisl, Holger

2011-11-01

Epidemiological studies have linked both noise and air pollution to common adverse health outcomes such as increased blood pressure and myocardial infarction. In urban settings, noise and air pollution share important sources, notably traffic, and several recent studies have shown spatial correlations between noise and air pollution. The temporal association between these exposures, however, has yet to be thoroughly investigated despite the importance of time series studies in air pollution epidemiology and the potential that correlations between these exposures could at least partly confound statistical associations identified in these studies. An aethelometer, for continuous elemental carbon measurement, was co-located with a continuous noise monitor near a major urban highway in New York City for six days in August 2009. Hourly elemental carbon measurements and hourly data on overall noise levels and low, medium and high frequency noise levels were collected. Hourly average concentrations of fine particles and nitrogen oxides, wind speed and direction and car, truck and bus traffic were obtained from nearby regulatory monitors. Overall temporal patterns, as well as day-night and weekday-weekend patterns, were characterized and compared for all variables. Noise levels were correlated with car, truck, and bus traffic and with air pollutants. We observed strong day-night and weekday-weekend variation in noise and air pollutants and correlations between pollutants varied by noise frequency. Medium and high frequency noise were generally more strongly correlated with traffic and traffic-related pollutants than low frequency noise and the correlation with medium and high frequency noise was generally stronger at night. Correlations with nighttime high frequency noise were particularly high for car traffic (Spearman rho=0.84), nitric oxide (0.73) and nitrogen dioxide (0.83). Wind speed and direction mediated relationships between pollutants and noise. Noise levels are

Noise pollution is pervasive in U.S. protected areas.

PubMed

Buxton, Rachel T; McKenna, Megan F; Mennitt, Daniel; Fristrup, Kurt; Crooks, Kevin; Angeloni, Lisa; Wittemyer, George

2017-05-05

Anthropogenic noise threatens ecological systems, including the cultural and biodiversity resources in protected areas. Using continental-scale sound models, we found that anthropogenic noise doubled background sound levels in 63% of U.S. protected area units and caused a 10-fold or greater increase in 21%, surpassing levels known to interfere with human visitor experience and disrupt wildlife behavior, fitness, and community composition. Elevated noise was also found in critical habitats of endangered species, with 14% experiencing a 10-fold increase in sound levels. However, protected areas with more stringent regulations had less anthropogenic noise. Our analysis indicates that noise pollution in protected areas is closely linked with transportation, development, and extractive land use, providing insight into where mitigation efforts can be most effective. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Environmental Pollution: Noise Pollution - Sonic Boom. Volume I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Defense Documentation Center, Alexandria, VA.

The unclassified, annotated bibliography is Volume I of a two-volume set on Noise Pollution - Sonic Boom in a series of scheduled bibliographies on Environmental Pollution. Volume II is Confidential. Corporate author-monitoring agency, subject, title, contract, and report number indexes are included. (Author/JR)

Evaluation of the noise pollution in urban parks of Curitiba, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Andressa C.; Diniz, Fabiano B.; Paz, Elaine C.; Zannin, Paulo T.

2004-05-01

This work shows a study about the noise pollution found in six urban parks of Curitiba, Paran, Brazil. The equivalent noise levels (Leq) have been measured in points spread throughout the park, and interviews have been conducted with some park visitors. It has been found out that 52.48% out of the measurement sites did not satisfy the Municipal Law no. 10,625, which states the noise emission level of 55 dB(A) as the limit value for green areas. The results of the questionnaires applied to the local visitors have showed that 39% out of the interviewed people used to visit the park every day and that 75% out of them seek for the realization of a physical activity. During the realization of their activities in the parks, 22% out of the interviewed people pointed to the noise pollution as the source of annoyance and 28% out of them pointed the local security. In this sense, it has been verified that half of the analyzed parks were inserted in acoustically polluted areas, which incurs a real state depreciation in their vicinities.

A system for evaluating the impact of noise pollution on the population's health.

PubMed

Bressane, Adriano; Mochizuki, Patricia Satie; Caram, Rosana Maria; Roveda, José Arnaldo Frutuoso

2016-05-01

The aim of this study was to develop a support system for the evaluation of noise pollution, applied to the central urban area of Rio Claro, São Paulo State, Brazil. Data were obtained from noise measurements and interviews with the population, generating the following indicators: equivalent sound level (Leq ), traffic noise index (LTNI ), and a participatory diagnosis (Dp ), integrated through a fuzzy inference system (FIS). The proposed system allowed classifying the measurement points according to the degree of impact of noise pollution on the population's health (IPS ) in the study area. Impact was considered significant in 31.4% of the measurement points and very significant in 62.9%. The FIS can be adjusted to local conditions, allowing generalization and thus also supporting noise pollution evaluation and respective environmental noise management in other geographic areas.

Road traffic noise, air pollution and myocardial infarction: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Bodin, Theo; Björk, Jonas; Mattisson, Kristoffer; Bottai, Matteo; Rittner, Ralf; Gustavsson, Per; Jakobsson, Kristina; Östergren, Per-Olof; Albin, Maria

2016-07-01

Both road traffic noise and air pollution have been linked to cardiovascular disease. However, there are few prospective epidemiological studies available where both road traffic noise and air pollution have been analyzed simultaneously. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between road traffic noise, air pollution and incident myocardial infarction in both current (1-year average) and medium-term (3-year average) perspective. This study was based on a stratified random sample of persons aged 18-80 years who answered a public health survey in Skåne, Sweden, in 2000 (n = 13,512). The same individuals received a repeated survey in 2005 and 2010. Diagnoses of myocardial infarction (MI) were obtained from medical records for both inpatient and outpatient specialized care. The endpoint was first MI during 2000-2010. Participants with prior myocardial infarction were excluded at baseline. Yearly average levels of noise (L DEN) and air pollution (NO x ) were estimated using geographic information system for residential address every year until censoring. The mean exposure levels for road traffic noise and air pollution in 2005 were L DEN 51 dB(A) and NO x 11 µg/m(3), respectively. After adjustment for individual confounders (age, sex, body mass index, smoking, education, alcohol consumption, civil status, year, country of birth and physical activity), a 10-dB(A) increase in current noise exposure did not increase the incidence rate ratio (IRR) for MI, 0.99 (95 % CI 0.86-1.14). Neither did a 10-μg/m(3) increase in current NO x increase the risk of MI, 1.02 (95 % CI 0.86-1.21). The IRR for MI associated with combined exposure to road traffic noise >55 dB(A) and NO x >20 µg/m(3) was 1.21 (95 % CI 0.90-1.64) compared to <55 dB(A) and <20 µg/m(3). This study did not provide evidence for an increased risk of MI due to exposure to road traffic noise or air pollution at moderate average exposure levels.

Road traffic noise, air pollution components and cardiovascular events.

PubMed

de Kluizenaar, Yvonne; van Lenthe, Frank J; Visschedijk, Antoon J H; Zandveld, Peter Y J; Miedema, Henk M E; Mackenbach, Johan P

2013-01-01

Traffic noise and air pollution have been associated with cardiovascular health effects. Until date, only a limited amount of prospective epidemiological studies is available on long-term effects of road traffic noise and combustion related air pollution. This study investigates the relationship between road traffic noise and air pollution and hospital admissions for ischemic heart disease (IHD: International Classification of Diseases (ICD9) 410-414) or cerebrovascular disease (cerebrovascular event [CVE]: ICD9 430-438). We linked baseline questionnaire data to 13 years of follow-up on hospital admissions and road traffic noise and air pollution exposure, for a large random sample (N = 18,213) of inhabitants of the Eindhoven region, Netherlands. Subjects with cardiovascular event during follow-up on average had higher road traffic noise day, evening, night level (L den) and air pollution exposure at the home. After adjustment for confounders (age, sex, body mass index, smoking, education, exercise, marital status, alcohol use, work situation, financial difficulties), increased exposure did not exert a significant increased risk of hospital admission for IHD or cerebrovascular disease. Relative risks (RRs) for a 5 (th) to 95 (th) percentile interval increase were 1.03 (0.88-1.20) for L den; 1.04 (0.90-1.21) for particulate matter (PM 10 ); 1.05 (0.91-1.20) for elemental carbon (EC); and 1.12 (096-1.32) for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in the full model. While the risk estimate seemed highest for NO 2 , for a 5 (th) to 95 (th) percentile interval increase, expressed as RRs per 1 μg/m 3 increases, hazard ratios seemed highest for EC (RR 1.04 [0.92-1.18]). In the subgroup of study participants with a history of cardiovascular disease, RR estimates seemed highest for noise exposure (1.19 [0.87-1.64] for L den); in the subgroup of elderly RR seemed highest for air pollution exposure (RR 1.24 [0.93-1.66] for NO 2 ).

Effects of noise pollution over the blood serum immunoglobulins and auditory system on the VFM airport workers, Van, Turkey.

PubMed

Akan, Zafer; Körpinar, Mehmet Ali; Tulgar, Metin

2011-06-01

Noise pollution is a common health problem for developing countries. Especially highways and airports lead to noise pollution in different levels and in many frequencies. In this study, we focused on the effect of noise pollution in airports. This work aimed measurements of noise pollution levels in Van Ferit Melen (VFM) airport and effect of noise pollution over the immunoglobulin A, G, and M changes among VFM airport workers in Turkey. It was seen that apron and terminal workers were exposed to high noise (>80 dB(A)) without any protective precautions. Noise-induced temporary threshold shifts and noise-induced permanent threshold shifts were detected between the apron workers (p < 0.001) and terminal workers (p < 0.005). IgA values of apron terminal and control group workers were approximately the same in the morning and increased in a linear manner during the day. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001). IgG and IgM values of apron, terminal, and control group workers were approximately same in the morning. Apron and terminal workers IgG and IgM levels were increased until noon and then decreased until evening as compare to control group, but these changes were not statically significant (p > 0.05). These findings suggested that the noise pollution in the VFM airport could lead to hearing loss and changes in blood serum immunoglobulin levels of airport workers. Blood serum immunoglobulin changes might be due to vibrational effects of noise pollution. Airport workers should apply protective precautions against effect of noise pollution in the VFM airport.

Assessment and analysis of noise pollution in Biskra public gardens (Algeria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouzir, Tallal Abdel Karim; Zemmouri, Noureddine; Berkouk, Djihed

2018-05-01

A quantitative evaluation of noise pollution in the public gardens of Biskra, Algeria, was carried out in this research. The equivalent sound level (leq1min) was measured in 27 points distributed over the seven main gardens of the city. The results of the measurements show that the measured level of sound intensity varies from 56.38 dB in the Landon garden to 62.55 dB in the Larbi Ben Mhidi garden. By comparing, the measured values with the noise limit values recommended by the national legislation, the standards of the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency; it is clear that the sound environment in these public gardens do not comply with the recognized standards of acoustic comfort. The gardens' spaces are heavily over-exposed to traffic noise resulting in high levels acoustic pollution.

Environmental Noise Pollution in the United States: Developing an Effective Public Health Response

PubMed Central

Hammer, Monica S.; Swinburn, Tracy K.

2013-01-01

Background: Tens of millions of Americans suffer from a range of adverse health outcomes due to noise exposure, including heart disease and hearing loss. Reducing environmental noise pollution is achievable and consistent with national prevention goals, yet there is no national plan to reduce environmental noise pollution. Objectives: We aimed to describe some of the most serious health effects associated with noise, summarize exposures from several highly prevalent noise sources based on published estimates as well as extrapolations made using these estimates, and lay out proven mechanisms and strategies to reduce noise by incorporating scientific insight and technological innovations into existing public health infrastructure. Discussion: We estimated that 104 million individuals had annual LEQ(24) levels > 70 dBA (equivalent to a continuous average exposure level of >70 dBA over 24 hr) in 2013 and were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Tens of millions more may be at risk of heart disease, and other noise-related health effects. Direct regulation, altering the informational environment, and altering the built environment are the least costly, most logistically feasible, and most effective noise reduction interventions. Conclusion: Significant public health benefit can be achieved by integrating interventions that reduce environmental noise levels and exposures into the federal public health agenda. Citation: Hammer MS, Swinburn TK, Neitzel RL. 2014. Environmental noise pollution in the United States: developing an effective public health response. Environ Health Perspect 122:115–119; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307272 PMID:24311120

Noise pollution and annoyance: an urban soundscapes study.

PubMed

de Paiva Vianna, Karina Mary; Alves Cardoso, Maria Regina; Rodrigues, Rui Manuel Calejo

2015-01-01

Since 1972, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared noise as a pollutant. Over the last decades, the quality of the urban environment has attracted the interest of researchers due to the growing urban sprawl, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of noise exposure in six urban soundscapes: Areas with high and low levels of noise in scenarios of leisure, work, and home. Cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in two steps: Evaluation of noise levels, with the development of noise maps, and health related inquiries. 180 individuals were interviewed, being 60 in each scenario, divided into 30 exposed to high level of noise and 30 to low level. Chi-Square test and Ordered Logistic Regression Model (P < 0,005). 70% of the interviewees reported noticing some source of noise in the selected scenarios and it was observed an association between exposure and perception of some source of noise (P < 0.001). 41.7% of the interviewees reported some degree of annoyance, being that this was associated with exposure (P < 0.001). There was also an association between exposure in different scenarios and reports of poor quality of sleep (P < 0.001). In the scenarios of work and home, the chance of reporting annoyance increased when compared with the scenario of leisure. We conclude that the use of this sort of assessment may clarify the relationship between urban noise exposure and health.

Noise pollution and annoyance: An urban soundscapes study

PubMed Central

de Paiva Vianna, Karina Mary; Alves Cardoso, Maria Regina; Rodrigues, Rui Manuel Calejo

2015-01-01

Since 1972, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared noise as a pollutant. Over the last decades, the quality of the urban environment has attracted the interest of researchers due to the growing urban sprawl, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of noise exposure in six urban soundscapes: Areas with high and low levels of noise in scenarios of leisure, work, and home. Cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in two steps: Evaluation of noise levels, with the development of noise maps, and health related inquiries. 180 individuals were interviewed, being 60 in each scenario, divided into 30 exposed to high level of noise and 30 to low level. Chi-Square test and Ordered Logistic Regression Model (P < 0,005). 70% of the interviewees reported noticing some source of noise in the selected scenarios and it was observed an association between exposure and perception of some source of noise (P < 0.001). 41.7% of the interviewees reported some degree of annoyance, being that this was associated with exposure (P < 0.001). There was also an association between exposure in different scenarios and reports of poor quality of sleep (P < 0.001). In the scenarios of work and home, the chance of reporting annoyance increased when compared with the scenario of leisure. We conclude that the use of this sort of assessment may clarify the relationship between urban noise exposure and health. PMID:25913551

Aquatic noise pollution: implications for individuals, populations, and ecosystems.

PubMed

Kunc, Hansjoerg P; McLaughlin, Kirsty Elizabeth; Schmidt, Rouven

2016-08-17

Anthropogenically driven environmental changes affect our planet at an unprecedented scale and are considered to be a key threat to biodiversity. According to the World Health Organization, anthropogenic noise is one of the most hazardous forms of anthropogenically driven environmental change and is recognized as a major global pollutant. However, crucial advances in the rapidly emerging research on noise pollution focus exclusively on single aspects of noise pollution, e.g. on behaviour, physiology, terrestrial ecosystems, or on certain taxa. Given that more than two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, there is a pressing need to get a holistic understanding of the effects of anthropogenic noise in aquatic ecosystems. We found experimental evidence for negative effects of anthropogenic noise on an individual's development, physiology, and/or behaviour in both invertebrates and vertebrates. We also found that species differ in their response to noise, and highlight the potential underlying mechanisms for these differences. Finally, we point out challenges in the study of aquatic noise pollution and provide directions for future research, which will enhance our understanding of this globally present pollutant. © 2016 The Author(s).

Aquatic noise pollution: implications for individuals, populations, and ecosystems

PubMed Central

Kunc, Hansjoerg P.; McLaughlin, Kirsty Elizabeth; Schmidt, Rouven

2016-01-01

Anthropogenically driven environmental changes affect our planet at an unprecedented scale and are considered to be a key threat to biodiversity. According to the World Health Organization, anthropogenic noise is one of the most hazardous forms of anthropogenically driven environmental change and is recognized as a major global pollutant. However, crucial advances in the rapidly emerging research on noise pollution focus exclusively on single aspects of noise pollution, e.g. on behaviour, physiology, terrestrial ecosystems, or on certain taxa. Given that more than two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, there is a pressing need to get a holistic understanding of the effects of anthropogenic noise in aquatic ecosystems. We found experimental evidence for negative effects of anthropogenic noise on an individual's development, physiology, and/or behaviour in both invertebrates and vertebrates. We also found that species differ in their response to noise, and highlight the potential underlying mechanisms for these differences. Finally, we point out challenges in the study of aquatic noise pollution and provide directions for future research, which will enhance our understanding of this globally present pollutant. PMID:27534952

Socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in exposure to air and noise pollution in London.

PubMed

Tonne, Cathryn; Milà, Carles; Fecht, Daniela; Alvarez, Mar; Gulliver, John; Smith, James; Beevers, Sean; Ross Anderson, H; Kelly, Frank

2018-06-01

Transport-related air and noise pollution, exposures linked to adverse health outcomes, varies within cities potentially resulting in exposure inequalities. Relatively little is known regarding inequalities in personal exposure to air pollution or transport-related noise. Our objectives were to quantify socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in London in 1) air pollution exposure at residence compared to personal exposure; and 2) transport-related noise at residence from different sources. We used individual-level data from the London Travel Demand Survey (n = 45,079) between 2006 and 2010. We modeled residential (CMAQ-urban) and personal (London Hybrid Exposure Model) particulate matter <2.5 μm and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), road-traffic noise at residence (TRANEX) and identified those within 50 dB noise contours of railways and Heathrow airport. We analyzed relationships between household income, area-level income deprivation and ethnicity with air and noise pollution using quantile and logistic regression. We observed inverse patterns in inequalities in air pollution when estimated at residence versus personal exposure with respect to household income (categorical, 8 groups). Compared to the lowest income group (<£10,000), the highest group (>£75,000) had lower residential NO 2 (-1.3 (95% CI -2.1, -0.6) μg/m 3 in the 95th exposure quantile) but higher personal NO 2 exposure (1.9 (95% CI 1.6, 2.3) μg/m 3 in the 95th quantile), which was driven largely by transport mode and duration. Inequalities in residential exposure to NO 2 with respect to area-level deprivation were larger at lower exposure quantiles (e.g. estimate for NO 2 5.1 (95% CI 4.6, 5.5) at quantile 0.15 versus 1.9 (95% CI 1.1, 2.6) at quantile 0.95), reflecting low-deprivation, high residential NO 2 areas in the city centre. Air pollution exposure at residence consistently overestimated personal exposure; this overestimation varied with age, household income, and area-level income

Environmental noise pollution in the United States: developing an effective public health response.

PubMed

Hammer, Monica S; Swinburn, Tracy K; Neitzel, Richard L

2014-02-01

Tens of millions of Americans suffer from a range of adverse health outcomes due to noise exposure, including heart disease and hearing loss. Reducing environmental noise pollution is achievable and consistent with national prevention goals, yet there is no national plan to reduce environmental noise pollution. We aimed to describe some of the most serious health effects associated with noise, summarize exposures from several highly prevalent noise sources based on published estimates as well as extrapolations made using these estimates, and lay out proven mechanisms and strategies to reduce noise by incorporating scientific insight and technological innovations into existing public health infrastructure. We estimated that 104 million individuals had annual LEQ(24) levels > 70 dBA (equivalent to a continuous average exposure level of >70 dBA over 24 hr) in 2013 and were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Tens of millions more may be at risk of heart disease, and other noise-related health effects. Direct regulation, altering the informational environment, and altering the built environment are the least costly, most logistically feasible, and most effective noise reduction interventions. Significant public health benefit can be achieved by integrating interventions that reduce environmental noise levels and exposures into the federal public health agenda.

Evaluation of traffic noise pollution and attitudes of exposed individuals in working place

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Vinita; Tripathi, B. D.; Mishra, Virendra kumar

2008-05-01

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the noise pollution problem in the Varanasi city and its effect on the exposed people. The study revealed the fact that noise levels have reached an alarming level. The result of the study indicated the fact that 85% of the people were disturbed by traffic noise, about 90% of the people reported that traffic noise is the main cause of headache, high BP problem, dizziness and fatigue. People having higher education and income level are much aware of the health impact due to traffic noise. Marital status was found to be significantly affecting the annoyance level caused by traffic noise. Traffic noise was found to be interfering daily activities such as at resting, reading, communication etc.

Evaluation and analysis of noise levels at traffic intersections of Nagpur city, India.

PubMed

Vijay, Ritesh; Popat, Rishabh; Pisode, Mayur; Sharma, Asheesh; Manoj, Kumar; Chakrabarti, T; Gupta, Rajesh

2013-04-01

The objective of the present study was to monitor and assess the noise levels at traffic intersections in Napgur city under heterogenic traffic activities. For this, traffic volume and noise level were measured at intersections on highways, major roads andring road during morning and evening peak hours. Traffic volume was categorized in light, medium and heavy vehicles while noise levels were measured for Lmin, Lmax, Leq , L10 and L90. Equivalent noise was observed in the range of 71.3 to 79.3 dB(A) at the traffic intersections. Due to heterogenic traffic conditions and activities at the intersection like honking, idling, gear noise, bearing noise, breaking noise, tyre-road noise and exhaust noise, no correlation was established between traffic volume and observed noise levels except West High Court road. A strong correlation was found at West High Court road due to controlled traffic flow and less impact of heavy vehicles. Impact of noisy vehicles on general traffic was also assessed at the traffic intersections based on noise pollution levels and traffic noise index. The study suggests that control measures are required at the traffic intersections to minimize noise pollution levels.

Evaluation studies of noise and air pollution during festival seasons in India.

PubMed

Battalwar, D G; Meshram, S U; Yenkie, M K N; Puri, P J

2012-07-01

The present research work is based on assessment of noise levels and ambient air quality at selected locations during festival seasons in Nagpur city. The noise levels were exceeding the permissible limits almost at every location during the festival period. The huge emissions of smoke arising out bursting of firecrackers have significantly resulted into air pollution; particularly in terms of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (Fine Dust). The immediate effect of increasing noise levels is impairing of hearing that may cause auditory fatigue and finally lead to deafness.

Noise pollution in the hospital environment of a developing country: A case study of Lahore (Pakistan).

PubMed

Baqar, Mujtaba; Arslan, Muhammad; Abbasi, Saddam A; Ashraf, Uzma; Khalid, Anam; Zahid, Hina

2017-08-24

The present study investigates the noise pollution levels in public- and private-sector hospitals of Lahore. The noise pollution parameters were investigated from 20 public and 10 private hospitals. We observed that the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq) values varied significantly in different departments of the hospitals as well as at different times of the day. The public-sector hospitals had significantly higher noise pollution compared to the private-sector hospitals. The Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney two-sample rank-sum test revealed significant difference between noise levels in intensive care unit (ICU) during morning and in emergency, waiting area, intensive care unit (ICU), and reception during daytimes. However, no significant differences were found for any department during the evening. The Leq values were found to be higher than the international norms (WHO standards) for all hospitals, higher than USEPA for 29 hospitals and higher than local standards for 27 hospitals. Overall, significantly lower sound levels were always observed in private hospitals.

Influence of urban morphology on total noise pollution: multifractal description.

PubMed

Ariza-Villaverde, Ana B; Jiménez-Hornero, Francisco J; Gutiérrez De Ravé, Eduardo

2014-02-15

Exposure to ambient noise levels above 65 dB can cause public health problems. The spatial distribution of this kind of pollution is linked to various elements which make up the urban form, such as construction density, the existence of open spaces and the shape and physical position of buildings. Since urban morphology displays multifractal behaviour, the present research studies for the first time the relationship between total noise pollution and urban features, such as street width and building height by means of a joint multifractal spectrum in two neighbourhoods of the city of Cordoba (Andalusia, Spain). According to the results, the joint multifractal spectrum reveals a positive correlation between the total noise pollution and the street width to building height ratio, this being more evident when urban morphology is regular. The information provided by the multifractal analysis completes the description obtained by using urban indexes and landscape metrics and might be useful for urban planning once the linkage between both frameworks has been done. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring Noise: Sound Pollution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rillo, Thomas J.

1979-01-01

Part one of a three-part series about noise pollution and its effects on humans. This section presents the background information for teachers who are preparing a unit on sound. The next issues will offer learning activities for measuring the effects of sound and some references. (SA)

Annoyance due to noise and air pollution to the residents of heavily frequented streets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wanner, H. U.; Wehrli, B.; Nemecek, J.; Turrian, V.

1980-01-01

The residents of different streets with varying traffic density and building density were questioned about annoyance due to traffic noise and air pollution. Results show that annoyance felt is dependent not only on the measured noise levels and/or air pollution concentrations, but that there do exist interactions between the residential quarters and annoyance. These interactions should be considered when fixing the limits and standards.

The impacts of short-term exposure to noise and traffic-related air pollution on heart rate variability in young healthy adults.

PubMed

Huang, Jing; Deng, Furong; Wu, Shaowei; Lu, Henry; Hao, Yu; Guo, Xinbiao

2013-01-01

Traffic-related air pollution and noise are associated with cardiovascular diseases, and alternation of heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects cardiac autonomic function, is one of the mechanisms. However, few studies considered the impacts of noise when exploring associations between air pollution and HRV. We explored whether noise modifies associations between short-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and HRV in young healthy adults. In this randomized, crossover study, 40 young healthy adults stayed for 2 h in a traffic center and, on a separate occasion, in a park. Personal exposure to traffic-related air pollutants and noise were measured and ambulatory electrocardiogram was performed. Effects were estimated using mixed-effects regression models. Traffic-related air pollution and noise were both associated with HRV, and effects of air pollutants were amplified at high noise level (>65.6 A-weighted decibels (dB[A])) compared with low noise level (≤ 65.6 dB[A]). High frequency (HF) decreased by -4.61% (95% confidence interval, -6.75% to-2.42%) per 10 μg/m(3) increment in fine particle (PM2.5) at 5-min moving average, but effects became insignificant at low noise level (P>0.05). Similar effects modification was observed for black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO). We conclude that noise is an important factor influencing the effects of air pollution on HRV.

Noise Effects on Health in the Context of Air Pollution Exposure.

PubMed

Stansfeld, Stephen A

2015-10-14

For public health policy and planning it is important to understand the relative contribution of environmental noise on health compared to other environmental stressors. Air pollution is the primary environmental stressor in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This paper reports a narrative review of studies in which the associations of both environmental noise and air pollution with health have been examined. Studies of hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, mortality and cognitive outcomes were included. Results suggest independent effects of environmental noise from road traffic, aircraft and, with fewer studies, railway noise on cardiovascular outcomes after adjustment for air pollution. Comparative burden of disease studies demonstrate that air pollution is the primary environmental cause of disability adjusted life years lost (DALYs). Environmental noise is ranked second in terms of DALYs in Europe and the DALYs attributed to noise were more than those attributed to lead, ozone and dioxins. In conclusion, in planning and health impact assessment environmental noise should be considered an independent contributor to health risk which has a separate and substantial role in ill-health separate to that of air pollution.

A vision of the environmental and occupational noise pollution in Malaysia.

PubMed

Yuen, Foo Keng

2014-01-01

Environmental noise remains a complex and fragmented interplay between industrialization, population growth, technological developments, and the living environment. Next to the circulatory diseases and cancer, noise pollution has been cited as the third epidemic cause of psychological and physiological disorders internationally. A reliable and firm relationship between the cumulative health implications with the traffic annoyance and occupational noise has been established. This agenda has called for an integrated, coordinated, and participatory approach to the reliable protection of noise interference. Despite several fragmented policies, legislation and global efforts have been addressed; the noise pollution complaints have been traditionally neglected in developing countries, especially in Malaysia. This paper was undertaken to postulate an initial platform to address the dynamic pressures, gigantic challenges, and tremendous impacts of noise pollution scenario in Malaysia. The emphasis is speculated on the traffic interference and assessment of industrial and occupational noise. The fundamental importance of noise monitoring and modeling is proposed. Additionally, the confronting conservation program and control measure for noise pollution control are laconically elucidated.

Noise Effects on Health in the Context of Air Pollution Exposure

PubMed Central

Stansfeld, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

For public health policy and planning it is important to understand the relative contribution of environmental noise on health compared to other environmental stressors. Air pollution is the primary environmental stressor in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This paper reports a narrative review of studies in which the associations of both environmental noise and air pollution with health have been examined. Studies of hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, mortality and cognitive outcomes were included. Results suggest independent effects of environmental noise from road traffic, aircraft and, with fewer studies, railway noise on cardiovascular outcomes after adjustment for air pollution. Comparative burden of disease studies demonstrate that air pollution is the primary environmental cause of disability adjusted life years lost (DALYs). Environmental noise is ranked second in terms of DALYs in Europe and the DALYs attributed to noise were more than those attributed to lead, ozone and dioxins. In conclusion, in planning and health impact assessment environmental noise should be considered an independent contributor to health risk which has a separate and substantial role in ill-health separate to that of air pollution. PMID:26473905

Reduction of Air Pollution Levels Downwind of a Road with an Upwind Noise Barrier

EPA Science Inventory

We propose a dispersion model to characterize the impact of an upwind solid noise barrier next to a highway on air pollution concentrations downwind of the road. The model is based on data from wind tunnel experiments conducted by Heist et al. (2009). The model assumes that the...

Influence of urban vegetation on air pollution and noise exposure - A case study in Gothenburg, Sweden.

PubMed

Klingberg, Jenny; Broberg, Malin; Strandberg, Bo; Thorsson, Pontus; Pleijel, Håkan

2017-12-01

Air pollution levels (NO 2 , PAHs, O 3 ) were investigated, before (BLE) and after (ALE) leaf emergence, in the urban landscape of Gothenburg, Sweden. The aims were to study the 1) spatial and temporal variation in pollution levels between urban green areas, 2) effect of urban vegetation on air pollution levels at the same distance from a major emission source (traffic route), 3) improvement of urban air quality in urban parks compared to adjacent sites near traffic, 4) correlation between air pollution and noise in a park. O 3 varied little over the urban landscape. NO 2 varied strongly and was higher in situations strongly influenced by traffic. Four PAH variables were included: total PAH, total particle-bound PAH, the quantitatively important gaseous phenanthrene and the highly toxic particle-bound benzo(a)pyrene. The variation of PAHs was similar to NO 2 , but for certain PAHs the difference between highly and less polluted sites was larger than for NO 2 . At a vegetated site, NO 2 and particulate PAH levels were lower than at a non-vegetated site at a certain distance from a busy traffic route. This effect was significantly larger ALE compared to BLE for NO 2 , indicating green leaf area to be highly significant factor for air quality improvement. For particulate PAHs, the effect was similar BLE and ALE, indicating that tree bark and branches also could be an important factor in reducing air pollution. Parks represented considerably cleaner local environments (park effect), which is likely to be a consequence of both a dilution (distance effect) and deposition. Noise and air pollution (NO 2 and PAH) levels were strongly correlated. Comparison of noise levels BLE and ALE also showed that the presence of leaves significantly reduced noise levels. Our results are evidence that urban green spaces are beneficial for urban environmental quality, which is important to consider in urban planning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Noise Pollution: Do We Need a Solution? An Analysis of Noise in a Cardiac Care Unit.

PubMed

Ryan, Kevin M; Gagnon, Matthew; Hanna, Tyler; Mello, Brad; Fofana, Mustapha; Ciottone, Gregory; Molloy, Michael

2016-08-01

Introduction Hospitals are meant to be places for respite and healing; however, technological advances and reliance on monitoring alarms has led to the environment becoming increasingly noisy. The coronary care unit (CCU), like the emergency department, provides care to ill patients while being vulnerable to noise pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) recommends that for optimum rest and healing, sound levels should average approximately 30 decibels (dB) with maximum readings less than 40 dB. Problem The purpose of this study was to measure and analyze sound levels in three different locations in the CCU, and to review alarm reports in relation to sound levels. Over a one-month period, sound recorders (Extech SDL600; Extech Instruments; Nashua, New Hampshire USA) were placed in three separate locations in the CCU at the West Roxbury Veterans' Administration (VA) Hospital (Roxbury, Massachusetts USA). Sound samples were recorded once per second, stored in Comma Separated Values format for Excel (Microsoft Corporation; Redmond, Washington USA), and then exported to Microsoft Excel. Averages were determined, plotted per hour, and alarm histories were reviewed to determine alarm noise effect on total noise for each location, as well as common alarm occurrences. Patient Room 1 consistently had the lowest average recordings, though all averages were >40 dB, despite decreases between 10:00 pm and 7:00 am. During daytime hours, recordings maintained levels >50 dB. Overnight noise remained above recommended levels 55.25% of the period in Patient Room 1 and 99.61% of the same time period in Patient Room 7. The nurses' station remained the loudest location of all three. Alarms per hour ranged from 20-26 during the day. Alarms per day averaged: Patient Room 1-57.17, Patient Room 7-122.03, and the nurses' station - 562.26. Oxygen saturation alarms accounted for 33.59% of activity, and heart-related (including ST segment and pacemaker) accounted for

Annoyance Caused by Noise and Air Pollution during Pregnancy: Associated Factors and Correlation with Outdoor NO2 and Benzene Estimations.

PubMed

Fernández-Somoano, Ana; Llop, Sabrina; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Tamayo-Uria, Ibon; Martínez, María Dolores; Foraster, Maria; Ballester, Ferran; Tardón, Adonina

2015-06-18

This study aimed to describe the degree of annoyance among pregnant women in a Spanish cohort and to examine associations with proximity to traffic, NO2 and benzene exposure. We included 2457 participants from the Spanish Childhood and Environment study. Individual exposures to outdoor NO2 and benzene were estimated, temporally adjusted for pregnancy. Interviews about sociodemographic variables, noise and air pollution were carried out. Levels of annoyance were assessed using a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (strong and unbearable); a level of 8 to 10 was considered high. The reported prevalence of high annoyance levels from air pollution was 11.2% and 15.0% from noise; the two variables were moderately correlated (0.606). Significant correlations between NO2 and annoyance from air pollution (0.154) and that from noise (0.181) were observed. Annoyance owing to noise and air pollution had a low prevalence in our Spanish population compared with other European populations. Both factors were associated with proximity to traffic. In multivariate models, annoyance from air pollution was related to NO2, building age, and country of birth; annoyance from noise was only related to the first two. The health burden of these exposures can be increased by stress caused by the perception of pollution sources.

Annoyance Caused by Noise and Air Pollution during Pregnancy: Associated Factors and Correlation with Outdoor NO2 and Benzene Estimations

PubMed Central

Fernández-Somoano, Ana; Llop, Sabrina; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Tamayo-Uria, Ibon; Martínez, María Dolores; Foraster, Maria; Ballester, Ferran; Tardón, Adonina

2015-01-01

This study aimed to describe the degree of annoyance among pregnant women in a Spanish cohort and to examine associations with proximity to traffic, NO2 and benzene exposure. We included 2457 participants from the Spanish Childhood and Environment study. Individual exposures to outdoor NO2 and benzene were estimated, temporally adjusted for pregnancy. Interviews about sociodemographic variables, noise and air pollution were carried out. Levels of annoyance were assessed using a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (strong and unbearable); a level of 8 to 10 was considered high. The reported prevalence of high annoyance levels from air pollution was 11.2% and 15.0% from noise; the two variables were moderately correlated (0.606). Significant correlations between NO2 and annoyance from air pollution (0.154) and that from noise (0.181) were observed. Annoyance owing to noise and air pollution had a low prevalence in our Spanish population compared with other European populations. Both factors were associated with proximity to traffic. In multivariate models, annoyance from air pollution was related to NO2, building age, and country of birth; annoyance from noise was only related to the first two. The health burden of these exposures can be increased by stress caused by the perception of pollution sources. PMID:26095869

Preliminary information on noise pollution in commercial banks of Balasore, India.

PubMed

Goswami, Shreerup; Swain, Bijay Kumar

2012-11-01

The environmental noise in some commercial banks of Balasore, in terms of standard noise indices was worked out in the present study. Noise pollution was assessed in twenty different commercial banks of the city on 31st August, 2010 and during first week of September, 2010. The present noise monitoring was conducted with the help of sound level meter, which was calibrated acoustically using an external reference source, and placed over the microphone. It is inferred that the noise levels were more than the permissible limit i.e. 50 dB as prescribed in USA in all the investigated banks of Balasore and the maximum noise levels were around double of the said permissible limit, which is a contradiction with that of developed countries. Analysis of variance was also computed for all the banks during peak hour (10 a.m.-12 noon). The mean values of noise levels in different banks ranged from 75.5 to 90dB; from 69 to 83.6dB and 71.5 to 83.5dB during 10 a.m.-12 noon, 12-2 p.m. and 2-4 p.m., respectively. It was categorically observed that noise levels were more during 10 a.m.-12 noon than other investigated time intervals in all the 20 investigated banks. It is imperative to mention here that such an attemptof assessing noise in banks is first of its kind in India.

Exposure to Road, Railway, and Aircraft Noise and Arterial Stiffness in the SAPALDIA Study: Annual Average Noise Levels and Temporal Noise Characteristics

PubMed Central

Eze, Ikenna C.; Schaffner, Emmanuel; Vienneau, Danielle; Héritier, Harris; Endes, Simon; Rudzik, Franziska; Thiesse, Laurie; Pieren, Reto; Schindler, Christian; Schmidt-Trucksäss, Arno; Brink, Mark; Cajochen, Christian; Marc Wunderli, Jean; Röösli, Martin; Probst-Hensch, Nicole

2017-01-01

Background: The impact of different transportation noise sources and noise environments on arterial stiffness remains unknown. Objectives: We evaluated the association between residential outdoor exposure to annual average road, railway, and aircraft noise levels, total noise intermittency (IR), and total number of noise events (NE) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) following a cross-sectional design. Methods: We measured baPWV (meters/second) in 2,775 participants (49–81 y old) at the second follow-up (2010–2011) of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). We assigned annual average road, railway, and aircraft noise levels (Ldensource), total day- and nighttime NEtime and IRtime (percent fluctuation=0%, none or constant noise; percent fluctuation=100%, high fluctuation) at the most exposed façade using 2011 Swiss noise models. We applied multivariable linear mixed regression models to analyze associations. Results: Medians [interquartile ranges (IQRs)] were baPWV=13.4 (3.1) m/s; Ldenair (57.6% exposed)=32.8 (8.0) dB; Ldenrail (44.6% exposed)=30.0 (8.1) dB; Ldenroad (99.7% exposed): 54.2 (10.6) dB; NEnight=123 (179); NEday=433 (870); IRnight=73% (27); and IRday=63.8% (40.3). We observed a 0.87% (95% CI: 0.31, 1.43%) increase in baPWV per IQR of Ldenrail, which was greater with IRnight>80% or with daytime sleepiness. We observed a nonsignificant positive association between Ldenroad and baPWV in urban areas and a negative tendency in rural areas. NEnight, but not NEday, was associated with baPWV. Associations were independent of the other noise sources and air pollution. Conclusions: Long-term exposure to railway noise, particularly in an intermittent nighttime noise environment, and to nighttime noise events, mainly related to road noise, may affect arterial stiffness, a major determinant of cardiovascular disease. Ascertaining noise exposure characteristics beyond average noise levels may

The impact of an urban park on air pollution and noise levels in the Mediterranean city of Tel-Aviv, Israel.

PubMed

Cohen, Pninit; Potchter, Oded; Schnell, Izhak

2014-12-01

This study examines the influence of urban parks on air quality and noise in the city of Tel-Aviv, Israel, by investigation of an urban park, an urban square and a street canyon. Simultaneous monitoring of several air pollutants and noise levels were conducted. The results showed that urban parks can reduce NOx, CO and PM10 and increase O3 concentrations and that park's mitigation effect is greater at higher NOx and PM10 levels. During extreme events, mean values of 413 ppb NOx and 80 μG/m3 PM10 were measured in the street while mean values of 89 ppb NOx and 24 μG/m3 PM10 were measured in the park. Whereas summer highest O3 values of 84 ppb were measured in the street, 94 ppb were measured in the park. The benefit of the urban park in reducing NOx and PM10 concentrations is more significant than the disadvantage of increased O3 levels. Furthermore, urban parks can reduce noise by ∼5 dB(A). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of noise pollution in and around a sensitive zone in North India and its non-auditory impacts.

PubMed

Khaiwal, Ravindra; Singh, Tanbir; Tripathy, Jaya Prasad; Mor, Suman; Munjal, Sanjay; Patro, Binod; Panda, Naresh

2016-10-01

Noise pollution in hospitals is recognized as a serious health hazard. Considering this, the current study aimed to map the noise pollution levels and to explore the self reported non-auditory effects of noise in a tertiary medical institute. The study was conducted in an 1800-bedded tertiary hospital where 27 sites (outdoor, indoor, road side and residential areas) were monitored for exposure to noise using Sound Level Meter for 24h. A detailed noise survey was also conducted around the sampling sites using a structured questionnaire to understand the opinion of the public regarding the impact of noise on their daily lives. The equivalent sound pressure level (Leq) was found higher than the permissible limits at all the sites both during daytime and night. The maximum equivalent sound pressure level (Lmax) during the day was observed higher (>80dB) at the emergency and around the main entrance of the hospital campus. Almost all the respondents (97%) regarded traffic as the major source of noise. About three-fourths (74%) reported irritation with loud noise whereas 40% of respondents reported headache due to noise. Less than one-third of respondents (29%) reported loss of sleep due to noise and 8% reported hypertension, which could be related to the disturbance caused due to noise. Noise levels in and around the hospital was well above the permissible standards. The recent Global Burden of Disease highlights the increasing risk of non communicable diseases. The non-auditory effects studied in the current work add to the risk factors associated with non communicable diseases. Hence, there is need to address the issue of noise pollution and associated health risks specially for vulnerable population. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exposure to long-term air pollution and road traffic noise in relation to cholesterol: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Sørensen, Mette; Hjortebjerg, Dorrit; Eriksen, Kirsten T; Ketzel, Matthias; Tjønneland, Anne; Overvad, Kim; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole

2015-12-01

Exposure to traffic noise and air pollution have both been associated with cardiovascular disease, though the mechanisms behind are not yet clear. We aimed to investigate whether the two exposures were associated with levels of cholesterol in a cross-sectional design. In 1993–1997, 39,863 participants aged 50–64 year and living in the Greater Copenhagen area were enrolled in a population-based cohort study. For each participant, non-fasting total cholesterol was determined in whole blood samples on the day of enrolment. Residential addresses 5-years preceding enrolment were identified in a national register and road traffic noise (Lden) were modeled for all addresses. For air pollution, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was modeled at all addresses using a dispersion model and PM2.5 was modeled at all enrolment addresses using a land-use regression model. Analyses were done using linear regression with adjustment for potential confounders as well as mutual adjustment for the three exposures. Baseline residential exposure to the interquartile range of road traffic noise,NO2 and PM2.5 was associated with a 0.58 mg/dl (95% confidence interval: −0.09; 1.25), a 0.68 mg/dl (0.22; 1.16) and a 0.78 mg/dl (0.22; 1.34) higher level of total cholesterol in single pollutant models, respectively. In two pollutant models with adjustment for noise in air pollution models and vice versa, the association between air pollution and cholesterol remained for both air pollution variables (NO2: 0.72 (0.11; 1.34); PM2.5: 0.70 (0.12; 1.28) mg/dl), whereas there was no association for noise (−0.08mg/dl). In three-pollutant models (NO2, PM2.5 and road traffic noise), estimates for NO2 and PM2.5 were slightly diminished (NO2: 0.58 (−0.05; 1.22); PM2.5: 0.57 (−0.02; 1.17) mg/dl). Air pollution and possibly also road traffic noise may be associated with slightly higher levels of cholesterol, though associations for the two exposures were difficult to separate.

A preliminary assessment of noise level during Deepawali festival in Balasore, India.

PubMed

Goswami, Shreerup; Swain, Bijay Kumar; Mohapatra, Hara Prasad; Bal, Kshirod Kumar

2013-11-01

A preliminary assessment of noise levels during Deepawali, was made in the present study. In order to assess the situation of noise levels in and around Balasore during two consecutive Deepawali of the year 2010 and 2011; noise monitoring was carried out in three different specified times (4:30-7:00 p.m., 7:00-10:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m.). Noise descriptors such as L10, L50, L90, Leq, noise pollution level and noise climate were assessed to reveal the extent of noise pollution in this festival of crackers. Permissible limit of noise levels (Leq) prescribed by WHO during the festival was 100 dB and Lmax must not exceed 110 dB during such occasion. However, in all the cases Lmax and NPL values exceeded 110 dB, while Leq values ranged from 92.9 to 101.9 dB during 2010 Deepawali and 81.5 to 100.8 dB during 2011 Deepawali. On the other hand, all the noise monitoring sites belonged to residential areas. The assessed noise levels during such festivity are much more than 55/45 dB i.e. prescribed for residential areas for day/night time by CPCB. However, it was observed that the noise of Deepawali (Leq) decreased considerably and was less during 2011 than 2010. These may be due to increased environmental awareness among the public. Subsequently, the people of Balasore prefered to celebrate Deepawali, the festival of lights without sound and smoke. Noise policy should also be worked out for a better understanding of such local, social and cultural festivals in which annoyance arise.

Noise pollution: A threat to our mental and physical well-being

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bronzaft, Arline L.

2004-05-01

While noise may not yet be in the forefront of the environmental movement, it is being recognized worldwide as a major environmental pollutant. In New York City, noise is the number one quality of life complaint, far outweighing other quality of life complaints, and throughout the United States it has been noted as a major reason for people moving from their homes. Although there is a need for additional research to confirm the health/noise link, the World Health Organization has already recognized noise pollution as a serious health issue. There is certainly sufficient research to warrant warnings that noise is injurious to mental and physical health. Yet, despite this growing body of literature attesting to the relationship between noise and health impacts, government bodies have not yet invested the dollars needed to abate noise nor to educate people to the dangers of noise. Organizations such as the League for the Hard of Hearing, the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, and the United Kingdom Noise Network have assumed the tasks of educating the public to the harmful effects of noise, of advocating anti-noise measures, and of urging public officials to move more assertively in lessening the din of our ever-increasing noisy society.

[Urban noise pollution].

PubMed

Chouard, C H

2001-07-01

Noise is responsible for cochlear and general damages. Hearing loss and tinnitus greatly depend on sound intensity and duration. Short-duration sound of sufficient intensity (gunshot or explosion) will not be described because they are not currently encountered in our normal urban environment. Sound levels of less than 75 d (A) are unlikely to cause permanent hearing loss, while sound levels of about 85 d (A) with exposures of 8 h per day will produce permanent hearing loss after many years. Popular and largely amplified music is today one of the most dangerous causes of noise induced hearing loss. The intensity of noises (airport, highway) responsible for stress and general consequences (cardiovascular) is generally lower. Individual noise sensibility depends on several factors. Strategies to prevent damage from sound exposure should include the use of individual hearing protection devices, education programs beginning with school-age children, consumer guidance, increased product noise labelling, and hearing conservation programs for occupational settings.

Noise Pollution--An Overlooked Issue in the Science Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treagust, David F.; Kam, Goh Ah

1985-01-01

Discusses the need for including noise pollution in the science curriculum and describes 10 activities for improving students' awareness and understanding of and concern for noise and its effects. (Author/JN)

The temporal structure of pollution levels in developed cities.

PubMed

Barrigón Morillas, Juan Miguel; Ortiz-Caraballo, Carmen; Prieto Gajardo, Carlos

2015-06-01

Currently, the need for mobility can cause significant pollution levels in cities, with important effects on health and quality of life. Any approach to the study of urban pollution and its effects requires an analysis of spatial distribution and temporal variability. It is a crucial dilemma to obtain proven methodologies that allow an increase in the quality of the prediction and the saving of resources in the spatial and temporal sampling. This work proposes a new analytical methodology in the study of temporal structure. As a result, a model for estimating annual levels of urban traffic noise was proposed. The average errors are less than one decibel in all acoustics indicators. A new working methodology of urban noise has begun. Additionally, a general application can be found for the study of the impacts of pollution associated with traffic, with implications for urban design and possibly in economic and sociological aspects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement and evaluation of the environmental noise levels in the urban areas of the city of Nis (Serbia).

PubMed

Prascevic, Momir R; Mihajlov, Darko I; Cvetkovic, Dragan S

2014-02-01

The environmental noise level represents one of the key factors of life quality in urban areas of modern cities. A continuous monitoring of the noise levels and the analysis of results have become a necessity when we discuss a possible recovery of those areas with high levels of noise pollution, and particularly, those zones which were designed for specific activities, e.g., areas around hospitals and schools. The city of Nis, Serbia, owing to the permanent long-term noise monitoring, possesses a database containing figures related to the noise levels at relevant locations in the city, which can serve as a basis for an analysis of the change of conditions, their tendencies in the future, and recognizing factors which influence the danger of noise pollution. The paper involves an analysis of the environmental noise level collected during the previous years.

Spatial and temporal associations of road traffic noise and air pollution in London: Implications for epidemiological studies.

PubMed

Fecht, Daniela; Hansell, Anna L; Morley, David; Dajnak, David; Vienneau, Danielle; Beevers, Sean; Toledano, Mireille B; Kelly, Frank J; Anderson, H Ross; Gulliver, John

2016-03-01

Road traffic gives rise to noise and air pollution exposures, both of which are associated with adverse health effects especially for cardiovascular disease, but mechanisms may differ. Understanding the variability in correlations between these pollutants is essential to understand better their separate and joint effects on human health. We explored associations between modelled noise and air pollutants using different spatial units and area characteristics in London in 2003-2010. We modelled annual average exposures to road traffic noise (LAeq,24h, Lden, LAeq,16h, Lnight) for ~190,000 postcode centroids in London using the UK Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) method. We used a dispersion model (KCLurban) to model nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, total and the traffic-only component of particulate matter ≤2.5μm and ≤10μm. We analysed noise and air pollution correlations at the postcode level (~50 people), postcodes stratified by London Boroughs (~240,000 people), neighbourhoods (Lower layer Super Output Areas) (~1600 people), 1km grid squares, air pollution tertiles, 50m, 100m and 200m in distance from major roads and by deprivation tertiles. Across all London postcodes, we observed overall moderate correlations between modelled noise and air pollution that were stable over time (Spearman's rho range: |0.34-0.55|). Correlations, however, varied considerably depending on the spatial unit: largest ranges were seen in neighbourhoods and 1km grid squares (both Spearman's rho range: |0.01-0.87|) and was less for Boroughs (Spearman's rho range: |0.21-0.78|). There was little difference in correlations between exposure tertiles, distance from road or deprivation tertiles. Associations between noise and air pollution at the relevant geographical unit of analysis need to be carefully considered in any epidemiological analysis, in particular in complex urban areas. Low correlations near roads, however, suggest that independent effects of road noise and

Effect of noise pollution on testicular tissue and hormonal assessment in rat.

PubMed

Farzadinia, P; Bigdeli, M; Akbarzadeh, S; Mohammadi, M; Daneshi, A; Bargahi, A

2016-11-01

Many studies have focused on the effect of noise stress on the health. So far, few studies have been conducted on the effect of noise on reproductive system. The aim of study was to investigate the effect of noise pollution on morphometric parameters of testicular tissue and hormonal assessment (ACTH, cortisol and testosterone). In this study, 40 male rats were exposed to control, 95, 105 and 115 dB noise intensity for sixty days. At the end of study, blood sampling was performed and ACTH, cortisol and testosterone concentrations were assessed. The results showed that noise stress decreased testosterone levels in the 115 dB-treated group, while it increased the ACTH and cortisol levels. Histological sections of testis showed that the mean diameter of the seminiferous tubules and thickness of the germinal epithelium reduced compared to the control group. Also the ratio of the interstitial tissue area to the total testicular tissue area was increased significantly. Our study shows that noise stress may have negative influences on male fertility. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Research of Influence of Noise Pollution on the Value of the Threshold Current Tangible

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khanzhina, Olga; Sidorov, Alexander; Zykina, Ekaterina

2017-12-01

Stable safety while working on electrical installations can be achieved by following the rules of the electrical safety. Today maximum permissible levels of touch voltage and electric current flow through any part of a person’s body are established by Russian Federation GOST system 12.1.038-82. Unfortunately, recommended by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) maximum allowable amount of electric current and voltage level do not take into account interaction between said electric current and other physical factors; noise, in particular. The influence of sound frequency and its pressure level on body resistance has been proven earlier in thesis by V.V. Katz. Studies of the noise effects on the value of the threshold current tangible have been renewed in laboratories of Life Safety Department in South Ural State University. To obtain reliable results, testing facility that includes anechoic chamber, sources of simulated voltages and noise and a set of recording instruments was designed and built. As a rule, noise influence on electrotechnical personnel varies depending on noise level or/and the duration of its impact. According to modern theories, indirect noise influence on various organs and systems through central nervous system has to be considered. Differential evaluation of noise pollution and its correlation with emerged effects can be obtained with the usage of the dose approach. First of all, there were conducted studies, in which frequency of the applied voltage (f) was to 50 Hz. Voltages and currents that caused sensations before and during 97 dB noise affections were measured. Obtained dependence led to questioning previous researches results of the necessity of reducing the amperage of tripping protection devices. At the same time electrical resistance changes of human body were being studied. According to those researches, no functional dependence between fluctuations in the magnitude of the resistance of human body to electric current flow

Analysis of noise pollution in an andesite quarry with the use of simulation studies and evaluation indices.

PubMed

Kosała, Krzysztof; Stępień, Bartłomiej

2016-01-01

This paper presents the verification of two partial indices proposed for the evaluation of continuous and impulse noise pollution in quarries. These indices, together with the sound power of machines index and the noise hazard index at the workstation, are components of the global index of assessment of noise hazard in the working environment of a quarry. This paper shows the results of acoustic tests carried out in an andesite quarry. Noise generated by machines and from performed blasting works was investigated. On the basis of acoustic measurements carried out in real conditions, the sound power levels of machines and the phenomenon of explosion were determined and, based on the results, three-dimensional models of acoustic noise propagation in the quarry were developed. To assess the degree of noise pollution in the area of the quarry, the continuous and impulse noise indices were used.

Measuring combined exposure to environmental pressures in urban areas: an air quality and noise pollution assessment approach.

PubMed

Vlachokostas, Ch; Achillas, Ch; Michailidou, A V; Moussiopoulos, Nu

2012-02-01

This study presents a methodological scheme developed to provide a combined air and noise pollution exposure assessment based on measurements from personal portable monitors. Provided that air and noise pollution are considered in a co-exposure approach, they represent a significant environmental hazard to public health. The methodology is demonstrated for the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The results of an extensive field campaign are presented and the variations in personal exposure between modes of transport, routes, streets and transport microenvironments are evaluated. Air pollution and noise measurements were performed simultaneously along several commuting routes, during the morning and evening rush hours. Combined exposure to environmental pollutants is highlighted based on the Combined Exposure Factor (CEF) and Combined Dose and Exposure Factor (CDEF). The CDEF takes into account the potential relative uptake of each pollutant by considering the physical activities of each citizen. Rather than viewing environmental pollutants separately for planning and environmental sustainability considerations, the possibility of an easy-to-comprehend co-exposure approach based on these two indices is demonstrated. Furthermore, they provide for the first time a combined exposure assessment to these environmental pollutants for Thessaloniki and in this sense they could be of importance for local public authorities and decision makers. A considerable environmental burden for the citizens of Thessaloniki, especially for VOCs and noise pollution levels is observed. The material herein points out the importance of measuring public health stressors and the necessity of considering urban environmental pollution in a holistic way. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anthropogenic noise, but not artificial light levels predicts song behaviour in an equatorial bird.

PubMed

Dorado-Correa, Adriana M; Rodríguez-Rocha, Manuel; Brumm, Henrik

2016-07-01

Birds in cities start singing earlier in the morning than in rural areas; commonly this shift is attributed to light pollution. Some studies have suggested that traffic noise has a stronger influence on singing activity than artificial light does. Changes in the timing of singing behaviour in relation to noise and light pollution have only been investigated in the temperate zones. Tropical birds, however, experience little seasonal variation in day length and may be less dependent on light intensity as a modifier for reproductive behaviours such as song. To test whether noise or light pollution has a stronger impact on the dawn chorus of a tropical bird, we investigated the singing behaviour of rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) in Bogota, Colombia at two times during the year. We found that birds in places with high noise levels started to sing earlier. Light pollution did not have a significant effect. Birds may begin to sing earlier in noisy areas to avoid acoustic masking by traffic later in the morning. Our results also suggest that some tropical birds may be less sensitive to variations in day length and thus less sensitive to light pollution.

Perception of Noise Pollution in a Youth and Adults School in Curitiba-PR

PubMed Central

Borges Filho, Orlando; Ribas, Angela; Gonçalves, Claudia Giglio De Oliveira; Lacerda, Adriana Bender Moreira; Riesemberg, Renato; Klagenberg, Karlin

2017-01-01

Introduction  Nowadays noise remains the third largest cause of environmental pollution on Earth. It appears that despite the existing noise control legislation the issue deserves further supervision by the public authorities so that the ceilings established for the various activities are observed. People exposed to noise are more likely to develop numerous auditory and non-auditory problems directly impacting persona family and working life. Objectives  The objective of this study is to research and consequently understand how the population of students of a youth and adult school in Curitiba perceives noise pollution as well as look into the actions that the school adopts in order to guide the students on the topic. Method  We applied a structured questionnaire to 120 individuals and assessed the following variables: characterization of the place of residence occupation leisure health and perception of soundscapes. We also applied a closed questionnaire about educational actions for noise pollution to the school's geography teacher. Results  Questionnaire responses show that people perceive noise in the most diverse environments they frequent and are able to identify the source of the noise but this perception proved fragile as the majority does not take measures to prevent or mitigate these noises. At school there are no actions aimed at environmental education on the subject studied. Conclusion  The studied group does not perceive the noise as a harmful agent and does not prevent themselves from it and the school not work contents related to noise pollution leaving a significant gap in the awareness process of this population. PMID:29018491

Perception of Noise Pollution in a Youth and Adults School in Curitiba-PR.

PubMed

Borges Filho, Orlando; Ribas, Angela; Gonçalves, Claudia Giglio De Oliveira; Lacerda, Adriana Bender Moreira; Riesemberg, Renato; Klagenberg, Karlin

2017-10-01

Introduction  Nowadays noise remains the third largest cause of environmental pollution on Earth. It appears that despite the existing noise control legislation the issue deserves further supervision by the public authorities so that the ceilings established for the various activities are observed. People exposed to noise are more likely to develop numerous auditory and non-auditory problems directly impacting persona family and working life. Objectives  The objective of this study is to research and consequently understand how the population of students of a youth and adult school in Curitiba perceives noise pollution as well as look into the actions that the school adopts in order to guide the students on the topic. Method  We applied a structured questionnaire to 120 individuals and assessed the following variables: characterization of the place of residence occupation leisure health and perception of soundscapes. We also applied a closed questionnaire about educational actions for noise pollution to the school's geography teacher. Results  Questionnaire responses show that people perceive noise in the most diverse environments they frequent and are able to identify the source of the noise but this perception proved fragile as the majority does not take measures to prevent or mitigate these noises. At school there are no actions aimed at environmental education on the subject studied. Conclusion  The studied group does not perceive the noise as a harmful agent and does not prevent themselves from it and the school not work contents related to noise pollution leaving a significant gap in the awareness process of this population.

Does traffic-related air pollution explain associations of aircraft and road traffic noise exposure on children's health and cognition? A secondary analysis of the United Kingdom sample from the RANCH project.

PubMed

Clark, Charlotte; Crombie, Rosanna; Head, Jenny; van Kamp, Irene; van Kempen, Elise; Stansfeld, Stephen A

2012-08-15

The authors examined whether air pollution at school (nitrogen dioxide) is associated with poorer child cognition and health and whether adjustment for air pollution explains or moderates previously observed associations between aircraft and road traffic noise at school and children's cognition in the 2001-2003 Road Traffic and Aircraft Noise Exposure and Children's Cognition and Health (RANCH) project. This secondary analysis of a subsample of the United Kingdom RANCH sample examined 719 children who were 9-10 years of age from 22 schools around London's Heathrow airport for whom air pollution data were available. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Air pollution exposure levels at school were moderate, were not associated with a range of cognitive and health outcomes, and did not account for or moderate associations between noise exposure and cognition. Aircraft noise exposure at school was significantly associated with poorer recognition memory and conceptual recall memory after adjustment for nitrogen dioxide levels. Aircraft noise exposure was also associated with poorer reading comprehension and information recall memory after adjustment for nitrogen dioxide levels. Road traffic noise was not associated with cognition or health before or after adjustment for air pollution. Moderate levels of air pollution do not appear to confound associations of noise on cognition and health, but further studies of higher air pollution levels are needed.

Does Traffic-related Air Pollution Explain Associations of Aircraft and Road Traffic Noise Exposure on Children's Health and Cognition? A Secondary Analysis of the United Kingdom Sample From the RANCH Project

PubMed Central

Clark, Charlotte; Crombie, Rosanna; Head, Jenny; van Kamp, Irene; van Kempen, Elise; Stansfeld, Stephen A.

2012-01-01

The authors examined whether air pollution at school (nitrogen dioxide) is associated with poorer child cognition and health and whether adjustment for air pollution explains or moderates previously observed associations between aircraft and road traffic noise at school and children's cognition in the 2001–2003 Road Traffic and Aircraft Noise Exposure and Children's Cognition and Health (RANCH) project. This secondary analysis of a subsample of the United Kingdom RANCH sample examined 719 children who were 9–10 years of age from 22 schools around London's Heathrow airport for whom air pollution data were available. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Air pollution exposure levels at school were moderate, were not associated with a range of cognitive and health outcomes, and did not account for or moderate associations between noise exposure and cognition. Aircraft noise exposure at school was significantly associated with poorer recognition memory and conceptual recall memory after adjustment for nitrogen dioxide levels. Aircraft noise exposure was also associated with poorer reading comprehension and information recall memory after adjustment for nitrogen dioxide levels. Road traffic noise was not associated with cognition or health before or after adjustment for air pollution. Moderate levels of air pollution do not appear to confound associations of noise on cognition and health, but further studies of higher air pollution levels are needed. PMID:22842719

Judgments of aircraft noise in a traffic noise background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, C. A.; Rice, C. G.

1975-01-01

An investigation was conducted to determine subjective response to aircraft noise in different road traffic backgrounds. In addition, two laboratory techniques for presenting the aircraft noise with the background noise were evaluated. For one technique, the background noise was continuous over an entire test session; for the other, the background noise level was changed with each aircraft noise during a session. Subjective response to aircraft noise was found to decrease with increasing background noise level, for a range of typical indoor noise levels. Subjective response was found to be highly correlated with the Noise Pollution Level (NPL) measurement scale.

Can weekly noise levels of urban road traffic, as predominant noise source, estimate annual ones?

PubMed

Prieto Gajardo, Carlos; Barrigón Morillas, Juan Miguel; Rey Gozalo, Guillermo; Vílchez-Gómez, Rosendo

2016-11-01

The effects of noise pollution on human quality of life and health were recognised by the World Health Organisation a long time ago. There is a crucial dilemma for the study of urban noise when one is looking for proven methodologies that can allow, on the one hand, an increase in the quality of predictions, and on the other hand, saving resources in the spatial and temporal sampling. The temporal structure of urban noise is studied in this work from a different point of view. This methodology, based on Fourier analysis, is applied to several measurements of urban noise, mainly from road traffic and one-week long, carried out in two cities located on different continents and with different sociological life styles (Cáceres, Spain and Talca, Chile). Its capacity to predict annual noise levels from weekly measurements is studied. The relation between this methodology and the categorisation method is also analysed.

Effects of traffic noise on tree frog stress levels, immunity, and color signaling.

PubMed

Troïanowski, Mathieu; Mondy, Nathalie; Dumet, Adeline; Arcanjo, Caroline; Lengagne, Thierry

2017-10-01

During the last decade, many studies have focused on the detrimental effects of noise pollution on acoustic communication. Surprisingly, although it is known that noise exposure strongly influences health in humans, studies on wildlife remain scarce. In order to gain insight into the consequences of traffic noise exposure, we experimentally manipulated traffic noise exposure as well as the endocrine status of animals to investigate physiological and phenotypic consequences of noise pollution in an anuran species. We showed that noise exposure increased stress hormone level and induced an immunosuppressive effect. In addition, both traffic noise exposure and stress hormone application negatively impacted H. arborea vocal sac coloration. Moreover, our results suggest profound changes in sexual selection processes because the best quality males with initial attractive vocal sac coloration were the most impacted by noise. Hence, our study suggests that the recent increases in anthropogenic noise worldwide might affect a broader range of animal species than previously thought, because of alteration of visual signals and immunity. Generalizing these results to other taxa is crucial for the conservation of biodiversity in an increasingly noisy world. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Cardiovascular health, traffic-related air pollution and noise: are associations mutually confounded? A systematic review.

PubMed

Tétreault, Louis-François; Perron, Stéphane; Smargiassi, Audrey

2013-10-01

This review assessed the confounding effect of one traffic-related exposure (noise or air pollutants) on the association between the other exposure and cardiovascular outcomes. A systematic review was conducted with the databases Medline and Embase. The confounding effects in studies were assessed by using change in the estimate with a 10 % cutoff point. The influence on the change in the estimate of the quality of the studies, the exposure assessment methods and the correlation between road noise and air pollutions were also assessed. Nine publications were identified. For most studies, the specified confounders produced changes in estimates <10 %. The correlation between noise and pollutants, the quality of the study and of the exposure assessment do not seem to influence the confounding effects. Results from this review suggest that confounding of cardiovascular effects by noise or air pollutants is low, though with further improvements in exposure assessment, the situation may change. More studies using pollution indicators specific to road traffic are needed to properly assess if noise and air pollution are subjected to confounding.

Noise pollution survey of a two-storey intersection station in Tehran metropolitan subway system.

PubMed

Ghotbi, Mohammad Reza; Monazzam, Mohammad Reza; Baneshi, Mohammad Reza; Asadi, Mohammad; Fard, Samaneh Momen Bellah

2012-01-01

According to the world population increase and demand on transportation in mega cities, modern and low-cost technologies are remarkably considered. Meanwhile, subway system, as a means to transfer a large population of people, is extremely welcomed due to its particular advantages including time and cost savings, traffic jam avoidance, and unaffected by weather. Nevertheless, despite the benefits of these technologies, such devices also have been associated with disadvantages for human. In many subway systems, noisy environments are clearly observed; therefore, workers and even the passengers are exposed to higher noise levels than permissible limit. In this research, noise measurements were performed at Imam Khomeini Station as the most crowded intersection subway station in Tehran. In this descriptive-sectional survey, the amount of noise pollution was investigated at both stories of Imam Khomeini Intersection Station. A variety of noise pollution indicators such as L(eq) 10 min were separately measured at each storey through five measurement points from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M. It was shown that the equivalent sound level range at Imam Khomeini station towards Elmo Sanat and Imam Khomeini towards Mirdamad were between 70.56-79.54 and 68.35-79.12 dB (A), respectively. It was indicated that except for the entrance stairs to the subway waiting platform and the first section of the platform on both stories, other measurement stations have the same equivalent sound levels.

The Interdisciplinary Course in the Legal Aspects of Noise Pollution at Columbia University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Cyril M.; Rosenthal, Albert J.

1981-01-01

A course in the legal aspects of noise pollution, cross-listed for students in Columbia University's Law and Engineering Schools, is described. Although noise is used as the major source of environmental pollution in this course, the principles and methodology discussed apply to other forms of environmental law. (MLW)

Proximity to Traffic, Ambient Air Pollution, and Community Noise in Relation to Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis

PubMed Central

Koehoorn, Mieke; Tamburic, Lillian; Davies, Hugh W.; Brauer, Michael

2014-01-01

Background: The risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with living near traffic; however, there is evidence suggesting that air pollution may not be responsible for this association. Noise, another traffic-generated exposure, has not been studied as a risk factor for RA. Objectives: We investigated proximity to traffic, ambient air pollution, and community noise in relation to RA in the Vancouver and Victoria regions of British Columbia, Canada. Methods: Cases and controls were identified in a cohort of adults that was assembled using health insurance registration records. Incident RA cases from 1999 through 2002 were identified by diagnostic codes in combination with prescriptions and type of physician (e.g., rheumatologist). Controls were matched to RA cases by age and sex. Environmental exposures were assigned to each member of the study population by their residential postal code(s). We estimated relative risks using conditional logistic regression, with additional adjustment for median income at the postal code. Results: RA incidence was increased with proximity to traffic, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.68) for residence ≤ 50 m from a highway compared with residence > 150 m away. We found no association with traffic-related exposures such as PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, or noise. Ground-level ozone, which was highest in suburban areas, was associated with an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.36 per interquartile range increase). Conclusions: Our study confirms a previously observed association of RA risk with proximity to traffic and suggests that neither noise levels nor traffic-related air pollutants are responsible for this relationship. Additional investigation of neighborhood and individual correlates of residence near roadways may provide new insight into risk factors for RA. Citation: De Roos AJ, Koehoorn M, Tamburic L, Davies HW, Brauer M. 2014. Proximity to traffic, ambient air pollution, and community

Long-term exposure to transportation noise and air pollution in relation to incident diabetes in the SAPALDIA study

PubMed Central

Eze, Ikenna C; Foraster, Maria; Schaffner, Emmanuel; Vienneau, Danielle; Héritier, Harris; Rudzik, Franziska; Thiesse, Laurie; Pieren, Reto; Imboden, Medea; von Eckardstein, Arnold; Schindler, Christian; Brink, Mark; Cajochen, Christian; Wunderli, Jean-Marc; Röösli, Martin; Probst-Hensch, Nicole

2017-01-01

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies have inconsistently linked transportation noise and air pollution (AP) with diabetes risk. Most studies have considered single noise sources and/or AP, but none has investigated their mutually independent contributions to diabetes risk. Methods We investigated 2631 participants of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), without diabetes in 2002 and without change of residence between 2002 and 2011. Using questionnaire and biomarker data, incident diabetes cases were identified in 2011. Noise and AP exposures in 2001 were assigned to participants’ residences (annual average road, railway or aircraft noise level during day-evening-night (Lden), total night number of noise events, intermittency ratio (temporal variation as proportion of event-based noise level over total noise level) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. We applied mixed Poisson regression to estimate the relative risk (RR) of diabetes and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) in mutually-adjusted models. Results Diabetes incidence was 4.2%. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] road, railway, aircraft noise and NO2 were 54 (10) dB, 32 (11) dB, 30 (12) dB and 21 (15) μg/m3, respectively. Lden road and aircraft were associated with incident diabetes (respective RR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.02–1.78 and 1.86; 95% CI: 0.96–3.59 per IQR) independently of Lden railway and NO2 (which were not associated with diabetes risk) in mutually adjusted models. We observed stronger effects of Lden road among participants reporting poor sleep quality or sleeping with open windows. Conclusions Transportation noise may be more relevant than AP in the development of diabetes, potentially acting through noise-induced sleep disturbances. PMID:28338949

Long-term exposure to transportation noise and air pollution in relation to incident diabetes in the SAPALDIA study.

PubMed

Eze, Ikenna C; Foraster, Maria; Schaffner, Emmanuel; Vienneau, Danielle; Héritier, Harris; Rudzik, Franziska; Thiesse, Laurie; Pieren, Reto; Imboden, Medea; von Eckardstein, Arnold; Schindler, Christian; Brink, Mark; Cajochen, Christian; Wunderli, Jean-Marc; Röösli, Martin; Probst-Hensch, Nicole

2017-08-01

Epidemiological studies have inconsistently linked transportation noise and air pollution (AP) with diabetes risk. Most studies have considered single noise sources and/or AP, but none has investigated their mutually independent contributions to diabetes risk. We investigated 2631 participants of the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), without diabetes in 2002 and without change of residence between 2002 and 2011. Using questionnaire and biomarker data, incident diabetes cases were identified in 2011. Noise and AP exposures in 2001 were assigned to participants' residences (annual average road, railway or aircraft noise level during day-evening-night (Lden), total night number of noise events, intermittency ratio (temporal variation as proportion of event-based noise level over total noise level) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. We applied mixed Poisson regression to estimate the relative risk (RR) of diabetes and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) in mutually-adjusted models. Diabetes incidence was 4.2%. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] road, railway, aircraft noise and NO2 were 54 (10) dB, 32 (11) dB, 30 (12) dB and 21 (15) μg/m3, respectively. Lden road and aircraft were associated with incident diabetes (respective RR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.02-1.78 and 1.86; 95% CI: 0.96-3.59 per IQR) independently of Lden railway and NO2 (which were not associated with diabetes risk) in mutually adjusted models. We observed stronger effects of Lden road among participants reporting poor sleep quality or sleeping with open windows. Transportation noise may be more relevant than AP in the development of diabetes, potentially acting through noise-induced sleep disturbances. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association

Traffic-related air pollution and noise and children's blood pressure: results from the PIAMA birth cohort study.

PubMed

Bilenko, Natalya; van Rossem, Lenie; Brunekreef, Bert; Beelen, Rob; Eeftens, Marloes; Hoek, Gerard; Houthuijs, Danny; de Jongste, Johan C; van Kempen, Elise; Koppelman, Gerard H; Meliefste, Kees; Oldenwening, Marieke; Smit, Henriette A; Wijga, Alet H; Gehring, Ulrike

2015-01-01

Elevation of a child's blood pressure may cause possible health risks in later life. There is evidence for adverse effects of exposure to air pollution and noise on blood pressure in adults. Little is known about these associations in children. We investigated the associations of air pollution and noise exposure with blood pressure in 12-year-olds. Blood pressure was measured at age 12 years in 1432 participants of the PIAMA birth cohort study. Annual average exposure to traffic-related air pollution [NO2, mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters of less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and less than 10 µm (PM10), and PM2.5 absorbance] at the participants' home and school addresses at the time of blood pressure measurements was estimated by land-use regression models. Air pollution exposure on the days preceding blood pressure measurements was estimated from routine air monitoring data. Long-term noise exposure was assessed by linking addresses to modelled equivalent road traffic noise levels. Associations of exposures with blood pressure were analysed by linear regression. Effects are presented for an interquartile range increase in exposure. Long-term exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 absorbance were associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, in children who lived at the same address since birth [adjusted mean difference (95% confidence interval) [mmHg] 0.83 (0.06 to 1.61) and 0.75 (-0.08 to 1.58), respectively], but not with systolic blood pressure. We found no association of blood pressure with short-term air pollution or noise exposure. Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase diastolic blood pressure in children. © The European Society of Cardiology 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Analysis of Sampling Methodologies for Noise Pollution Assessment and the Impact on the Population.

PubMed

Rey Gozalo, Guillermo; Barrigón Morillas, Juan Miguel

2016-05-11

Today, noise pollution is an increasing environmental stressor. Noise maps are recognised as the main tool for assessing and managing environmental noise, but their accuracy largely depends on the sampling method used. The sampling methods most commonly used by different researchers (grid, legislative road types and categorisation methods) were analysed and compared using the city of Talca (Chile) as a test case. The results show that the stratification of sound values in road categories has a significantly lower prediction error and a higher capacity for discrimination and prediction than in the legislative road types used by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications in Chile. Also, the use of one or another method implies significant differences in the assessment of population exposure to noise pollution. Thus, the selection of a suitable method for performing noise maps through measurements is essential to achieve an accurate assessment of the impact of noise pollution on the population.

The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life.

PubMed

Shepherd, Daniel; Dirks, Kim; Welch, David; McBride, David; Landon, Jason

2016-08-06

Air pollution originating from road traffic is a known risk factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (both in terms of chronic and acute effects). While adverse effects on cardiovascular health have also been linked with noise (after controlling for air pollution), noise exposure has been commonly linked to sleep impairment and negative emotional reactions. Health is multi-faceted, both conceptually and operationally; Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is one of many measures capable of probing health. In this study, we examine pre-collected data from postal surveys probing HRQOL obtained from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts across the North Island of New Zealand. Analyses focus on the covariance between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances, and their independent and combined effects on HRQOL. Results indicate that the highest ratings of air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances were for residents living close to the motorway, while the lowest were for rural residents. Most of the city samples indicated no significant difference between air pollution- and noise-annoyance ratings, and of all of the correlations between air pollution- and noise-annoyance, the highest were found in the city samples. These findings suggest that annoyance is driven by exposure to environmental factors and not personality characteristics. Analysis of HRQOL indicated that air pollution annoyance predicts greater variability in the physical HRQOL domain while noise annoyance predicts greater variability in the psychological, social and environmental domains. The lack of an interaction effect between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyance suggests that air pollution and noise impact on health independently. These results echo those obtained from objective measures of health and suggest that mitigation of traffic effects should address both air and noise pollution.

The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life

PubMed Central

Shepherd, Daniel; Dirks, Kim; Welch, David; McBride, David; Landon, Jason

2016-01-01

Air pollution originating from road traffic is a known risk factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (both in terms of chronic and acute effects). While adverse effects on cardiovascular health have also been linked with noise (after controlling for air pollution), noise exposure has been commonly linked to sleep impairment and negative emotional reactions. Health is multi-faceted, both conceptually and operationally; Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is one of many measures capable of probing health. In this study, we examine pre-collected data from postal surveys probing HRQOL obtained from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts across the North Island of New Zealand. Analyses focus on the covariance between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances, and their independent and combined effects on HRQOL. Results indicate that the highest ratings of air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances were for residents living close to the motorway, while the lowest were for rural residents. Most of the city samples indicated no significant difference between air pollution- and noise-annoyance ratings, and of all of the correlations between air pollution- and noise-annoyance, the highest were found in the city samples. These findings suggest that annoyance is driven by exposure to environmental factors and not personality characteristics. Analysis of HRQOL indicated that air pollution annoyance predicts greater variability in the physical HRQOL domain while noise annoyance predicts greater variability in the psychological, social and environmental domains. The lack of an interaction effect between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyance suggests that air pollution and noise impact on health independently. These results echo those obtained from objective measures of health and suggest that mitigation of traffic effects should address both air and noise pollution. PMID:27509512

A Literature Survey of Noise Pollution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shih, H. H.

Physically, noise is a complex sound that has little or no periodicity. However, the essential characteristic of noise is its undesirability. Thus, noise can be defined as any annoying or unwanted sound. In recent years, the rapid increase of noise level in our environment has become a national public health hazard. Noise affects man's state of…

Neighborhood noise pollution as a determinant of displaced aggression: a pilot study.

PubMed

Dzhambov, Angel; Dimitrova, Donka

2014-01-01

Noise pollution is still a growing public health problem with a significant impact on psychological health and well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of noise on displaced aggression (DA) in different subgroups of residents in one of the neighborhoods of Plovdiv city. A cross-sectional semi-structured interview survey was conducted using specially designed data registration forms and 33 close-ended and open-ended questions, divided into two major panels - one original and a modified version of the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire (DAQ). The mean score for DA was 61.12 (±19.97). Hearing noises above the perceived normal threshold, higher noise sensitivity and continuous noises were associated with higher levels of DA. Low frequency and high intensity noises were also associated with higher DA scores. Multiple regression model supported these findings. Contradictory to previous research age was positively correlated with noise sensitivity and aggression. We speculated that this might be due to the relatively lower socio-economic standard and quality of life in Bulgaria. Therefore, social climate might be modifying the way people perceive and react to environmental noise. Finally, the DAQ proved to be a viable measurement tool of these associations and might be further implemented and modified to suit the purposes of psychoacoustic assessment.

Years of life lost and morbidity cases attributable to transportation noise and air pollution: A comparative health risk assessment for Switzerland in 2010.

PubMed

Vienneau, Danielle; Perez, Laura; Schindler, Christian; Lieb, Christoph; Sommer, Heini; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Künzli, Nino; Röösli, Martin

2015-08-01

There is growing evidence that chronic exposure to transportation related noise and air pollution affects human health. However, health burden to a country of these two pollutants have been rarely compared. As an input for external cost quantification, we estimated the cardiorespiratory health burden from transportation related noise and air pollution in Switzerland, incorporating the most recent findings related to the health effects of noise. Spatially resolved noise and air pollution models for the year 2010 were derived for road, rail and aircraft sources. Average day-evening-night sound level (Lden) and particulate matter (PM10) were selected as indicators, and population-weighted exposures derived by transportation source. Cause-specific exposure-response functions were derived from a meta-analysis for noise and literature review for PM10. Years of life lost (YLL) were calculated using life table methods; population attributable fraction was used for deriving attributable cases for hospitalisations, respiratory illnesses, visits to general practitioners and restricted activity days. The mean population weighted exposure above a threshold of 48dB(A) was 8.74dB(A), 1.89dB(A) and 0.37dB(A) for road, rail and aircraft noise. Corresponding mean exposure contributions were 4.4, 0.54, 0.12μg/m(3) for PM10. We estimated that in 2010 in Switzerland transportation caused 6000 and 14,000 YLL from noise and air pollution exposure, respectively. While there were a total of 8700 cardiorespiratory hospital days attributed to air pollution exposure, estimated burden due to noise alone amounted to 22,500 hospital days. YLL due to transportation related pollution in Switzerland is dominated by air pollution from road traffic, whereas consequences for morbidity and indicators of quality of life are dominated by noise. In terms of total external costs the burden of noise equals that of air pollution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

GIS model for identifying urban areas vulnerable to noise pollution: case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilaşco, Ştefan; Govor, Corina; Roşca, Sanda; Vescan, Iuliu; Filip, Sorin; Fodorean, Ioan

2017-04-01

The unprecedented expansion of the national car ownership over the last few years has been determined by economic growth and the need for the population and economic agents to reduce travel time in progressively expanding large urban centres. This has led to an increase in the level of road noise and a stronger impact on the quality of the environment. Noise pollution generated by means of transport represents one of the most important types of pollution with negative effects on a population's health in large urban areas. As a consequence, tolerable limits of sound intensity for the comfort of inhabitants have been determined worldwide and the generation of sound maps has been made compulsory in order to identify the vulnerable zones and to make recommendations how to decrease the negative impact on humans. In this context, the present study aims at presenting a GIS spatial analysis model-based methodology for identifying and mapping zones vulnerable to noise pollution. The developed GIS model is based on the analysis of all the components influencing sound propagation, represented as vector databases (points of sound intensity measurements, buildings, lands use, transport infrastructure), raster databases (DEM), and numerical databases (wind direction and speed, sound intensity). Secondly, the hourly changes (for representative hours) were analysed to identify the hotspots characterised by major traffic flows specific to rush hours. The validated results of the model are represented by GIS databases and useful maps for the local public administration to use as a source of information and in the process of making decisions.

Neurobehavioral effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollution and transportation noise in primary schoolchildren.

PubMed

van Kempen, Elise; Fischer, Paul; Janssen, Nicole; Houthuijs, Danny; van Kamp, Irene; Stansfeld, Stephen; Cassee, Flemming

2012-05-01

Children living close to roads are exposed to both traffic noise and traffic-related air pollution. There are indications that both exposures affect cognitive functioning. So far, the effects of both exposures have only been investigated separately. To investigate the relationship between air pollution and transportation noise on the cognitive performance of primary schoolchildren in both the home and school setting. Data acquired within RANCH from 553 children (aged 9-11 years) from 24 primary schools were analysed using multilevel modelling with adjustment for a range of socio-economic and life-style factors. Exposure to NO(2) (which is in urban areas an indicator for traffic-related air pollution) at school was statistically significantly associated with a decrease in the memory span length measured during DMST (χ(2)=6.8, df=1, p=0.01). This remained after additional adjustment for transportation noise. Statistically significant associations were observed between road and air traffic noise exposure at school and the number of errors made during the 'arrow' (χ(2)=7.5, df=1, p=0.006) and 'switch' (χ(2)=4.8, df=1, p=0.028) conditions of the SAT. This remained after adjustment for NO(2). No effects of air pollution exposure or transportation noise exposure at home were observed. Combined exposure of air pollution and road traffic noise had a significant effect on the reaction times measured during the SRTT and the 'block' and the 'arrow' conditions of the SAT. Our results provide some support that prolonged exposure to traffic-related air pollution as well as to noise adversely affects cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Noise Pollution--What can be Done?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Edgar A. G.

1975-01-01

Discusses the ratio of energy dissipated as sound to the mechanical output of devices. Considers noise levels, ranges vs. peaks, noise indexes, and health hazards. Indicates some problems vs. solutions in the technology of noise control. (GH)

Exposure to traffic noise and air pollution and risk for febrile seizure: a cohort study.

PubMed

Hjortebjerg, Dorrit; Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie; Ketzel, Matthias; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Sørensen, Mette

2018-03-25

Objectives Exposure to traffic noise and air pollution is suspected to increase susceptibility to viral infections - the main triggering factor for febrile seizures. No studies have examined these two exposures in relation to febrile seizures. We aimed to investigate whether exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution are associated with risk of febrile seizures in childhood. Methods From our study base of 51 465 singletons from a national birth cohort, we identified 2175 cases with febrile seizures using a nationwide registry. Residential address history from conception to six years of age were found in national registers, and road traffic noise (L den ) and air pollution (NO 2 ) were modeled for all addresses. Analyses were done using Cox proportional hazard model with adjustment for potential confounders, including mutual exposure adjustment. Results An interquartile range (IQR) increase in childhood exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution was associated with an 11% [incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-1.19) and 5% (IRR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.07) higher risk for febrile seizures, respectively, after adjustment for potential confounders. Weaker tendencies were seen for pregnancy exposure. In models with mutual exposure adjustment, the estimates were slightly lower, with IRR of 1.08 (95% CI 1.00-1.16) and 1.03 (95% CI 0.99-1.06) per IQR increase in childhood exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution, respectively. Conclusions This study suggests that residential exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution is associated with higher risk for febrile seizures.

Does low to moderate environmental exposure to noise and air pollution influence preterm delivery in medium-sized cities?

PubMed

Barba-Vasseur, Marie; Bernard, Nadine; Pujol, Sophie; Sagot, Paul; Riethmuller, Didier; Thiriez, Gérard; Houot, Hélène; Defrance, Jérôme; Mariet, Anne-Sophie; Luu, Vinh-Phuc; Barbier, Alice; Benzenine, Eric; Quantin, Catherine; Mauny, Frédéric

2017-12-01

Preterm birth (PB) is an important predictor of childhood morbidity and educational performance. Beyond the known risk factors, environmental factors, such as air pollution and noise, have been implicated in PB. In urban areas, these pollutants coexist. Very few studies have examined the effects of multi-exposure on the pregnancy duration. The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between PB and environmental chronic multi-exposure to noise and air pollution in medium-sized cities. A case-control study was conducted among women living in the city of Besançon (121 671 inhabitants) or in the urban unit of Dijon (243 936 inhabitants) and who delivered in a university hospital between 2005 and 2009. Only singleton pregnancies without associated pathologies were considered. Four controls were matched to each case in terms of the mother's age and delivery location. Residential noise and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposures were calculated at the mother's address. Conditional logistic regression models were applied, and sensitivity analyses were performed. This study included 302 cases and 1204 controls. The correlation between noise and NO2 indices ranged from 0.41 to 0.59. No significant differences were found in pollutant exposure levels between cases and controls. The adjusted odds ratios ranged between 0.96 and 1.08. Sensitivity analysis conducted using different temporal and spatial exposure windows demonstrated the same results. The results are in favour of a lack of connection between preterm delivery and multi-exposure to noise and air pollution in medium-sized cities for pregnant women without underlying disease. © The Author 2017; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association

Combined effects of road traffic noise and ambient air pollution in relation to risk for stroke?

PubMed

Sørensen, Mette; Lühdorf, Pernille; Ketzel, Matthias; Andersen, Zorana J; Tjønneland, Anne; Overvad, Kim; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole

2014-08-01

Exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution have both been associated with risk for stroke. The few studies including both exposures show inconsistent results. We aimed to investigate potential mutual confounding and combined effects between road traffic noise and air pollution in association with risk for stroke. In a population-based cohort of 57,053 people aged 50-64 years at enrollment, we identified 1999 incident stroke cases in national registries, followed by validation through medical records. Mean follow-up time was 11.2 years. Present and historical residential addresses from 1987 to 2009 were identified in national registers and road traffic noise and air pollution were modeled for all addresses. Analyses were done using Cox regression. A higher mean annual exposure at time of diagnosis of 10 µg/m(3) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and 10 dB road traffic noise at the residential address was associated with ischemic stroke with incidence rate ratios (IRR) of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.20) and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.24), respectively, in single exposure models. In two-exposure models road traffic noise (IRR: 1.15) and not NO2 (IRR: 1.02) was associated with ischemic stroke. The strongest association was found for combination of high noise and high NO2 (IRR=1.28; 95% CI=1.09-1.52). Fatal stroke was positively associated with air pollution and not with traffic noise. In conclusion, in mutually adjusted models road traffic noise and not air pollution was associated ischemic stroke, while only air pollution affected risk for fatal strokes. There were indications of combined effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Proximity to traffic, ambient air pollution, and community noise in relation to incident rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

De Roos, Anneclaire J; Koehoorn, Mieke; Tamburic, Lillian; Davies, Hugh W; Brauer, Michael

2014-10-01

The risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with living near traffic; however, there is evidence suggesting that air pollution may not be responsible for this association. Noise, another traffic-generated exposure, has not been studied as a risk factor for RA. We investigated proximity to traffic, ambient air pollution, and community noise in relation to RA in the Vancouver and Victoria regions of British Columbia, Canada. Cases and controls were identified in a cohort of adults that was assembled using health insurance registration records. Incident RA cases from 1999 through 2002 were identified by diagnostic codes in combination with prescriptions and type of physician (e.g., rheumatologist). Controls were matched to RA cases by age and sex. Environmental exposures were assigned to each member of the study population by their residential postal code(s). We estimated relative risks using conditional logistic regression, with additional adjustment for median income at the postal code. RA incidence was increased with proximity to traffic, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.68) for residence ≤ 50 m from a highway compared with residence > 150 m away. We found no association with traffic-related exposures such as PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, or noise. Ground-level ozone, which was highest in suburban areas, was associated with an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.26; 95% CI: 1.18, 1.36 per interquartile range increase). Our study confirms a previously observed association of RA risk with proximity to traffic and suggests that neither noise levels nor traffic-related air pollutants are responsible for this relationship. Additional investigation of neighborhood and individual correlates of residence near roadways may provide new insight into risk factors for RA.

Associations between Traffic Noise, Particulate Air Pollution, Hypertension, and Isolated Systolic Hypertension in Adults: The KORA Study

PubMed Central

Wolf, Kathrin; Petz, Markus; Heinrich, Joachim; Cyrys, Josef; Peters, Annette

2014-01-01

Background: Studies on the association between traffic noise and cardiovascular diseases have rarely considered air pollution as a covariate in the analyses. Isolated systolic hypertension has not yet been in the focus of epidemiological noise research. Methods: The association between traffic noise (road and rail) and the prevalence of hypertension was assessed in two study populations with a total of 4,166 participants 25–74 years of age. Traffic noise (weighted day–night average noise level; LDN) at the facade of the dwellings was derived from noise maps. Annual average PM2.5 mass concentrations at residential addresses were estimated by land-use regression. Hypertension was assessed by blood pressure readings, self-reported doctor-diagnosed hypertension, and antihypertensive drug intake. Results: In the Greater Augsburg, Germany, study population, traffic noise and air pollution were not associated with hypertension. In the City of Augsburg population (n = 1,893), where the exposure assessment was more detailed, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for a 10-dB(A) increase in noise was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.35), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.30) after additional adjustment for PM2.5. The adjusted OR for a 1-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was 1.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.30), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.27) after additional adjustment for noise. For isolated systolic hypertension, the fully adjusted OR for noise was 1.43 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.86) and for PM2.5 was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.34). Conclusions: Traffic noise and PM2.5 were both associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension. Mutually adjusted associations with hypertension were positive but no longer statistically significant. Citation: Babisch W, Wolf K, Petz M, Heinrich J, Cyrys J, Peters A. 2014. Associations between traffic noise, particulate air pollution, hypertension, and isolated systolic hypertension in adults: the KORA Study. Environ Health Perspect 122:492–498; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306981 PMID:24602804

Effect of long-term outdoor air pollution and noise on cognitive and psychological functions in adults.

PubMed

Tzivian, Lilian; Winkler, Angela; Dlugaj, Martha; Schikowski, Tamara; Vossoughi, Mohammad; Fuks, Kateryna; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Hoffmann, Barbara

2015-01-01

It has been hypothesized that air pollution and ambient noise might impact neurocognitive function. Early studies mostly investigated the associations of air pollution and ambient noise exposure with cognitive development in children. More recently, several studies investigating associations with neurocognitive function, mood disorders, and neurodegenerative disease in adult populations were published, yielding inconsistent results. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current evidence on air pollution and noise effects on mental health in adults. We included studies in adult populations (≥18 years old) published in English language in peer-reviewed journals. Fifteen articles related to long-term effects of air pollution and eight articles on long-term effects of ambient noise were extracted. Both exposures were separately shown to be associated with one or several measures of global cognitive function, verbal and nonverbal learning and memory, activities of daily living, depressive symptoms, elevated anxiety, and nuisance. No study considered both exposures simultaneously and few studies investigated progression of neurocognitive decline or psychological factors. The existing evidence generally supports associations of environmental factors with mental health, but does not suffice for an overall conclusion about the independent effect of air pollution and noise. There is a need for studies investigating simultaneously air pollution and noise exposures in association mental health, for longitudinal studies to corroborate findings from cross-sectional analyses, and for parallel toxicological and epidemiological studies to elucidate mechanisms and pathways of action. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Ambient air pollution, traffic noise and adult asthma prevalence: a BioSHaRE approach.

PubMed

Cai, Yutong; Zijlema, Wilma L; Doiron, Dany; Blangiardo, Marta; Burton, Paul R; Fortier, Isabel; Gaye, Amadou; Gulliver, John; de Hoogh, Kees; Hveem, Kristian; Mbatchou, Stéphane; Morley, David W; Stolk, Ronald P; Elliott, Paul; Hansell, Anna L; Hodgson, Susan

2017-01-01

We investigated the effects of both ambient air pollution and traffic noise on adult asthma prevalence, using harmonised data from three European cohort studies established in 2006-2013 (HUNT3, Lifelines and UK Biobank).Residential exposures to ambient air pollution (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 )) were estimated by a pan-European Land Use Regression model for 2007. Traffic noise for 2009 was modelled at home addresses by adapting a standardised noise assessment framework (CNOSSOS-EU). A cross-sectional analysis of 646 731 participants aged ≥20 years was undertaken using DataSHIELD to pool data for individual-level analysis via a "compute to the data" approach. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to assess the effects of each exposure on lifetime and current asthma prevalence.PM 10 or NO 2 higher by 10 µg·m -3 was associated with 12.8% (95% CI 9.5-16.3%) and 1.9% (95% CI 1.1-2.8%) higher lifetime asthma prevalence, respectively, independent of confounders. Effects were larger in those aged ≥50 years, ever-smokers and less educated. Noise exposure was not significantly associated with asthma prevalence.This study suggests that long-term ambient PM 10 exposure is associated with asthma prevalence in western European adults. Traffic noise is not associated with asthma prevalence, but its potential to impact on asthma exacerbations needs further investigation. Copyright ©ERS 2017.

Noise. Ag Ed Environmental Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tulloch, Rodney W.

Noise is the subject of the student resource unit to be used with high school vocational agriculture students. The nature of noise as a phenomenon and as a problem is clarified. Sources of noise pollution and the decibel levels they produce are described. Among the effects of noise pollution discussed are hearing loss, annoyance, and accidental…

Willingness to pay to avoid health risks from road-traffic-related air pollution and noise across five countries.

PubMed

Istamto, Tifanny; Houthuijs, Danny; Lebret, Erik

2014-11-01

We conducted a multi-country study to estimate the perceived economic values of traffic-related air pollution and noise health risks within the framework of a large European project. We used contingent valuation as a method to assess the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for both types of pollutants simultaneously. We asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay annually to avoid certain health risks from specific pollutants. Three sets of vignettes with different levels of information were provided prior to the WTP questions. These vignettes described qualitative general health risks, a quantitative single health risk related to a pollutant, and a quantitative scenario of combined health risks related to a pollutant. The mean WTP estimates to avoid road-traffic air pollution effects for the three vignettes were: €130 per person per year (pp/y) for general health risks, €80 pp/y for a half year shorter in life expectancy, and €330 pp/y to a 50% decrease in road-traffic air pollution. Their medians were €40 pp/y, €10 pp/y and €50 pp/y, respectively. The mean WTP estimates to avoid road-traffic noise effects for the three vignettes were: €90 pp/y for general health risks, €100 pp/y for a 13% increase in severe annoyance, and €320 pp/y for a combined-risk scenario related to an increase of a noise level from 50 dB to 65 dB. Their medians were €20 pp/y, €20 pp/y and €50 pp/y, respectively. Risk perceptions and attitudes as well as environmental and pollutant concerns significantly affected WTP estimates. The observed differences in crude WTP estimates between countries changed considerably when perception-related variables were included in the WTP regression models. For this reason, great care should be taken when performing benefit transfer from studies in one country to another. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Practical ranges of loudness levels of various types of environmental noise, including traffic noise, aircraft noise, and industrial noise.

PubMed

Salomons, Erik M; Janssen, Sabine A

2011-06-01

In environmental noise control one commonly employs the A-weighted sound level as an approximate measure of the effect of noise on people. A measure that is more closely related to direct human perception of noise is the loudness level. At constant A-weighted sound level, the loudness level of a noise signal varies considerably with the shape of the frequency spectrum of the noise signal. In particular the bandwidth of the spectrum has a large effect on the loudness level, due to the effect of critical bands in the human hearing system. The low-frequency content of the spectrum also has an effect on the loudness level. In this note the relation between loudness level and A-weighted sound level is analyzed for various environmental noise spectra, including spectra of traffic noise, aircraft noise, and industrial noise. From loudness levels calculated for these environmental noise spectra, diagrams are constructed that show the relation between loudness level, A-weighted sound level, and shape of the spectrum. The diagrams show that the upper limits of the loudness level for broadband environmental noise spectra are about 20 to 40 phon higher than the lower limits for narrowband spectra, which correspond to the loudness levels of pure tones. The diagrams are useful for assessing limitations and potential improvements of environmental noise control methods and policy based on A-weighted sound levels.

Long-term exposure to road traffic noise, ambient air pollution, and cardiovascular risk factors in the HUNT and lifelines cohorts.

PubMed

Cai, Yutong; Hansell, Anna L; Blangiardo, Marta; Burton, Paul R; de Hoogh, Kees; Doiron, Dany; Fortier, Isabel; Gulliver, John; Hveem, Kristian; Mbatchou, Stéphane; Morley, David W; Stolk, Ronald P; Zijlema, Wilma L; Elliott, Paul; Hodgson, Susan

2017-08-01

Blood biochemistry may provide information on associations between road traffic noise, air pollution, and cardiovascular disease risk. We evaluated this in two large European cohorts (HUNT3, Lifelines). Road traffic noise exposure was modelled for 2009 using a simplified version of the Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe (CNOSSOS-EU). Annual ambient air pollution (PM10, NO2) at residence was estimated for 2007 using a Land Use Regression model. The statistical platform DataSHIELD was used to pool data from 144 082 participants aged ≥20 years to enable individual-level analysis. Generalized linear models were fitted to assess cross-sectional associations between pollutants and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), blood lipids and for (Lifelines only) fasting blood glucose, for samples taken during recruitment in 2006-2013. Pooling both cohorts, an inter-quartile range (IQR) higher day-time noise (5.1 dB(A)) was associated with 1.1% [95% confidence interval (95% CI: 0.02-2.2%)] higher hsCRP, 0.7% (95% CI: 0.3-1.1%) higher triglycerides, and 0.5% (95% CI: 0.3-0.7%) higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL); only the association with HDL was robust to adjustment for air pollution. An IQR higher PM10 (2.0 µg/m3) or NO2 (7.4 µg/m3) was associated with higher triglycerides (1.9%, 95% CI: 1.5-2.4% and 2.2%, 95% CI: 1.6-2.7%), independent of adjustment for noise. Additionally for NO2, a significant association with hsCRP (1.9%, 95% CI: 0.5-3.3%) was seen. In Lifelines, an IQR higher noise (4.2 dB(A)) and PM10 (2.4 µg/m3) was associated with 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1-0.3%) and 0.6% (95% CI: 0.4-0.7%) higher fasting glucose respectively, with both remaining robust to adjustment for air/noise pollution. Long-term exposures to road traffic noise and ambient air pollution were associated with blood biochemistry, providing a possible link between road traffic noise/air pollution and cardio-metabolic disease risk. Published on behalf of the European Society of

Study of noise pollution for three consecutive years during Deepawali festival in Meerut City, Uttar Pradesh (India).

PubMed

Singh, Digvijay; Joshi, B D

2012-07-01

The present paper deals with monitoring of noise pollution at different places of Meerut City (India) on the night of Deepawali festival. During the present study the noise levels were measured with the help of sound meter. The noise pollution is decreasing considerably for the last three years and it is recorded minimum in 2009 as compared to 2008 and 2007. The main reason of this decrement is the growing environmental awareness in the people of Meerut City. Needless to say, students of most of the school in Meerut City now prefer to celebrate Deepawali, festival of lights without sound and smoke. The campaign for eco-friendly Deepawali is expected to catch on with people in Meerut City which has already demonstrated its commitment towards environment conservation. Mainly fire crackers are used during Deepawali. The present paper is an attempt to create awareness among the people of Meerut City about the bitter truth of fire crackers.

Impact of London's road traffic air and noise pollution on birth weight: retrospective population based cohort study

PubMed Central

Smith, Rachel B; Fecht, Daniela; Gulliver, John; Beevers, Sean D; Dajnak, David; Blangiardo, Marta; Ghosh, Rebecca E; Hansell, Anna L; Kelly, Frank J; Anderson, H Ross

2017-01-01

Abstract Objective To investigate the relation between exposure to both air and noise pollution from road traffic and birth weight outcomes. Design Retrospective population based cohort study. Setting Greater London and surrounding counties up to the M25 motorway (2317 km2), UK, from 2006 to 2010. Participants 540 365 singleton term live births. Main outcome measures Term low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) at term, and term birth weight. Results Average air pollutant exposures across pregnancy were 41 μg/m3 nitrogen dioxide (NO2), 73 μg/m3 nitrogen oxides (NOx), 14 μg/m3 particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5), 23 μg/m3 particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10), and 32 μg/m3 ozone (O3). Average daytime (LAeq,16hr) and night-time (Lnight) road traffic A-weighted noise levels were 58 dB and 53 dB respectively. Interquartile range increases in NO2, NOx, PM2.5, PM10, and source specific PM2.5 from traffic exhaust (PM2.5 traffic exhaust) and traffic non-exhaust (brake or tyre wear and resuspension) (PM2.5 traffic non-exhaust) were associated with 2% to 6% increased odds of term LBW, and 1% to 3% increased odds of term SGA. Air pollutant associations were robust to adjustment for road traffic noise. Trends of decreasing birth weight across increasing road traffic noise categories were observed, but were strongly attenuated when adjusted for primary traffic related air pollutants. Only PM2.5 traffic exhaust and PM2.5 were consistently associated with increased risk of term LBW after adjustment for each of the other air pollutants. It was estimated that 3% of term LBW cases in London are directly attributable to residential exposure to PM2.5>13.8 μg/m3during pregnancy. Conclusions The findings suggest that air pollution from road traffic in London is adversely affecting fetal growth. The results suggest little evidence for an independent exposure-response effect of traffic related noise on birth weight

Occupational noise exposure and hearing levels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ambasankaran, M.; Brahmachari, D.; Chadda, V.K.

1981-07-01

A study was made at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center to measure the hearing levels of persons working in a noise environment. Two different workplaces, central air-conditioning plant and glass blowing shops, where a number of persons were exposed to noise levels exceeding 85 dB(A) were chosen. The occupational exposure to noise was determined using a sound level meter, an octave band filter and a personal noise dose meter. The hearing levels of persons exposed to these high levels of noise and a control group not exposed to occupational noise were measured by means of a pure-tone audiometer in amore » specially-built booth. These persons, aged between 20 to 60 years, were divided into four age groups for the study. The low ambient noise levels in the booth were measured using correlation technique since such low signals cannot be detected by an ordinary sound level meter. The audiometric findings and the results of the noise level survey are discussed in this paper.« less

Determination of noise pollution on university campuses: a case study at Çukurova University campus in Turkey.

PubMed

Çolakkadıoğlu, Deniz; Yücel, Muzaffer; Kahveci, Barış; Aydınol, Özüm

2018-03-09

The aims of this study are to identify via harnessing noise mapping the effects of noise pollution at Çukurova University campus on the academic setting and to reveal the obtained change values in noise pollution on the campus during the period 2010-2017. In line with these aims, the first step has been to map the highway-induced environmental noise on Çukurova University campus during daytime (07:00-19:00) and evening (19:00-23:00) hours by employing SoundPLAN 7.3 software. Traffic-induced noise distribution maps for years 2010 and 2017 on the campus were analyzed by threshold values stipulated by the Regulation on Environmental Noise Assessment and Management that is compliance with the European Union Directive on Environmental Noise (2002/49/EC) and after the conducted analyses, traffic-induced environmental noise measured on Çukurova University campus since the past to that date was identified in terms of spatial change. The Regulation defines threshold values, namely, (1) 65 dB(A) for daytime from 07:01 to 19:00, (2) 60 dB(A) for evening-from 19:01 to 23:00, (3) 55 dB(A) for night time-from 23:01 to 07:00. It was then identified in the research area that faculty buildings of Science and Letters, Engineering, Architecture, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Dentistry, Faculty of Law, and Communication devoid of any vegetation space to set a barrier between emission-source highway and front walls of buildings facing the roadside were the structures most severely exposed to the noise. In the research area, the comparison of year 2017 noise distribution with respect to year 2010 manifested that the regions exposed to noise value 35 dB(A) and below, 35-45 dB(A), and 45-55 dB(A) levels decreased while a proportional increase was detected in regions exposed to 60 dB(A) noise value that is close to the legal threshold value and noise level above 65 dB(A).

Traffic-Related Air Pollution, Noise at School, and Behavioral Problems in Barcelona Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Forns, Joan; Dadvand, Payam; Foraster, Maria; Alvarez-Pedrerol, Mar; Rivas, Ioar; López-Vicente, Mònica; Suades-Gonzalez, Elisabet; Garcia-Esteban, Raquel; Esnaola, Mikel; Cirach, Marta; Grellier, James; Basagaña, Xavier; Querol, Xavier; Guxens, Mònica; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Sunyer, Jordi

2016-04-01

The available evidence of the effects of air pollution and noise on behavioral development is limited, and it overlooks exposure at schools, where children spend a considerable amount of time. We aimed to investigate the associations of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) and noise at school on behavioral development of schoolchildren. We evaluated children 7-11 years of age in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) during 2012-2013 within the BREATHE project. Indoor and outdoor concentrations of elemental carbon (EC), black carbon (BC), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were measured at schools in two separate 1-week campaigns. In one campaign we also measured noise levels inside classrooms. Parents filled out the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to assess child behavioral development, while teachers completed the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder criteria of the DSM-IV (ADHD-DSM-IV) list to assess specific ADHD symptomatology. Negative binomial mixed-effects models were used to estimate associations between the exposures and behavioral development scores. Interquartile range (IQR) increases in indoor and outdoor EC, BC, and NO2 concentrations were positively associated with SDQ total difficulties scores (suggesting more frequent behavioral problems) in adjusted multivariate models, whereas noise was significantly associated with ADHD-DSM-IV scores. In our study population of 7- to 11-year-old children residing in Barcelona, exposure to TRAPs at school was associated with increased behavioral problems in schoolchildren. Noise exposure at school was associated with more ADHD symptoms. Forns J, Dadvand P, Foraster M, Alvarez-Pedrerol M, Rivas I, López-Vicente M, Suades-Gonzalez E, Garcia-Esteban R, Esnaola M, Cirach M, Grellier J, Basagaña X, Querol X, Guxens M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Sunyer J. 2016. Traffic-related air pollution, noise at school, and behavioral problems in Barcelona schoolchildren: a cross-sectional study. Environ Health Perspect

Associations between traffic noise, particulate air pollution, hypertension, and isolated systolic hypertension in adults: the KORA study.

PubMed

Babisch, Wolfgang; Wolf, Kathrin; Petz, Markus; Heinrich, Joachim; Cyrys, Josef; Peters, Annette

2014-05-01

Studies on the association between traffic noise and cardiovascular diseases have rarely considered air pollution as a covariate in the analyses. Isolated systolic hypertension has not yet been in the focus of epidemiological noise research. The association between traffic noise (road and rail) and the prevalence of hypertension was assessed in two study populations with a total of 4,166 participants 25-74 years of age. Traffic noise (weighted day-night average noise level; LDN) at the facade of the dwellings was derived from noise maps. Annual average PM2.5 mass concentrations at residential addresses were estimated by land-use regression. Hypertension was assessed by blood pressure readings, self-reported doctor-diagnosed hypertension, and antihypertensive drug intake. In the Greater Augsburg, Germany, study population, traffic noise and air pollution were not associated with hypertension. In the City of Augsburg population (n = 1,893), where the exposure assessment was more detailed, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for a 10-dB(A) increase in noise was 1.16 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.35), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.30) after additional adjustment for PM2.5. The adjusted OR for a 1-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 was 1.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.30), and 1.11 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.27) after additional adjustment for noise. For isolated systolic hypertension, the fully adjusted OR for noise was 1.43 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.86) and for PM2.5 was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.34). Traffic noise and PM2.5 were both associated with a higher prevalence of hypertension. Mutually adjusted associations with hypertension were positive but no longer statistically significant.

Do outdoor environmental noise and atmospheric NO2 levels spatially overlap in urban areas?

PubMed

Tenailleau, Quentin M; Bernard, Nadine; Pujol, Sophie; Parmentier, Anne-Laure; Boilleaut, Mathieu; Houot, Hélène; Joly, Daniel; Mauny, Frédéric

2016-07-01

The urban environment holds numerous emission sources for air and noise pollution, creating optimum conditions for environmental multi-exposure situations. Evaluation of the joint-exposure levels is the main obstacle for multi-exposure studies and one of the biggest challenges of the next decade. The present study aims to describe the noise/NO2 multi-exposure situations in the urban environment by exploring the possible discordant and concordant situations of both exposures. Fine-scale diffusion models were developed in the European medium-sized city of Besançon (France), and a classification method was used to evaluate the multi-exposure situations in the façade perimeter of 10,825 buildings. Although correlated (Pearson's r = 0.64, p < 0.01), urban spatial distributions of the noise and NO2 around buildings do not overlap, and 30% of the buildings were considered to be discordant in terms of the noise and NO2 exposure levels. This discrepancy is spatially structured and associated with variables describing the building's environment. Our results support the presence of several co-existing, multi-exposure situations across the city impacted by both the urban morphology and the emission and diffusion/propagation phases of each pollutant. Identifying the mechanisms of discrepancy and convergence of multi-exposure situations could help improve the health risk assessment and public health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short term effect of air pollution, noise and heat waves on preterm births in Madrid (Spain).

PubMed

Arroyo, Virginia; Díaz, Julio; Ortiz, Cristina; Carmona, Rocío; Sáez, Marc; Linares, Cristina

2016-02-01

Preterm birth (PTB) refers to delivery before 37 weeks of gestation and represents the leading cause of early-life mortality and morbidity in developed countries. PTB can lead to serious infant health outcomes. The etiology of PTB remains uncertain, but epidemiologic studies have consistently shown elevated risks with different environmental variables as traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). The aim of the study was to evaluate with time series methodology the short-term effect of air pollutants, noise levels and ambient temperature on the number of births and preterm births occurred in Madrid City during the 2001-2009 period. A time-series analysis was performed to assess the short term impact of daily mean concentrations (µg/m(3)) of PM2.5 and PM10, O3 and NO2. Measurements of Acoustic Pollution in dB(A) analyzed were: Leqd, equivalent diurnal noise level and Leqn, equivalent nocturnal noise level. Maximum and Minimum daily temperature (°C), mean Humidity in the air (%) and Atmospheric Pressure (HPa), were included too. Linear trends, seasonality, as well as the autoregressive nature of the series itself were controlled. We added as covariate the day of the week too. Autoregressive over-dispersed Poisson regression models were performed and the environmental variables were included with short-term lags (from 0 to 7 days) in reference to the date of birth. Firstly, simple models for the total number of births and preterm births were done separately. In a second stage, a model for total births adjusted for preterm births was performed. A total of 298,705 births were analyzed. The results of the final models were expressed in relative risks (RRs) for interquartile increase. We observed evidence of a short term effect at Lag 0, for the following environmental variables analyzed, PM2.5 (RR: 1.020; 95% CI:(1.008 1.032)) and O3 (RR: 1.012; 95% CI:(1.002 1.022)) concentrations and Leqd (RR: 1.139; 95% CI:( (1.124 1.154)) for the total number of births, and besides

Association of long-term exposure to community noise and traffic-related air pollution with coronary heart disease mortality.

PubMed

Gan, Wen Qi; Davies, Hugh W; Koehoorn, Mieke; Brauer, Michael

2012-05-01

In metropolitan areas, road traffic is a major contributor to ambient air pollution and the dominant source of community noise. The authors investigated the independent and joint influences of community noise and traffic-related air pollution on risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality in a population-based cohort study with a 5-year exposure period (January 1994-December 1998) and a 4-year follow-up period (January 1999-December 2002). Individuals who were 45-85 years of age and resided in metropolitan Vancouver, Canada, during the exposure period and did not have known CHD at baseline were included (n = 445,868). Individual exposures to community noise and traffic-related air pollutants, including black carbon, particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter, nitrogen dioxide, and nitric oxide, were estimated at each person's residence using a noise prediction model and land-use regression models, respectively. CHD deaths were identified from the provincial death registration database. After adjustment for potential confounders, including traffic-related air pollutants or noise, elevations in noise and black carbon equal to the interquartile ranges were associated with 6% (95% confidence interval: 1, 11) and 4% (95% confidence interval: 1, 8) increases, respectively, in CHD mortality. Subjects in the highest noise decile had a 22% (95% confidence interval: 4, 43) increase in CHD mortality compared with persons in the lowest decile. These findings suggest that there are independent effects of traffic-related noise and air pollution on CHD mortality.

Voluntary Noise Mapping for Smart City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poslončec-Petrić, V.; Vuković, V.; Frangeš, S.; Bačić, Ž.

2016-09-01

One of the main concept objectives of smart cities is to create a quality living environment that is long-term sustainable and economically justified. In that context, modern cities are aware of the exposure to various forms of physical and non-physical pollution that needs to be remediated, eliminated or reduced. To achieve that it is necessary to quality determine the sources and reasons of each pollution. The most prominent examples of physical pollution that affects the quality of life of citizens in cities are light and noise pollution. Noise pollution or noise, is mostly the consequence of road and rail traffic in cities and it directly affects the health of citizens. Traffic control, reduction of peak congestion, dispersion and traffic redirection or building protective barriers, are ways that cities use to reduce the amount of noise or its effects. To make these measures efficient it is necessary to obtain the information related to the level of noise in certain areas, streets, cities. To achieve this, smart cities use noise mapping. The city of Zagreb since 2012, participates in the i-SCOPE project (interoperable Smart City services trough Open Platform for urban Ecosystems). i-SCOPE delivers an open platform on top of which it develops, three "smart city" services: optimization of energy consumption through a service for accurate assessment of solar energy potential and energy loss at building level, environmental monitoring through a real-time environmental noise mapping service leveraging citizen's involvement will who act as distributed sensors city-wide measuring noise levels through an application on their mobile phones and improved inclusion and personal mobility of aging and diversely able citizens through an accurate personal routing service. The students of Faculty of Geodesy University of Zagreb, who enrolled in the course Thematic Cartography, were actively involved in the voluntary data acquisition in order to monitor the noise in real time

Impact of London's road traffic air and noise pollution on birth weight: retrospective population based cohort study.

PubMed

Smith, Rachel B; Fecht, Daniela; Gulliver, John; Beevers, Sean D; Dajnak, David; Blangiardo, Marta; Ghosh, Rebecca E; Hansell, Anna L; Kelly, Frank J; Anderson, H Ross; Toledano, Mireille B

2017-12-05

Objective  To investigate the relation between exposure to both air and noise pollution from road traffic and birth weight outcomes. Design  Retrospective population based cohort study. Setting  Greater London and surrounding counties up to the M25 motorway (2317 km 2 ), UK, from 2006 to 2010. Participants  540 365 singleton term live births. Main outcome measures  Term low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) at term, and term birth weight. Results  Average air pollutant exposures across pregnancy were 41 μg/m 3 nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), 73 μg/m 3 nitrogen oxides (NO x ), 14 μg/m 3 particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), 23 μg/m 3 particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM 10 ), and 32 μg/m 3 ozone (O 3 ). Average daytime (L Aeq,16hr ) and night-time (L night ) road traffic A-weighted noise levels were 58 dB and 53 dB respectively. Interquartile range increases in NO 2 , NO x , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and source specific PM 2.5 from traffic exhaust (PM 2.5 traffic exhaust ) and traffic non-exhaust (brake or tyre wear and resuspension) (PM 2.5 traffic non-exhaust ) were associated with 2% to 6% increased odds of term LBW, and 1% to 3% increased odds of term SGA. Air pollutant associations were robust to adjustment for road traffic noise. Trends of decreasing birth weight across increasing road traffic noise categories were observed, but were strongly attenuated when adjusted for primary traffic related air pollutants. Only PM 2.5 traffic exhaust and PM 2.5 were consistently associated with increased risk of term LBW after adjustment for each of the other air pollutants. It was estimated that 3% of term LBW cases in London are directly attributable to residential exposure to PM 2.5 >13.8 μg/m 3 during pregnancy. Conclusions  The findings suggest that air pollution from road traffic in London is adversely affecting fetal growth. The results suggest little evidence for an independent exposure

Computer program to predict aircraft noise levels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, B. J.

1981-01-01

Methods developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center for predicting the noise contributions from various aircraft noise sources were programmed to predict aircraft noise levels either in flight or in ground tests. The noise sources include fan inlet and exhaust, jet, flap (for powered lift), core (combustor), turbine, and airframe. Noise propagation corrections are available for atmospheric attenuation, ground reflections, extra ground attenuation, and shielding. Outputs can include spectra, overall sound pressure level, perceived noise level, tone-weighted perceived noise level, and effective perceived noise level at locations specified by the user. Footprint contour coordinates and approximate footprint areas can also be calculated. Inputs and outputs can be in either System International or U.S. customary units. The subroutines for each noise source and propagation correction are described. A complete listing is given.

Noise levels in PICU: an evaluative study.

PubMed

Bailey, Elizabeth; Timmons, Stephen

2005-12-01

High levels of noise in the hospital environment can have an impact on patients and staff increasing both recovery time and stress respectively. When our seven-bedded paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is full, noise levels seem to increase significantly. This study measured noise levels at various times and places within a PICU using Tenma sound level meter which simulates the subjective response of a human ear. Noise levels were often excessive, exceeding international guidelines. Staff conversation was responsible for most of the noise produced; medical equipment, patient interventions, telephones, doorbell and the air shoot system were also responsible for causing high levels of noise. More can be done to reduce noise and its effects on patients and staff.

Ambient air pollution and annoyance responses from pregnant women

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llop, Sabrina; Ballester, Ferran; Estarlich, Marisa; Esplugues, Ana; Fernández-Patier, Rosalia; Ramón, Rosa; Marco, Alfredo; Aguirre, Amelia; Sunyer, Jordi; Iñiguez, Carmen; INMA-Valencia cohort

ObjectivesTo describe the degree of annoyance caused by air pollution and noise in pregnant women in a birth cohort; to determine the modifying factors and their relation with exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2). MethodsThe study population was 855 pregnant women in Valencia, Spain. Annoyance caused by air pollution and noise, and explanatory factors were obtained from 786 pregnant women through a questionnaire. NO 2 levels were determined combining measurements at 93 points within the area of study and using geostatistical techniques (kriging). ResultsIn all 7.9% of the women reported high annoyance caused by air pollution and 13.1% high annoyance caused by noise. There was a significant difference in the degree of annoyance due to both air pollution and noise depending on the area where the women lived and their working status. The degree of annoyance correlated better with measured NO 2 at the municipality level (air pollution: r=0.53; noise: r=0.44) than at the individual level (air pollution and noise: r=0.21). On multivariate analysis, being a housewife, higher NO 2 levels and high traffic density were associated with higher degrees of annoyance. ConclusionsThere was a high percentage of women who perceived medium-high annoyance due to noise and air pollution. Annoyance caused by environmental pollutants could lead to some psychological effects, which impair the quality of life, or even physiological ones, which affect prenatal development.

Effects of active noise reduction on noise levels at the tympanic membrane.

PubMed

Wagstaff, A S; Woxen, O J; Andersen, H T

1998-06-01

Active noise reduction (ANR) is an electronic system that works by continuous sampling of noise inside the earshell of the headset with a small microphone. This signal is inverted in phase through the headset speaker, thus reducing noise levels by destructive interference of the acoustic field. The system provides good low-frequency noise attenuation, but aircrew differ in their subjective opinion of ANR. The present study is an attempt to provide an objective assessment of the effect of ANR on noise levels at the tympanic membrane. There were 7 subjects with normal ears who were placed in an environment of recorded noise from a BO-105 helicopter. A microphone probe was inserted to within 5 mm of the tympanic membrane of each subject's right ear. Noise levels in the ear were measured without a headset and with two different ANR headsets. Measurements were performed with and without the ANR system on, and with and without white noise through the headset communication system. The white noise was used to simulate aircraft communication noise. The two headsets tested had differing levels of passive and active attenuation. The ANR system produced a substantial low-frequency attenuation. However, noise levels in the mid frequencies increased somewhat when the ANR system was switched on. This effect was augmented when white noise in the communications system was introduced, particularly for one of the two headsets. Low-frequency noise attenuation of ANR systems is substantial, but an increased mid- and high-frequency noise level caused by the ANR may affect both communication and overall noise levels. Our data provide advice on what factors should be taken into account when ANR is evaluated for use in an aviation operational environment.

Noise in restaurants: levels and mathematical model.

PubMed

To, Wai Ming; Chung, Andy

2014-01-01

Noise affects the dining atmosphere and is an occupational hazard to restaurant service employees worldwide. This paper examines the levels of noise in dining areas during peak hours in different types of restaurants in Hong Kong SAR, China. A mathematical model that describes the noise level in a restaurant is presented. The 1-h equivalent continuous noise level (L(eq,1-h)) was measured using a Type-1 precision integral sound level meter while the occupancy density, the floor area of the dining area, and the ceiling height of each of the surveyed restaurants were recorded. It was found that the measured noise levels using Leq,1-h ranged from 67.6 to 79.3 dBA in Chinese restaurants, from 69.1 to 79.1 dBA in fast food restaurants, and from 66.7 to 82.6 dBA in Western restaurants. Results of the analysis of variance show that there were no significant differences between means of the measured noise levels among different types of restaurants. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed to determine the relationships between geometrical and operational parameters and the measured noise levels. Results of the regression analysis show that the measured noise levels depended on the levels of occupancy density only. By reconciling the measured noise levels and the mathematical model, it was found that people in restaurants increased their voice levels when the occupancy density increased. Nevertheless, the maximum measured hourly noise level indicated that the noise exposure experienced by restaurant service employees was below the regulated daily noise exposure value level of 85 dBA.

High Blood Pressure and Long-Term Exposure to Indoor Noise and Air Pollution from Road Traffic

PubMed Central

Künzli, Nino; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Rivera, Marcela; Agis, David; Vila, Joan; Bouso, Laura; Deltell, Alexandre; Marrugat, Jaume; Ramos, Rafel; Sunyer, Jordi; Elosua, Roberto; Basagaña, Xavier

2014-01-01

Background: Traffic noise has been associated with prevalence of hypertension, but reports are inconsistent for blood pressure (BP). To ascertain noise effects and to disentangle them from those suspected to be from traffic-related air pollution, it may be essential to estimate people’s noise exposure indoors in bedrooms. Objectives: We analyzed associations between long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise in bedrooms and prevalent hypertension and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP, considering long-term exposure to outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Methods: We evaluated 1,926 cohort participants at baseline (years 2003–2006; Girona, Spain). Outdoor annual average levels of nighttime traffic noise (Lnight) and NO2 were estimated at postal addresses with a detailed traffic noise model and a land-use regression model, respectively. Individual indoor traffic Lnight levels were derived from outdoor Lnight with application of insulations provided by reported noise-reducing factors. We assessed associations for hypertension and BP with multi-exposure logistic and linear regression models, respectively. Results: Median levels were 27.1 dB(A) (indoor Lnight), 56.7 dB(A) (outdoor Lnight), and 26.8 μg/m3 (NO2). Spearman correlations between outdoor and indoor Lnight with NO2 were 0.75 and 0.23, respectively. Indoor Lnight was associated both with hypertension (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.13) and SBP (β = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.29, 1.15) per 5 dB(A); and NO2 was associated with hypertension (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.36), SBP (β = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.21, 2.25), and DBP (β⊇= 0.56; 95% CI: –0.03, 1.14) per 10 μg/m3. In the outdoor noise model, Lnight was associated only with hypertension and NO2 with BP only. The indoor noise–SBP association was stronger and statistically significant with a threshold at 30 dB(A). Conclusion: Long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise was associated with prevalent hypertension and SBP, independently of NO2. Associations were less

Guardrail installation noise level evaluation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-06-01

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Environmental Services Unit evaluates the impacts of noise and mitigation of noise issues. ODOT currently requires noise level evaluation for proposed construction projects when threatened or endangered ...

Noise pollution resources compendium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A compendium is presented of documents on noise. The articles presented are categorized in the following sections: noise sources, noise detection and measurement, noise abatement and control, physical effects of noise, psychological and physiological effects of noise, noise regulations and standards, patents and contracts, and noise research.

Disturbance caused by aircraft noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Josse, R.

1980-01-01

Noise pollution caused by the presence of airfields adjacent to residential areas is studied. Noise effects on the sleep of residents near airports and the degree of the residents noise tolerance are evaluated. What aircraft noises are annoying and to what extent the annoyance varies with sound level are discussed.

Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA): study design and noise exposure assessment.

PubMed

Jarup, Lars; Dudley, Marie-Louise; Babisch, Wolfgang; Houthuijs, Danny; Swart, Wim; Pershagen, Göran; Bluhm, Gösta; Katsouyanni, Klea; Velonakis, Manolis; Cadum, Ennio; Vigna-Taglianti, Federica

2005-11-01

An increasing number of people live near airports with considerable noise and air pollution. The Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports (HYENA) project aims to assess the impact of airport-related noise exposure on blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease using a cross-sectional study design. We selected 6,000 persons (45-70 years of age) who had lived at least 5 years near one of six major European airports. We used modeled aircraft noise contours, aiming to maximize exposure contrast. Automated BP instruments are used to reduce observer error. We designed a standardized questionnaire to collect data on annoyance, noise disturbance, and major confounders. Cortisol in saliva was collected in a subsample of the study population (n = 500) stratified by noise exposure level. To investigate short-term noise effects on BP and possible effects on nighttime BP dipping, we measured 24-hr BP and assessed continuous night noise in another subsample (n = 200). To ensure comparability between countries, we used common noise models to assess individual noise exposure, with a resolution of 1 dB(A). Modifiers of individual exposure, such as the orientation of living and bedroom toward roads, window-opening habits, and sound insulation, were assessed by the questionnaire. For four airports, we estimated exposure to air pollution to explore modifying effects of air pollution on cardiovascular disease. The project assesses exposure to traffic-related air pollutants, primarily using data from another project funded by the European Union (APMoSPHERE, Air Pollution Modelling for Support to Policy on Health and Environmental Risks in Europe).

Noise Level Determination in Forestry Machines

Treesearch

Fernando Seixas; Rafael Alex Barbosa; Robert Rummer

1999-01-01

Until recently, the high noise level of many forestry machines presented an occupational risk of hearing loss for operators exposed over a long period of time. This is a serious health and, occupational safety problem, with different. regulations in various countries concerning noise levels and exposure time allowed. This study evaluated the noise level of sixteen...

Estimation of signal-dependent noise level function in transform domain via a sparse recovery model.

PubMed

Yang, Jingyu; Gan, Ziqiao; Wu, Zhaoyang; Hou, Chunping

2015-05-01

This paper proposes a novel algorithm to estimate the noise level function (NLF) of signal-dependent noise (SDN) from a single image based on the sparse representation of NLFs. Noise level samples are estimated from the high-frequency discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of nonlocal-grouped low-variation image patches. Then, an NLF recovery model based on the sparse representation of NLFs under a trained basis is constructed to recover NLF from the incomplete noise level samples. Confidence levels of the NLF samples are incorporated into the proposed model to promote reliable samples and weaken unreliable ones. We investigate the behavior of the estimation performance with respect to the block size, sampling rate, and confidence weighting. Simulation results on synthetic noisy images show that our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art schemes. The proposed method is evaluated on real noisy images captured by three types of commodity imaging devices, and shows consistently excellent SDN estimation performance. The estimated NLFs are incorporated into two well-known denoising schemes, nonlocal means and BM3D, and show significant improvements in denoising SDN-polluted images.

The role of traffic noise on the association between air pollution and children's lung function.

PubMed

Franklin, Meredith; Fruin, Scott

2017-08-01

Although it has been shown that traffic-related air pollution adversely affects children's lung function, few studies have examined the influence of traffic noise on this association, despite both sharing a common source. Estimates of noise exposure (L dn, dB), and freeway and non-freeway emission concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NO x , ppb) were spatially assigned to children in Southern California who were tested for forced vital capacity (FVC, n=1345), forced expiratory volume in 1s, (FEV 1, n=1332), and asthma. The associations between traffic-related NO x and these outcomes, with and without adjustment for noise, were examined using mixed effects models. Adjustment for noise strengthened the association between NO x and reduced lung function. A 14.5mL (95% CI -40.0, 11.0mL) decrease in FVC per interquartile range (13.6 ppb) in freeway NO x was strengthened to a 34.6mL decrease after including a non-linear function of noise (95% CI -66.3, -2.78mL). Similarly, a 6.54mL decrease in FEV 1 (95% CI -28.3, 15.3mL) was strengthened to a 21.1mL decrease (95% CI -47.6, 5.51) per interquartile range in freeway NO x . Our results indicate that where possible, noise should be included in epidemiological studies of the association between traffic-related air pollution on lung function. Without taking noise into account, the detrimental effects of traffic-related pollution may be underestimated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Associations between maternal exposure to air pollution and traffic noise and newborn's size at birth: A cohort study.

PubMed

Hjortebjerg, Dorrit; Andersen, Anne Marie Nybo; Ketzel, Matthias; Pedersen, Marie; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Sørensen, Mette

2016-10-01

Maternal exposure to air pollution and traffic noise has been suggested to impair fetal growth, but studies have reported inconsistent findings. Objective To investigate associations between residential air pollution and traffic noise during pregnancy and newborn's size at birth. From a national birth cohort we identified 75,166 live-born singletons born at term with information on the children's size at birth. Residential address history from conception until birth was collected and air pollution (NO2 and NOx) and road traffic noise was modeled at all addresses. Associations between exposures and indicators of newborn's size at birth: birth weight, placental weight and head and abdominal circumference were analyzed by linear and logistic regression, and adjusted for potential confounders. In mutually adjusted models we found a 10μg/m(3) higher time-weighted mean exposure to NO2 during pregnancy to be associated with a 0.35mm smaller head circumference (95% confidence interval (CI): 95% CI: -0.57; -0.12); a 0.50mm smaller abdominal circumference (95% CI: -0.80; -0.20) and a 5.02g higher placental weight (95% CI: 2.93; 7.11). No associations were found between air pollution and birth weight. Exposure to residential road traffic noise was weakly associated with reduced head circumference, whereas none of the other newborn's size indicators were associated with noise, neither before nor after adjustment for air pollution. This study indicates that air pollution may result in a small reduction in offspring's birth head and abdominal circumference, but not birth weight, whereas traffic noise seems not to affect newborn's size at birth. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Noise Pollution Filters Bird Communities Based on Vocal Frequency

PubMed Central

Francis, Clinton D.; Ortega, Catherine P.; Cruz, Alexander

2011-01-01

Background Human-generated noise pollution now permeates natural habitats worldwide, presenting evolutionarily novel acoustic conditions unprecedented to most landscapes. These acoustics not only harm humans, but threaten wildlife, and especially birds, via changes to species densities, foraging behavior, reproductive success, and predator-prey interactions. Explanations for negative effects of noise on birds include disruption of acoustic communication through energetic masking, potentially forcing species that rely upon acoustic communication to abandon otherwise suitable areas. However, this hypothesis has not been adequately tested because confounding stimuli often co-vary with noise and are difficult to separate from noise exposure. Methodology/Principal Findings Using a natural experiment that controls for confounding stimuli, we evaluate whether species vocal features or urban-tolerance classifications explain their responses to noise measured through habitat use. Two data sets representing nesting and abundance responses reveal that noise filters bird communities nonrandomly. Signal duration and urban tolerance failed to explain species-specific responses, but birds with low-frequency signals that are more susceptible to masking from noise avoided noisy areas and birds with higher frequency vocalizations remained. Signal frequency was also negatively correlated with body mass, suggesting that larger birds may be more sensitive to noise due to the link between body size and vocal frequency. Conclusions/Significance Our findings suggest that acoustic masking by noise may be a strong selective force shaping the ecology of birds worldwide. Larger birds with lower frequency signals may be excluded from noisy areas, whereas smaller species persist via transmission of higher frequency signals. We discuss our findings as they relate to interspecific relationships among body size, vocal amplitude and frequency and suggest that they are immediately relevant to the

Traffic-Related Air Pollution, Noise at School, and Behavioral Problems in Barcelona Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Forns, Joan; Dadvand, Payam; Foraster, Maria; Alvarez-Pedrerol, Mar; Rivas, Ioar; López-Vicente, Mònica; Suades-Gonzalez, Elisabet; Garcia-Esteban, Raquel; Esnaola, Mikel; Cirach, Marta; Grellier, James; Basagaña, Xavier; Querol, Xavier; Guxens, Mònica; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.; Sunyer, Jordi

2015-01-01

Background: The available evidence of the effects of air pollution and noise on behavioral development is limited, and it overlooks exposure at schools, where children spend a considerable amount of time. Objective: We aimed to investigate the associations of exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) and noise at school on behavioral development of schoolchildren. Methods: We evaluated children 7–11 years of age in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) during 2012–2013 within the BREATHE project. Indoor and outdoor concentrations of elemental carbon (EC), black carbon (BC), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were measured at schools in two separate 1-week campaigns. In one campaign we also measured noise levels inside classrooms. Parents filled out the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) to assess child behavioral development, while teachers completed the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder criteria of the DSM-IV (ADHD-DSM-IV) list to assess specific ADHD symptomatology. Negative binomial mixed-effects models were used to estimate associations between the exposures and behavioral development scores. Results: Interquartile range (IQR) increases in indoor and outdoor EC, BC, and NO2 concentrations were positively associated with SDQ total difficulties scores (suggesting more frequent behavioral problems) in adjusted multivariate models, whereas noise was significantly associated with ADHD-DSM-IV scores. Conclusion: In our study population of 7- to 11-year-old children residing in Barcelona, exposure to TRAPs at school was associated with increased behavioral problems in schoolchildren. Noise exposure at school was associated with more ADHD symptoms. Citation: Forns J, Dadvand P, Foraster M, Alvarez-Pedrerol M, Rivas I, López-Vicente M, Suades-Gonzalez E, Garcia-Esteban R, Esnaola M, Cirach M, Grellier J, Basagaña X, Querol X, Guxens M, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ, Sunyer J. 2016. Traffic-related air pollution, noise at school, and behavioral problems in Barcelona

Critical assessment of day time traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata City, India.

PubMed

Kundu Chowdhury, Anirban; Debsarkar, Anupam; Chakrabarty, Shibnath

2015-01-01

The objective of the research work is to assess day time traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata city, India under heterogeneous environmental conditions. Prevailing traffic noise level in terms of A-weighted equivalent noise level (Leq) at the microenvironment was in excess of 12.6 ± 2.1 dB(A) from the day time standard of 65 dB(A) for commercial area recommended by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. Noise Climate and Traffic Noise Index of the microenvironment were accounted for 13 ± 1.8 dB(A) and 88.8 ± 6.1 dB(A) respectively. A correlation analysis explored that prevailing traffic noise level of the microenvironment had weak negative (-0.21; p < 0.01) and very weak positive (0.19; p < 0.01) correlation with air temperature and relative humidity. A Varimax rotated principal component analysis explored that motorized traffic volume had moderate positive loading with background noise component (L90, L95, L99) and prevailing traffic noise level had very strong positive loading with peak noise component (L1, L5, L10). Background and peak noise component cumulatively explained 80.98 % of variance in the data set. Traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment of Kolkata City was higher than the standard recommended by CPCB of India. It was highly annoying also. Air temperature and relative humidity had little influence and the peak noise component had the most significant influence on the prevailing traffic noise level at curbside open-air microenvironment. Therefore, traffic noise level at the microenvironment of the city can be reduced with careful honking and driving.

Long-term associations of modeled and self-reported measures of exposure to air pollution and noise at residence on prevalent hypertension and blood pressure.

PubMed

Pitchika, Anitha; Hampel, Regina; Wolf, Kathrin; Kraus, Ute; Cyrys, Josef; Babisch, Wolfgang; Peters, Annette; Schneider, Alexandra

2017-09-01

Air pollution, traffic noise and noise annoyance are suggested to be associated with hypertension and blood pressure (BP); however, the evidence remains inconsistent. Our study examined the long-term associations of modeled and self-reported measures of air pollution and traffic noise on prevalent hypertension and BP. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 2552 participants aged 31-72years from the KORA F4 (2006-2008) study conducted in the region of Augsburg, Germany. Land-use regression models were used to estimate residential long-term exposure to particulate matter <2.5μm (PM 2.5 ), soot content of PM 2.5 (PM 2.5 abs) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). Road traffic noise levels at the facade of the dwellings were estimated for the participants' residences. Participants filled-in a questionnaire on noise annoyance and heavy traffic passing their residence. Linear and logistic regression models adjusting for confounders were used to assess the association between exposure measures and hypertension and BP. An interquartile increase in annual mean PM 2.5 (1μg/m 3 ) was significantly associated with 15% higher prevalence of hypertension, without (95% CI: 2.5; 28.0%) and with (95% CI: 0.7; 30.8%) adjustment for traffic noise. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was associated with air pollutants and traffic noise with percent increases in mean of 0.7 (95% CI: 0.2; 1.2), 0.6 (95% CI: 0.1; 1.1) and 0.3 (95% CI: 0.0; 0.7) for an interquartile increase in PM 2.5 (1μg/m 3 ) and PM 2.5 abs (0.2∗10 -5 /m), and 5dB(A) increase in 24-hour road traffic noise, respectively. Associations of PM 2.5 abs and NO 2 with hypertension or DBP were stronger in men and diabetic individuals. No clear associations were seen with systolic BP or noise annoyance. In conclusion, self-reported measures of air pollution or noise did not perform better than the objective measures. Our findings provide further evidence for a link between air pollution, noise and cardiovascular disease and indicate a

Relationship between Aircraft Noise Contour Area and Noise Levels at Certification Points

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Powell, Clemans A.

2003-01-01

The use of sound exposure level contour area reduction has been proposed as an alternative or supplemental metric of progress and success for the NASA Quiet Aircraft Technology program, which currently uses the average of predicted noise reductions at three community locations. As the program has expanded to include reductions in airframe noise as well as reduction due to optimization of operating procedures for lower noise, there is concern that the three-point methodology may not represent a fair measure of benefit to airport communities. This paper addresses several topics related to this proposal: (1) an analytical basis for a relationship between certification noise levels and noise contour areas for departure operations is developed, (2) the relationship between predicted noise contour area and the noise levels measured or predicted at the certification measurement points is examined for a wide range of commercial and business aircraft, and (3) reductions in contour area for low-noise approach scenarios are predicted and equivalent reductions in source noise are determined.

Association between Noise Pollution and Prevalent Ischemic Heart Disease.

PubMed

Dzhambov, Angel M; Dimitrova, Donka D

2016-12-01

Noise pollution is considered a risk factor for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Both are highly prevalent in Bulgaria, but their association has not been studied sufficiently. The aim of the present study was to examine the risk of IHD associated with road traffic (Lden) and lifetime occupational noise exposure (LONE) in a Bulgarian sample. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 513 residents of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. A questionnaire asked about doctor-diagnosed IHD, LONE and confounding factors. Lden was derived from official noise map after geocoding participants' addresses. In log-link Poisson regressions we investigated the relative risks of prevalent IHD. Sensitivity analyses examined subgroup differences. Lden ≥ 65 dB was associated with higher risk (RR=1.84, 95% CI: 0.61, 5.57) of IHD in long-term residents (≥ 20 years). LONE was associated with RR=1.76 (0.82, 3.78) for ever-exposed; and RR=2.35 (1.00, 5.52) for 15 - 47 years exposure. Exposure to Lden≥65 dB was associated with non-significantly higher risk of IHD. Longer LONE was consistently associated with higher risk. In some subgroups the effect of noise was more pronounced.

Noise levels in an urban Asian school environment.

PubMed

Chan, Karen M K; Li, Chi Mei; Ma, Estella P M; Yiu, Edwin M L; McPherson, Bradley

2015-01-01

Background noise is known to adversely affect speech perception and speech recognition. High levels of background noise in school classrooms may affect student learning, especially for those pupils who are learning in a second language. The current study aimed to determine the noise level and teacher speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) in Hong Kong classrooms. Noise level was measured in 146 occupied classrooms in 37 schools, including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and special schools, in Hong Kong. The mean noise levels in occupied kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and special school classrooms all exceeded recommended maximum noise levels, and noise reduction measures were seldom used in classrooms. The measured SNRs were not optimal and could have adverse implications for student learning and teachers' vocal health. Schools in urban Asian environments are advised to consider noise reduction measures in classrooms to better comply with recommended maximum noise levels for classrooms.

49 CFR 325.7 - Allowable noise levels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Allowable noise levels. 325.7 Section 325.7... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GENERAL REGULATIONS COMPLIANCE WITH INTERSTATE MOTOR CARRIER NOISE EMISSION STANDARDS General Provisions § 325.7 Allowable noise levels. Motor vehicle noise emissions, when...

Noise levels, noise annoyance, and hearing-related problems in a dental college.

PubMed

Ahmed, Hafiz Omer; Ali, Wesal Jasim

2017-05-04

Through a cross-sectional survey and integrated sound level meter, this research examined noise exposure and auditory- and nonauditory-related problems experienced by students of a dentistry college located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A structured interview questionnaire was used to examine hearing-related problems, noise annoyance, and awareness of 114 students toward noise. The results showed that maximum noise levels were between 65 and 79 dB(A) with peak levels (high and low frequencies) ranging between 89 and 93 dB(A). Around 80% of the students experienced a certain degree of noise annoyance; 54% reported one of the hearing-related problems; and about 10% claimed to have hearing loss to a certain extent. It is recommended that sound-absorbent materials be used during the construction of dental clinics and laboratories to reduce the noise levels.

Noise pollution in intensive care units and emergency wards.

PubMed

Khademi, Gholamreza; Roudi, Masoumeh; Shah Farhat, Ahmad; Shahabian, Masoud

2011-01-01

The improvement of technology has increased noise levels in hospital Wards to higher than international standard levels (35-45 dB). Higher noise levels than the maximum level result in patient's instability and dissatisfaction. Moreover, it will have serious negative effects on the staff's health and the quality of their services. The purpose of this survey is to analyze the level of noise in intensive care units and emergency wards of the Imam Reza Teaching Hospital, Mashhad. This research was carried out in November 2009 during morning shifts between 7:30 to 12:00. Noise levels were measured 10 times at 30-minute intervals in the nursing stations of 10 wards of the emergency, the intensive care units, and the Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Departments of Imam Reza University Hospital, Mashhad. The noise level in the nursing stations was tested for both the maximum level (Lmax) and the equalizing level (Leq). The research was based on the comparison of equalizing levels (Leq) because maximum levels were unstable. In our survey the average level (Leq) in all wards was much higher than the standard level. The maximum level (Lmax) in most wards was 85-86 dB and just in one measurement in the Internal ICU reached 94 dB. The average level of Leq in all wards was 60.2 dB. In emergency units, it was 62.2 dB, but it was not time related. The highest average level (Leq) was measured at 11:30 AM and the peak was measured in the Nephrology nursing station. The average levels of noise in intensive care units and also emergency wards were more than the standard levels and as it is known these wards have vital roles in treatment procedures, so more attention is needed in this area.

Noise levels in an urban Asian school environment

PubMed Central

Chan, Karen M.K.; Li, Chi Mei; Ma, Estella P.M.; Yiu, Edwin M.L.; McPherson, Bradley

2015-01-01

Background noise is known to adversely affect speech perception and speech recognition. High levels of background noise in school classrooms may affect student learning, especially for those pupils who are learning in a second language. The current study aimed to determine the noise level and teacher speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) in Hong Kong classrooms. Noise level was measured in 146 occupied classrooms in 37 schools, including kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and special schools, in Hong Kong. The mean noise levels in occupied kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and special school classrooms all exceeded recommended maximum noise levels, and noise reduction measures were seldom used in classrooms. The measured SNRs were not optimal and could have adverse implications for student learning and teachers’ vocal health. Schools in urban Asian environments are advised to consider noise reduction measures in classrooms to better comply with recommended maximum noise levels for classrooms. PMID:25599758

Study of physio-psychological effects on traffic wardens due to traffic noise pollution; exposure-effect relation.

PubMed

Tabraiz, Shamas; Ahmad, Saeed; Shehzadi, Iffat; Asif, Muhammad Bilal

2015-01-01

Noise pollution has increased to alarming extent in most of the urban areas in Pakistan. It is assumed even more perilous than air and water pollution due to its direct acute and chronic physio-psychological effects. The objective of this study is to analyze and evaluate the psychological and physiological effects caused by traffic noise on traffic wardens and to find relation type between exposure time and effect. Three wardens check posts near roads were selected for survey in Taxila and Islamabad cities of Pakistan. Survey conducted included noise measurements at aforementioned check posts for one month and Performa based interviews of traffic wardens. Analysis of results showed that noise levels varied between 85-106 dB hence violating OSHA regulations. Major psychological effects found in wardens were aggravated depression 58%, stress 65%, public conflict 71%, irritation and annoyance 54%, behavioral affects 59% and speech interference 56%. Physiological effects found were hypertension 87%, muscle tension 64%, exhaustion 48%, low performance levels 55%, concentration loss 93%, hearing impairment 69%, headache 74% and cardiovascular issue 71%. Relation between exposure time and effects were evaluated by using simple regression test in excel. Percentage of psychological and physiological effects in wardens varied with the exposure time; aggravated depression (R(2) = 0.946, P = 0.133), stress suffering (R(2) = 0.014, P = 0.173), public conflict (R(2) = 0.946, P = 0.133), irritation and annoyance (R(2) = 0.371, P = 0.137), behavioral affects (R(2) = 0.596, P = 0.0616) and speech interference (R(2) = 0.355, P = 0.445), hypertension (R(2) = 0.96, P = 0.00095) and cardiovascular issue (R(2) = 0.775, P = 0.044).

An aircraft noise pollution model for trajectory optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barkana, A.; Cook, G.

1976-01-01

A mathematical model describing the generation of aircraft noise is developed with the ultimate purpose of reducing noise (noise-optimizing landing trajectories) in terminal areas. While the model is for a specific aircraft (Boeing 737), the methodology would be applicable to a wide variety of aircraft. The model is used to obtain a footprint on the ground inside of which the noise level is at or above 70 dB.

Realizing modeling and mapping tools to study the upsurge of noise pollution as a result of open-cast mining and transportation activities.

PubMed

Lokhande, Satish K; Jain, Mohindra C; Dhawale, Satyajeet A; Gautam, Rakesh; Bodhe, Ghanshyam L

2018-01-01

In open-cast mines, noise pollution has become a serious concern due to the extreme use of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM). This study is focused to measure and assess the effects of the existing noise levels of major operational mines in the Keonjhar, Sundergadh, and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha, India. The transportation noise levels were also considered in this study, which was predicted using the modified Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) model. It was observed that noise induced by HEMM such as rock breakers, jackhammers, dumpers, and excavators, blasting noise in the mining terrain, as well as associated transportation noise became a major source of annoyance to the habitants living in proximity to the mines. The noise produced by mechanized mining operations was observed between 74.3 and 115.2 dB(A), and its impact on residential areas was observed between 49.4 and 58.9 dB(A). In addition, the noise contour maps of sound level dispersion were demonstrated with the utilization of advanced noise prediction software tools for better understanding. Finally, the predicted values at residential zone and traffic noise are correlated with observed values, and the coefficient of determination, R 2 , was calculated to be 0.6891 and 0.5967, respectively.

Investigations of internal noise levels for different target sizes, contrasts, and noise structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Minah; Choi, Shinkook; Baek, Jongduk

2014-03-01

To describe internal noise levels for different target sizes, contrasts, and noise structures, Gaussian targets with four different sizes (i.e., standard deviation of 2,4,6 and 8) and three different noise structures(i.e., white, low-pass, and highpass) were generated. The generated noise images were scaled to have standard deviation of 0.15. For each noise type, target contrasts were adjusted to have the same detectability based on NPW, and the detectability of CHO was calculated accordingly. For human observer study, 3 trained observers performed 2AFC detection tasks, and correction rate, Pc, was calculated for each task. By adding proper internal noise level to numerical observer (i.e., NPW and CHO), detectability of human observer was matched with that of numerical observers. Even though target contrasts were adjusted to have the same detectability of NPW observer, detectability of human observer decreases as the target size increases. The internal noise level varies for different target sizes, contrasts, and noise structures, demonstrating different internal noise levels should be considered in numerical observer to predict the detection performance of human observer.

Long-term traffic air and noise pollution in relation to mortality and hospital readmission among myocardial infarction survivors.

PubMed

Tonne, Cathryn; Halonen, Jaana I; Beevers, Sean D; Dajnak, David; Gulliver, John; Kelly, Frank J; Wilkinson, Paul; Anderson, H Ross

2016-01-01

There is relatively little evidence of health effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related pollution in susceptible populations. We investigated whether long-term exposure to traffic air and noise pollution was associated with all-cause mortality or hospital readmission for myocardial infarction (MI) among survivors of hospital admission for MI. Patients from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project database resident in Greater London (n = 1 8,138) were followed for death or readmission for MI. High spatially-resolved annual average air pollution (11 metrics of primary traffic, regional or urban background) derived from a dispersion model (resolution 20 m × 20 m) and road traffic noise for the years 2003-2010 were used to assign exposure at residence. Hazard ratios (HR, 95% confidence interval (CI)) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Most air pollutants were positively associated with all-cause mortality alone and in combination with hospital readmission. The largest associations with mortality per interquartile range (IQR) increase of pollutant were observed for non-exhaust particulate matter (PM(10)) (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 1.1 μg/m(3)); oxidant gases (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.09), IQR = 3.2 μg/m(3)); and the coarse fraction of PM (HR = 1.05 (95% CI 1.00, 1.10), IQR = 0.9 μg/m(3)). Adjustment for traffic noise only slightly attenuated these associations. The association for a 5 dB increase in road-traffic noise with mortality was HR = 1.02 (95% CI 0.99, 1.06) independent of air pollution. These data support a relationship of primary traffic and regional/urban background air pollution with poor prognosis among MI survivors. Although imprecise, traffic noise appeared to have a modest association with prognosis independent of air pollution. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Effect of air and noise pollution on species diversity and population density of forest birds at Lalpahari, West Bengal, India.

PubMed

Saha, Dulal C; Padhy, Pratap K

2011-11-15

The Rajmahal-type quality stones for building purposes are found abundantly in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India, where stone mining and crushing have become the main industrial activity. Although crusher dust is injurious to health, demand for crushed stone is ever-increasing as a result of rapid infrastructural growth in the country. Most of the crusher units at Rampurhat are situated along the roadways adjacent to forest under Tumboni Beat of Rampurhat Range of Birbhum Forest Division. Excessive load of air pollution in this area has led to degradation of this forest. The status of the ambient air and noise level was evaluated. The effect of air and noise pollution on abundance and variability of birds in this forest have been compared to an almost non-polluted forest of the same bio-geographic zone. Both species diversity and population density of birds were found to decrease in the polluted forest, especially in the areas adjacent to crushers. For comparing the pollution status of two different forest sites and for establishing whether the density of birds have any correlation between the sites, the Student's t-test and the chi-square test were applied respectively. Most of the results proved to be significant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE LEVELS IN ABUJA MUNICIPALITY USING MOBILE PHONES

PubMed Central

Ibekwe, T.; Folorunso, D.; Ebuta, A.; Amodu, J.; Nwegbu, M.; Mairami, Z.; Liman, I.; Okebaram, C.; Chimdi, C.; Durogbola, B.; Suleiman, H.; Mamven, H.; Baamlong, N.; Dahilo, E.; Gbujie, I.; Ibekwe, P.; Nwaorgu, O.

2016-01-01

Background: Noise remains a nuisance which impacts negatively on the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of man. It aggravates chronic illnesses like hypertension and other cardiopulmonary diseases. Unfortunately, increased activities from industrialization and technological transfers/drifts have tumultuously led to increased noise pollution in most of our fast growing cities today and hence the need for concerted efforts in monitoring and regulating our environmental noise. Objective: To assess the equivalent noise level (Leq) in Abuja municipality and promote a simple method for regular assessment of Leq within our environment. Method: This is a cross-sectional community based study of the environmental Leq of Abuja municipality conducted between January 2014 and January 2016. The city was divided into 12 segments including residential, business and market areas via the Abuja Geographic Information System. The major markets were captured separately on a different scale. Measurements were taken with the mobile phone softwares having validated this with Extech 407730 digital sound level meter, serial no Z310135. Leq(A) were measured at different points and hours of the day and night. The average Leq(A) were classified according to localities and compared with WHO standard safety levels. Results: LeqD ranged 71-92dB(A); 42-79dB(A) and 69-90dB(A) in business/ parks, residential and market places respectively. The Night measurements were similar 18dB(A)-56dB(A) and the day-night Leq(A)=77.2dB(A) and 90.4dB(A) for residential and business zones. Conclusion: The night noise levels are satisfactory but the day and day-night levels are above the recommended tolerable values by WHO and therefore urgently call for awareness and legislative regulations. PMID:28337089

EVALUATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE LEVELS IN ABUJA MUNICIPALITY USING MOBILE PHONES.

PubMed

Ibekwe, T; Folorunso, D; Ebuta, A; Amodu, J; Nwegbu, M; Mairami, Z; Liman, I; Okebaram, C; Chimdi, C; Durogbola, B; Suleiman, H; Mamven, H; Baamlong, N; Dahilo, E; Gbujie, I; Ibekwe, P; Nwaorgu, O

2016-12-01

Noise remains a nuisance which impacts negatively on the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of man. It aggravates chronic illnesses like hypertension and other cardiopulmonary diseases. Unfortunately, increased activities from industrialization and technological transfers/drifts have tumultuously led to increased noise pollution in most of our fast growing cities today and hence the need for concerted efforts in monitoring and regulating our environmental noise. To assess the equivalent noise level (Leq) in Abuja municipality and promote a simple method for regular assessment of Leq within our environment. This is a cross-sectional community based study of the environmental Leq of Abuja municipality conducted between January 2014 and January 2016. The city was divided into 12 segments including residential, business and market areas via the Abuja Geographic Information System. The major markets were captured separately on a different scale. Measurements were taken with the mobile phone softwares having validated this with Extech 407730 digital sound level meter, serial no Z310135 . Leq(A) were measured at different points and hours of the day and night. The average Leq(A) were classified according to localities and compared with WHO standard safety levels. LeqD ranged 71-92dB(A); 42-79dB(A) and 69-90dB(A) in business/ parks, residential and market places respectively. The Night measurements were similar 18dB(A)-56dB(A) and the day-night Leq(A)=77.2dB(A) and 90.4dB(A) for residential and business zones. The night noise levels are satisfactory but the day and day-night levels are above the recommended tolerable values by WHO and therefore urgently call for awareness and legislative regulations.

Noise and soundscape in Rome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brambilla, Giovanni

2004-05-01

Noise pollution is an old problem in Rome. In 45 B.C. the Lex Julia Municipalis limited carriage traffic in the city center to specific times. Road traffic constitutes the most important and widespread noise source, and several investigations have been conducted since 1972, some aimed at developing a numerical model for predicting the hourly LAeq level. In order to reduce the large impact of this type of noise some measures have been carried out, including surfacing with porous asphalt, erection of noise barriers, limitation in time and spacing of private traffic, etc. However, most of the public complaints deal with noise from equipment operation and recreational activities rather than transportation systems. Moreover, the most famous tourist areas opened to pedestrians only are not as quiet as expected but their sound environment is usually rated more acceptable than noise from other sources at the same level. In compliance with the Italian legislation on noise, the Municipality of Rome issued a noise zoning code for its own territory, and a noise mapping is in progress, pursuant to the requirements of the 2002/49/EC European directive. A Geographical Information System has been also developed to manage all the aspects of noise pollution.

Noise level in a pediatric intensive care unit.

PubMed

Carvalho, Werther B; Pedreira, Mavilde L G; de Aguiar, Maria Augusta L

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to verify the noise level at a PICU. This prospective observational study was performed in a 10 bed PICU at a teaching hospital located in a densely populated district within the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Sound pressure levels (dBA) were measured 24 hours during a 6-day period. Noise recording equipment was placed in the PICU access corridor, nursing station, two open wards with three and five beds, and in isolation rooms. The resulting curves were analyzed. A basal noise level variation between 60 and 70 dBA was identified, with a maximum level of 120 dBA. The most significant noise levels were recorded during the day and were produced by the staff. The basal noise level identified exceeds International Noise Council recommendations. Education regarding the effects of noise on human hearing and its relation to stress is the essential basis for the development of a noise reduction program.

Nuisance levels of noise effects radiologists' performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEntee, Mark F.; Coffey, Amina; Ryan, John; O'Beirne, Aaron; Toomey, Rachel; Evanoff, Micheal; Manning, David; Brennan, Patrick C.

2010-02-01

This study aimed to measure the sound levels in Irish x-ray departments. The study then established whether these levels of noise have an impact on radiologists performance Noise levels were recorded 10 times within each of 14 environments in 4 hospitals, 11 of which were locations where radiologic images are judged. Thirty chest images were then presented to 26 senior radiologists, who were asked to detect up to three nodular lesions within 30 posteroanterior chest x-ray images in the absence and presence of noise at amplitude demonstrated in the clinical environment. The results demonstrated that noise amplitudes rarely exceeded that encountered with normal conversation with the maximum mean value for an image-viewing environment being 56.1 dB. This level of noise had no impact on the ability of radiologists to identify chest lesions with figure of merits of 0.68, 0.69, and 0.68 with noise and 0.65, 0.68, and 0.67 without noise for chest radiologists, non-chest radiologists, and all radiologists, respectively. the difference in their performance using the DBM MRMC method was significantly better with noise than in the absence of noise at the 90% confidence interval (p=0.077). Further studies are required to establish whether other aspects of diagnosis are impaired such as recall and attention and the effects of more unexpected noise on performance.

Adaptive EMG noise reduction in ECG signals using noise level approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marouf, Mohamed; Saranovac, Lazar

2017-12-01

In this paper the usage of noise level approximation for adaptive Electromyogram (EMG) noise reduction in the Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is introduced. To achieve the adequate adaptiveness, a translation-invariant noise level approximation is employed. The approximation is done in the form of a guiding signal extracted as an estimation of the signal quality vs. EMG noise. The noise reduction framework is based on a bank of low pass filters. So, the adaptive noise reduction is achieved by selecting the appropriate filter with respect to the guiding signal aiming to obtain the best trade-off between the signal distortion caused by filtering and the signal readability. For the evaluation purposes; both real EMG and artificial noises are used. The tested ECG signals are from the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database Directory, while both real and artificial records of EMG noise are added and used in the evaluation process. Firstly, comparison with state of the art methods is conducted to verify the performance of the proposed approach in terms of noise cancellation while preserving the QRS complex waves. Additionally, the signal to noise ratio improvement after the adaptive noise reduction is computed and presented for the proposed method. Finally, the impact of adaptive noise reduction method on QRS complexes detection was studied. The tested signals are delineated using a state of the art method, and the QRS detection improvement for different SNR is presented.

Gestational diabetes mellitus and exposure to ambient air pollution and road traffic noise: A cohort study.

PubMed

Pedersen, Marie; Olsen, Sjurdur F; Halldorsson, Thorhallur I; Zhang, Cuilin; Hjortebjerg, Dorrit; Ketzel, Matthias; Grandström, Charlotta; Sørensen, Mette; Damm, Peter; Langhoff-Roos, Jens; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole

2017-11-01

Road traffic is a main source of air pollution and noise. Both exposures have been associated with type 2 diabetes, but associations with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have been studied less. We aimed to examine single and joint associations of exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise on GDM in a prospective cohort. We identified GDM cases from self-reports and hospital records, using two different criteria, among 72,745 singleton pregnancies (1997-2002) from the Danish National Birth Cohort. We modeled nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and noise from road traffic (L den ) exposure at all pregnancy addresses. According to the two diagnostic criteria: the Danish clinical guidelines, which was our main outcome, and the WHO standard during recruitment period, a total of 565 and 210 women, respectively, had GDM. For both exposures no risk was evident for the common Danish criterion of GDM. A 10-μg/m 3 increase in NO 2 exposure during first trimester was, however, associated with an increased risk of WHO-GDM (adjusted odds ratio (OR)=1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.49). The corresponding OR associated with a 10-dB higher road traffic noise level was 1.15 (0.94 to 1.18). In mutually adjusted models the OR for NO 2 remained similar 1.22 (0.98, 1.53) whereas that for road traffic noise decreased to 1.03 (0.80, 1.32). Significant associations were also observed for exposure averaged over the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and the full pregnancy. No risk was evident for the common Danish criterion of GDM. NO 2 was associated with higher risk for GDM according to the WHO criterion, which might be due to selection bias. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of Long-Term Exposure to Transportation Noise and Traffic-Related Air Pollution with the Incidence of Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Sbihi, Hind; Tamburic, Lillian; Brauer, Michael; Frank, Lawrence D.; Davies, Hugh W

2017-01-01

Background: Evidence for an association between transportation noise and cardiovascular disease has increased; however, few studies have examined metabolic outcomes such as diabetes or accounted for environmental coexposures such as air pollution, greenness, or walkability. Objectives: Because diabetes prevalence is increasing and may be on the causal pathway between noise and cardiovascular disease, we examined the influence of long-term residential transportation noise exposure and traffic-related air pollution on the incidence of diabetes using a population-based cohort in British Columbia, Canada. Methods: We examined the influence of transportation noise exposure over a 5-y period (1994–1998) on incident diabetes cases in a population-based prospective cohort study (n=380,738) of metropolitan Vancouver (BC) residents who were 45–85 y old, with 4-y of follow-up (1999–2002). Annual average transportation noise (Lden), air pollution [black carbon, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5μm (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides], greenness [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)], and neighborhood walkability at each participant’s residence were modeled. Incident diabetes cases were identified using administrative health records. Results: Transportation noise was associated with the incidence of diabetes [interquartile range (IQR) increase, 6.8 A-weighted decibels (dBA); OR=1.08 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.10)]. This association remained after adjustment for environmental coexposures including traffic-related air pollutants, greenness, and neighborhood walkability. After adjustment for coexposure to noise, traffic-related air pollutants were not associated with the incidence of diabetes, whereas greenness was protective. Conclusion: We found a positive association between residential transportation noise and diabetes, adding to the growing body of evidence that noise pollution exposure may be independently linked to metabolic health and should be considered when

Association of Long-Term Exposure to Transportation Noise and Traffic-Related Air Pollution with the Incidence of Diabetes: A Prospective Cohort Study.

PubMed

Clark, Charlotte; Sbihi, Hind; Tamburic, Lillian; Brauer, Michael; Frank, Lawrence D; Davies, Hugh W

2017-08-31

Evidence for an association between transportation noise and cardiovascular disease has increased; however, few studies have examined metabolic outcomes such as diabetes or accounted for environmental coexposures such as air pollution, greenness, or walkability. Because diabetes prevalence is increasing and may be on the causal pathway between noise and cardiovascular disease, we examined the influence of long-term residential transportation noise exposure and traffic-related air pollution on the incidence of diabetes using a population-based cohort in British Columbia, Canada. We examined the influence of transportation noise exposure over a 5-y period (1994-1998) on incident diabetes cases in a population-based prospective cohort study (n=380,738) of metropolitan Vancouver (BC) residents who were 45-85 y old, with 4-y of follow-up (1999-2002). Annual average transportation noise (Lden), air pollution [black carbon, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5μm (PM 2.5 ), nitrogen oxides], greenness [Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)], and neighborhood walkability at each participant's residence were modeled. Incident diabetes cases were identified using administrative health records. Transportation noise was associated with the incidence of diabetes [interquartile range (IQR) increase, 6.8 A-weighted decibels (dBA); OR=1.08 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.10)]. This association remained after adjustment for environmental coexposures including traffic-related air pollutants, greenness, and neighborhood walkability. After adjustment for coexposure to noise, traffic-related air pollutants were not associated with the incidence of diabetes, whereas greenness was protective. We found a positive association between residential transportation noise and diabetes, adding to the growing body of evidence that noise pollution exposure may be independently linked to metabolic health and should be considered when developing public health interventions. https://doi.org/10

Realizing Modeling and Mapping tools to Study the Upsurge of Noise Pollution as a Result of Open-Cast Mining and Transportation Activities

PubMed Central

Lokhande, Satish K.; Jain, Mohindra C.; Dhawale, Satyajeet A.; Gautam, Rakesh; Bodhe, Ghanshyam L.

2018-01-01

Introduction: In open-cast mines, noise pollution has become a serious concern due to the extreme use of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM). Materials and Methods: This study is focused to measure and assess the effects of the existing noise levels of major operational mines in the Keonjhar, Sundergadh, and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha, India. The transportation noise levels were also considered in this study, which was predicted using the modified Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) model. Result and Discussion: It was observed that noise induced by HEMM such as rock breakers, jackhammers, dumpers, and excavators, blasting noise in the mining terrain, as well as associated transportation noise became a major source of annoyance to the habitants living in proximity to the mines. The noise produced by mechanized mining operations was observed between 74.3 and 115.2 dB(A), and its impact on residential areas was observed between 49.4 and 58.9 dB(A). In addition, the noise contour maps of sound level dispersion were demonstrated with the utilization of advanced noise prediction software tools for better understanding. Conclusion: Finally, the predicted values at residential zone and traffic noise are correlated with observed values, and the coefficient of determination, R2, was calculated to be 0.6891 and 0.5967, respectively. PMID:29676297

On the Impact of Anomalous Noise Events on Road Traffic Noise Mapping in Urban and Suburban Environments.

PubMed

Orga, Ferran; Alías, Francesc; Alsina-Pagès, Rosa Ma

2017-12-23

Noise pollution is a critical factor affecting public health, the relationship between road traffic noise (RTN) and several diseases in urban areas being especially disturbing. The Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC and the CNOSSOS-EU framework are the main instruments of the European Union to identify and combat noise pollution, requiring Member States to compose and publish noise maps and noise management action plans every five years. Nowadays, the noise maps are starting to be tailored by means of Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN). In order to exclusively monitor the impact of RTN on the well-being of citizens through WASN-based approaches, those noise sources unrelated to RTN denoted as Anomalous Noise Events (ANEs) should be removed from the noise map generation. This paper introduces an analysis methodology considering both Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and duration of ANEs to evaluate their impact on the A-weighted equivalent RTN level calculation for different integration times. The experiments conducted on 9 h of real-life data from the WASN-based DYNAMAP project show that both individual high-impact events and aggregated medium-impact events bias significantly the equivalent noise levels of the RTN map, making any derived study about public health impact inaccurate.

On the Impact of Anomalous Noise Events on Road Traffic Noise Mapping in Urban and Suburban Environments

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Noise pollution is a critical factor affecting public health, the relationship between road traffic noise (RTN) and several diseases in urban areas being especially disturbing. The Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC and the CNOSSOS-EU framework are the main instruments of the European Union to identify and combat noise pollution, requiring Member States to compose and publish noise maps and noise management action plans every five years. Nowadays, the noise maps are starting to be tailored by means of Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN). In order to exclusively monitor the impact of RTN on the well-being of citizens through WASN-based approaches, those noise sources unrelated to RTN denoted as Anomalous Noise Events (ANEs) should be removed from the noise map generation. This paper introduces an analysis methodology considering both Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and duration of ANEs to evaluate their impact on the A-weighted equivalent RTN level calculation for different integration times. The experiments conducted on 9 h of real-life data from the WASN-based DYNAMAP project show that both individual high-impact events and aggregated medium-impact events bias significantly the equivalent noise levels of the RTN map, making any derived study about public health impact inaccurate. PMID:29295492

High blood pressure and long-term exposure to indoor noise and air pollution from road traffic.

PubMed

Foraster, Maria; Künzli, Nino; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Rivera, Marcela; Agis, David; Vila, Joan; Bouso, Laura; Deltell, Alexandre; Marrugat, Jaume; Ramos, Rafel; Sunyer, Jordi; Elosua, Roberto; Basagaña, Xavier

2014-11-01

Traffic noise has been associated with prevalence of hypertension, but reports are inconsistent for blood pressure (BP). To ascertain noise effects and to disentangle them from those suspected to be from traffic-related air pollution, it may be essential to estimate people's noise exposure indoors in bedrooms. We analyzed associations between long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise in bedrooms and prevalent hypertension and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) BP, considering long-term exposure to outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2). We evaluated 1,926 cohort participants at baseline (years 2003-2006; Girona, Spain). Outdoor annual average levels of nighttime traffic noise (Lnight) and NO2 were estimated at postal addresses with a detailed traffic noise model and a land-use regression model, respectively. Individual indoor traffic Lnight levels were derived from outdoor Lnight with application of insulations provided by reported noise-reducing factors. We assessed associations for hypertension and BP with multi-exposure logistic and linear regression models, respectively. Median levels were 27.1 dB(A) (indoor Lnight), 56.7 dB(A) (outdoor Lnight), and 26.8 μg/m3 (NO2). Spearman correlations between outdoor and indoor Lnight with NO2 were 0.75 and 0.23, respectively. Indoor Lnight was associated both with hypertension (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.13) and SBP (β = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.29, 1.15) per 5 dB(A); and NO2 was associated with hypertension (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.36), SBP (β = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.21, 2.25), and DBP (β⊇= 0.56; 95% CI: -0.03, 1.14) per 10 μg/m3. In the outdoor noise model, Lnight was associated only with hypertension and NO2 with BP only. The indoor noise-SBP association was stronger and statistically significant with a threshold at 30 dB(A). Long-term exposure to indoor traffic noise was associated with prevalent hypertension and SBP, independently of NO2. Associations were less consistent for outdoor traffic Lnight and likely affected by

High level white noise generator

DOEpatents

Borkowski, Casimer J.; Blalock, Theron V.

1979-01-01

A wide band, stable, random noise source with a high and well-defined output power spectral density is provided which may be used for accurate calibration of Johnson Noise Power Thermometers (JNPT) and other applications requiring a stable, wide band, well-defined noise power spectral density. The noise source is based on the fact that the open-circuit thermal noise voltage of a feedback resistor, connecting the output to the input of a special inverting amplifier, is available at the amplifier output from an equivalent low output impedance caused by the feedback mechanism. The noise power spectral density level at the noise source output is equivalent to the density of the open-circuit thermal noise or a 100 ohm resistor at a temperature of approximately 64,000 Kelvins. The noise source has an output power spectral density that is flat to within 0.1% (0.0043 db) in the frequency range of from 1 KHz to 100 KHz which brackets typical passbands of the signal-processing channels of JNPT's. Two embodiments, one of higher accuracy that is suitable for use as a standards instrument and another that is particularly adapted for ambient temperature operation, are illustrated in this application.

Noise levels from a model turbofan engine with simulated noise control measures applied

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, David G.; Woodward, Richard P.

1993-01-01

A study of estimated full-scale noise levels based on measured levels from the Advanced Ducted Propeller (ADP) sub-scale model is presented. Testing of this model was performed in the NASA Lewis Low Speed Anechoic Wind Tunnel at a simulated takeoff condition of Mach 0.2. Effective Perceived Noise Level (EPNL) estimates for the baseline configuration are documented, and also used as the control case in a study of the potential benefits of two categories of noise control. The effect of active noise control is evaluated by artificially removing various rotor-stator interaction tones. Passive noise control is simulated by applying a notch filter to the wind tunnel data. Cases with both techniques are included to evaluate hybrid active-passive noise control. The results for EPNL values are approximate because the original source data was limited in bandwidth and in sideline angular coverage. The main emphasis is on comparisons between the baseline and configurations with simulated noise control measures.

Noise annoyance through railway traffic - a case study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large Latin American city. Measurements were taken of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods with and without blowing their horns. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition - annoyance of the residents - affected by railway noise, was evaluated based on interviews. The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train with its horn blowing are extremely high, clearly exceeding the daytime limits of equivalent sound pressure level - Leq = 55 dB(A) - established by the municipal laws No 10.625 of the city of Curitiba. The Leq = 45 dB (A) which is the limit for the night period also are exceeded during the passage of trains. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which causes irritability, headaches, poor concentration and insomnia, and 88% of them claimed that nocturnal noise pollution is the most distressing. This study showed that the vast majority of residents surveyed, (69%) believe that the noise of the train can devalue their property. PMID:24401735

Noise annoyance through railway traffic - a case study.

PubMed

Trombetta Zannin, Paulo Henrique; Bunn, Fernando

2014-01-08

This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large Latin American city. Measurements were taken of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods with and without blowing their horns. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition - annoyance of the residents - affected by railway noise, was evaluated based on interviews. The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train with its horn blowing are extremely high, clearly exceeding the daytime limits of equivalent sound pressure level - Leq = 55 dB(A) - established by the municipal laws No 10.625 of the city of Curitiba. The Leq = 45 dB (A) which is the limit for the night period also are exceeded during the passage of trains. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which causes irritability, headaches, poor concentration and insomnia, and 88% of them claimed that nocturnal noise pollution is the most distressing. This study showed that the vast majority of residents surveyed, (69%) believe that the noise of the train can devalue their property.

Urban green spaces' effectiveness as a psychological buffer for the negative health impact of noise pollution: a systematic review.

PubMed

Dzhambov, Angel Mario; Dimitrova, Donka Dimitrova

2014-01-01

Noise pollution is one of the four major pollutions in the world. Little evidence exists about the actual preventive benefits of psychological noise attenuation by urban green spaces, especially from the perspective of environmental medicine and, to the best of our knowledge, there is not a systematic analysis on this topic. The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate whether there is conclusive scientific evidence for the effectiveness of urban green spaces as a psychological buffer for the negative impact of noise pollution on human health and to promote an evidence-based approach toward this still growing environmental hazard. MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for experimental and epidemiological studies published before June 04, 2013 in English and Spanish. Data was independently extracted in two step process by the authors. Due to the heterogeneity of the included studies qualitative assessment was performed. We found moderate evidence that the presence of vegetation can generally reduce the negative perception of noise (supported with an electroencephalogram test in one of the experimental studies; consistent with the data from two epidemiological studies; one experiment found no effect and one was inconclusive about the positive effect). This review fills a gap in the literature and could help researchers further clarify the proper implementation of urban green spaces as a psychological buffer in areas with population exposed to chronic noise pollution.

Noise pollution effect in flour factory on workers' hearing in Lamerd City.

PubMed

Mohammadizadeh, M; Ahmadi, S H; Sekhavati, E; Ahani-Jegar, K

2015-01-01

Introduction: Noise pollution is one of the most important problems in industry that has an effect on the auditory system and other physiological parameters, as well as persons in noise exposure situations. While noise-induced hearing loss is preventable, once acquired, hearing loss is permanent and irreversible. Methodology: In the current study, noise in various sections of Flour Company in Lamerd estimated via the audio recorder, which revealed that the operators' expression remained larger than the state criterion; hence, the perception experiment (audio recorder) was performed on the operators and its outcomes were examined via utilizing SPSS 16 of version. Findings: Overall, Pearson relationship r = 0.453 discovered among job reports and the performance decline between all operators by significant stage p≤0.05. Moreover, T-test applied to examine noise impact on operators included in boisterous rooms (mean more than 85 dB) also average=26. 71 and regular deviation=11.72 got (p≤0.05) that was greater than 25db (as the standard hearing threshold). Conclusion: The outcomes of audio measuring and T-test revealed that the noise corruption has an impact on the hearing of bodies operating in noisy rooms.

Assessment of road traffic noise indices in urban residential areas of Klang Valley, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halim, Herni; Abdullah, Ramdzani; Nor, Mohd Jailani Mohd; Aziz, Hamidi Abdul; Rahman, Noorhazlinda Abd

2017-10-01

Traffic noise has been recognized as a serious threat to the quality of life in most industrialised nations. Klang valley is rapidly emerging as industrialized and urbanized city and has started facing severe noise pollution problems. Urban noise quality assessment is studied in three residential areas; Desa Tun Razak, Kinrara Court and Taman Sentul Utama. Noise pollution indices of L10, L50, L90, Lmax and Lmin as well as equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) were measured for all dwellings. Noise indices results illustrate that Desa Tun Razak recorded the highest values of noise levels among three studied sites. Results also indicate that the highest Leq of 75.7 dB(A) was observed in Desa Tun Razak followed by 74.3 dB(A) in Kinrara Court, and 72.1 dB(A) in Taman Sentul Utama. The noise assessment study clearly reveals the alarming condition of noise pollution in residential areas of Klang Valley as the noise level measured exceeded permissible limit by WHO and Malaysia Guidelines.

Road traffic noise, air pollution and incident cardiovascular disease: A joint analysis of the HUNT, EPIC-Oxford and UK Biobank cohorts.

PubMed

Cai, Yutong; Hodgson, Susan; Blangiardo, Marta; Gulliver, John; Morley, David; Fecht, Daniela; Vienneau, Danielle; de Hoogh, Kees; Key, Tim; Hveem, Kristian; Elliott, Paul; Hansell, Anna L

2018-05-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term exposure to road traffic noise and air pollution on incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in three large cohorts: HUNT, EPIC-Oxford and UK Biobank. In pooled complete-case sample of the three cohorts from Norway and the United Kingdom (N = 355,732), 21,081 incident all CVD cases including 5259 ischemic heart disease (IHD) and 2871 cerebrovascular cases were ascertained between baseline (1993-2010) and end of follow-up (2008-2013) through medical record linkage. Annual mean 24-hour weighted road traffic noise (Lden) and air pollution (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm [PM10], ≤2.5 μm [PM2.5] and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]) exposure at baseline address was modelled using a simplified version of the Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe (CNOSSOS-EU) and European-wide Land Use Regression models. Individual-level covariate data were harmonised and physically pooled across the three cohorts. Analysis was via Cox proportional hazard model with mutual adjustments for both noise and air pollution and potential confounders. No significant associations were found between annual mean Lden and incident CVD, IHD or cerebrovascular disease in the overall population except that the association with incident IHD was significant among current-smokers. In the fully adjusted models including adjustment for Lden, an interquartile range (IQR) higher PM10 (4.1 μg/m3) or PM2.5 (1.4 μg/m3) was associated with a 5.8% (95%CI: 2.5%-9.3%) and 3.7% (95%CI: 0.2%-7.4%) higher risk for all incident CVD respectively. No significant associations were found between NO2 and any of the CVD outcomes. We found suggestive evidence of a possible association between road traffic noise and incident IHD, consistent with current literature. Long-term particulate air pollution exposure, even at concentrations below current European air quality standards, was significantly associated with incident CVD. Copyright �

Are air pollution and traffic noise independently associated with atherosclerosis: the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study.

PubMed

Kälsch, Hagen; Hennig, Frauke; Moebus, Susanne; Möhlenkamp, Stefan; Dragano, Nico; Jakobs, Hermann; Memmesheimer, Michael; Erbel, Raimund; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Hoffmann, Barbara

2014-04-01

Living close to high traffic has been linked to subclinical atherosclerosis, however it is not clear, whether fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution or noise, two important traffic-related exposures, are responsible for the association. We investigate the independent associations of long-term exposure to fine PM and road traffic noise with thoracic aortic calcification (TAC), a reliable measure of subclinical atherosclerosis. We used baseline data (2000-2003) from the German Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study, a population-based cohort of 4814 randomly selected participants. We assessed residential long-term exposure to PM with a chemistry transport model, and to road traffic noise using façade levels from noise models as weighted 24 h mean noise (Lden) and night-time noise (Lnight). Thoracic aortic calcification was quantified from non-contrast enhanced electron beam computed tomography. We used multiple linear regression to estimate associations of environmental exposures with ln(TAC+1), adjusting for each other, individual, and neighbourhood characteristics. In 4238 participants (mean age 60 years, 49.9% male), PM2.5 (aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm) and Lnight are both associated with an increasing TAC-burden of 18.1% (95% CI: 6.6; 30.9%) per 2.4 µg/m(3) PM2.5 and 3.9% (95% CI 0.0; 8.0%) per 5dB(A) Lnight, respectively, in the full model and after mutual adjustment. We did not observe effect measure modification of the PM2.5 association by Lnight or vice versa. Long-term exposure to fine PM and night-time traffic noise are both independently associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and may both contribute to the association of traffic proximity with atherosclerosis.

Pilot survey of subway and bus stop noise levels.

PubMed

Gershon, Robyn R M; Neitzel, Richard; Barrera, Marissa A; Akram, Muhammad

2006-09-01

Excessive noise exposure is a serious global urban health problem, adversely affecting millions of people. One often cited source of urban noise is mass transit, particularly subway systems. As a first step in determining risk within this context, we recently conducted an environmental survey of noise levels of the New York City transit system. Over 90 noise measurements were made using a sound level meter. Average and maximum noise levels were measured on subway platforms, and maximum levels were measured inside subway cars and at several bus stops for comparison purposes. The average noise level measured on the subway platforms was 86 +/- 4 dBA (decibel-A weighting). Maximum levels of 106, 112, and 89 dBA were measured on subway platforms, inside subway cars, and at bus stops, respectively. These results indicate that noise levels in subway and bus stop environments have the potential to exceed recommended exposure guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), given sufficient exposure duration. Risk reduction strategies following the standard hierarchy of control measures should be applied, where feasible, to reduce subway noise exposure.

Pilot Survey of Subway and Bus Stop Noise Levels

PubMed Central

Neitzel, Richard; Barrera, Marissa A.; Akram, Muhammad

2006-01-01

Excessive noise exposure is a serious global urban health problem, adversely affecting millions of people. One often cited source of urban noise is mass transit, particularly subway systems. As a first step in determining risk within this context, we recently conducted an environmental survey of noise levels of the New York City transit system. Over 90 noise measurements were made using a sound level meter. Average and maximum noise levels were measured on subway platforms, and maximum levels were measured inside subway cars and at several bus stops for comparison purposes. The average noise level measured on the subway platforms was 86 ± 4 dBA (decibel-A weighting). Maximum levels of 106, 112, and 89 dBA were measured on subway platforms, inside subway cars, and at bus stops, respectively. These results indicate that noise levels in subway and bus stop environments have the potential to exceed recommended exposure guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), given sufficient exposure duration. Risk reduction strategies following the standard hierarchy of control measures should be applied, where feasible, to reduce subway noise exposure. PMID:16802179

Noise level reduction inside helicopter cabins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laudien, Eckehard; Niesl, George

1990-09-01

A number of measures to reduce the noise level in helicopter cabins are discussed. Laboratory test results of various panellings are presented as well as the insulation capacities of different panel mounts. Experiments in acoustic facilities (anechoic chamber and reverberation room) with the original cabin door and its frame led to an optimization of the transmission losses of door components such as window, sealing, and frame. The reduction of the cabin noise level by adding absorption is illustrated in the case of a honeycomb bulkhead with Helmholtz resonators. These sound absorption elements were designed to damp discrete gearbox frequencies. Resonators were also used for noise attenuation of an oil cooler fan. Cabin noise comfort can be improved by eliminating discrete frequencies. This was achieved in an experimental set up where properly tuned resonators were placed as close as possible to the passenger's ear in the headrest of the seat. In order to reduce structureborne transmission system noise, ground and flight test data of gearbox strut impedance were used for the design of specially tuned vibration absorbers.

[Noise level in a care and teaching hospital institution].

PubMed

Mendoza-Sánchez, R S; Roque-Sánchez, R H; Moncada-González, B

1996-01-01

Noise in the environment is increasing over the years. Disturbances produced by noise are varied, some lead to serious health consequences. Noise level was registered in a teaching hospital. Levels in the wards were between 50 and 59 dB. In the Intensive Care Unit, main hallways and outpatients department levels were higher than 59 dB. Isolated peaks up to 90.0 dB (Pediatrics) were detected. The noise level recommended for a hospital is under 50.0 dB. We found that the principal source of noise came from the medical and nursing staff.

Background noise levels and correlation with ship traffic in the Gulf of Catania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viola, Salvatore; Buscaino, Giuseppa; Caruso, Francesco; Chierici, Francesco; Embriaco, Davide; Favali, Paolo; Giovanetti, Gabriele; Grammauta, Roasario; Larosa, Giuseppina; Pavan, Gianni; Pellegrino, Carmelo; Pulvirenti, Sara; Riccobene, Giorgio; Sciacca, Virginia; Simeone, Francesco; Beranzoli, Laura; Marinaro, Giuditta

2015-04-01

In the last decades the growing interest in the evaluation of the underwater acoustic noise for studies in the fields of geology, biology and high-energy physics is driving the scientific community to collaborate towards a multidisciplinary approach to the topic. In June 2012 in the framework of the European project EMSO, a multidisciplinary underwater observatory, named NEMO-SN1, was installed 25 km off-shore the port of Catania, at a depth of 2100 m and operated until May 2013 by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia). NEMO-SN1 hosted aboard geophysical, oceanographic and acoustic sensors: among these a seismic hydrophone model SMID DT-405D(V). In this work, conducted within the activity of the SMO project, the results on the evaluation of the underwater acoustic pollution in the Gulf of Catania through SMID DT-405D(V) recordings are presented. The seismic hydrophone provided a data set of about 11 months of continuous (24/7) recordings. Underwater sounds have been continuously digitized at a sampling frequency of 2 kHz and the acquired data have been stored in 10min long files for off-line analysis. To describe one-year background noise levels, the mean integrated acoustic noise was measured every second (sampling frequency 2000, NFFT 2048) in the 1/3 octave bands with centre frequency 63 Hz and for each 10 minutes-long file the 5th, the 50th and the 98th percentiles were calculated. Measured noise was correlated with the shipping traffic in the area, thanks to the data provided by an AIS receiver installed at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali del Sud. An acoustic noise increment was measured in coincidence with the passing of crafts in the area and it was possible to identify the characteristic spectrum of each ship. A simple model for the estimation of the acoustic noise induced by the ships passing through the area was developed. The model was applied by using AIS data acquired during the operation

Calcutta metro: is it safe from noise pollution hazards?

PubMed

Bhattacharya, S K; Bandyopadhyay, P; Kashyap, S K

1996-01-01

A modest assessment of noise was made in Calcutta Metro, India's first ever underground tube rail system, to examine if the range of noise levels present could endanger the hearing sensitivity of workers for the Metro. Sound measuring instruments of a sound level meter, an octave band analyzer, and a sound level calibrator were used for measuring the sound pressure levels in platforms of three stations: Esplanade, Kalighat and Tollygunge. The results indicated that the averaged A-weighted SPLs in these stations were in the range of 84-87 dBA. In the coaches of the moving train the Leq values ranged 92-99 dBA and LNP 105-117 dBA, all exceeding the safe limit of day time noise exposure of 55 dBA and 85 dBA of ACGIH. The SPLs at 4,000 Hz in the coaches were also in excess of safe exposure limit of 79 dB. The findings thus posed a potential threat to the workers.

Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Noise Pollution With the Use of a Pediatric Delirium Bundle.

PubMed

Kawai, Yu; Weatherhead, Jeffrey R; Traube, Chani; Owens, Tonie A; Shaw, Brenda E; Fraser, Erin J; Scott, Annette M; Wojczynski, Melody R; Slaman, Kristen L; Cassidy, Patty M; Baker, Laura A; Shellhaas, Renee A; Dahmer, Mary K; Shever, Leah L; Malas, Nasuh M; Niedner, Matthew F

2017-01-01

Noise pollution in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) contributes to poor sleep and may increase risk of developing delirium. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends <45 decibels (dB) in hospital environments. The objectives are to assess the degree of PICU noise pollution, to develop a delirium bundle targeted at reducing noise, and to assess the effect of the bundle on nocturnal noise pollution. This is a QI initiative at an academic PICU. Thirty-five sound sensors were installed in patient bed spaces, hallways, and common areas. The pediatric delirium bundle was implemented in 8 pilot patients (40 patient ICU days) while 108 non-pilot patients received usual care over a 28-day period. A total of 20,609 hourly dB readings were collected. Hourly minimum, average, and maximum dB of all occupied bed spaces demonstrated medians [interquartile range] of 48.0 [39.0-53.0], 52.8 [48.1-56.2] and 67.0 [63.5-70.5] dB, respectively. Bed spaces were louder during the day (10AM to 4PM) than at night (11PM to 5AM) (53.5 [49.0-56.8] vs. 51.3 [46.0-55.3] dB, P < 0.01). Pilot patient rooms were significantly quieter than non-pilot patient rooms at night (n=210, 45.3 [39.7-55.9]) vs. n=1841, 51.2 [46.9-54.8] dB, P < 0.01). The pilot rooms compliant with the bundle had the lowest hourly nighttime average dB (44.1 [38.5-55.5]). Substantial noise pollution exists in our PICU, and utilizing the pediatric delirium bundle led to a significant noise reduction that can be perceived as half the loudness with hourly nighttime average dB meeting the EPA standards when compliant with the bundle.

Spatial patterns in community response to aircraft noise associated with non-noise factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, F. L.; Taylor, S. M.; Birnie, S. E.

1980-08-01

Non-noise aspects of airport operations may affect individuals' responses to aircraft noise. Fear of crashes, other forms of pollution, and proximity to the flight path are three such non-noise aspects which have spatial patterns that are closely related to the pattern of noise contours around an airport. If these variables affect response to aircraft noise, they may therefore confound attempts to understand relationships between noise level and community response. Analyses based on data from 673 individuals around Toronto International Airport suggest that these factors do affect annoyance responses, but do not affect reported activity interference. Hence it may prove fruitful, in aggregate analyses of community response data, to control for these variables in order to better understand the noise-annoyance relationships.

Communicating the Issue of Underwater Noise Pollution: The Deaf as a Fish Project.

PubMed

Sebastianutto, Linda; Stocker, Michael; Picciulin, Marta

2016-01-01

Aquatic noise pollution is largely ignored by the lay public. How experts communicate this issue is critical to move public opinion. In 2010, the Cassa di Risparmio di Gorizia (CaRiGO) bank sponsored the Deaf as a Fish project that included local underwater noise monitoring, a boat census, a pamphlet for nonexperts, and some seminars and public meetings. This project allowed us to raise interest in this issue. Using accurate and understandable language in a light-humored setting goes far toward cultivating trust from a public audience that can be intimidated or suspicious of complicated scientific messaging.

Effect of external classroom noise on schoolchildren's reading and mathematics performance: correlation of noise levels and gender.

PubMed

Papanikolaou, M; Skenteris, N; Piperakis, S M

2015-02-01

The present study investigated the effect of low, medium, and high traffic road noise as well as irrelevant background speech noise on primary school children's reading and mathematical performance. A total of 676 participants (324 boys, 47.9% and 352 girls, 52.1%) of the 4th and 5th elementary classes participated in the project. The participants were enrolled in public primary schools from urban areas and had ages ranging from 9 to 10 years and from. Schools were selected on the basis of increasing levels of exposure to road traffic noise and then classified into three categories (Low noise: 55-66 dB, Medium noise: 67-77 dB, and High noise: 72-80 dB). We measured reading comprehension and mathematical skills in accordance with the national guidelines for elementary education, using a test designed specifically for the purpose of this study. On the one hand, children in low-level noise schools showed statistically significant differences from children in medium- and high-level noise schools in reading performance (p<0.001). On the other hand, children in low-level noise schools differed significantly from children in high-level noise schools but only in mathematics performance (p=0.001). Girls in general did better in reading score than boys, especially in schools with medium- and high-level noise. Finally the levels of noise and gender were found to be two independent factors.

Energy and Environment 1990: Transportation-induced noise and air pollution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1990-01-01

Contents: public reaction to low levels of aircraft noise; airport noise insulation of homes surrounding stapleton international airport; sound insulation and thermal performance modifications: case study for three dwellings near bwi airport; single-number ratings for outdoor-indoor sound insulation; control of wheel squeal noise in rail transit cars; knowledge-based preprocessor for traffic noise prediction; barrier overlap analysis procedure; atmospheric effects on traffic noise propagation; predicting stop-and-go traffic noise with stamina 2.0; feasibility of transparent noise barriers; field testing of the effectiveness of open-graded asphalt pavement in reducing tire noise from highway vehicles; cost of noise barrier construction in the united states;more » comparisons of emissions of transit buses using methanol and diesel fuel; high-speed rail system noise assessment; energy-related, environmental, and economic benefits of florida's high-speed rail and maglev systems proposals.« less

Controlling Technically Produced Noise to Reduce Psychological Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlestam, Gosta

1973-01-01

Discusses the causes and problems associated with increasing levels of noise pollution in urban societies. Particular attention is given to noise emanating from aircraft and to possible means of reducing this problem and its resulting psychological stress and social strain. (JR)

49 CFR 393.94 - Interior noise levels in power units.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Interior noise levels in power units. 393.94... noise levels in power units. (a) Applicability of this section. The interior noise level requirements..., if the reading has not been influenced by extraneous noise sources such as motor vehicles operating...

49 CFR 393.94 - Interior noise levels in power units.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Interior noise levels in power units. 393.94... noise levels in power units. (a) Applicability of this section. The interior noise level requirements..., if the reading has not been influenced by extraneous noise sources such as motor vehicles operating...

Reducing environmental noise impacts: A USAREUR noise management program handbook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feather, Timothy D.; Shekell, Ted K.

1991-06-01

Noise pollution is a major environmental problem faced by the U.S. Army in Europe. Noise-related complaints from German citizens can escalate into intense political issues in German communities. This in turn hampers efficient operation of military training and often times threatens the Army's mission. In order to remedy these problems, USAREUR has developed a noise management program. A successful noise management program will limit the impact of unavoidable noise on the populace. This report, a component of the noise management program, is a reference document for noise management planning. It contains guidelines and rules-of-thumb for noise management. This document contains procedures which operation and training level personnel can understand and apply in their day to day noise management planning. Noise mitigation tips are given. Basic technical information that will aid in understanding noise mitigation is provided along with noise management through land use planning. Noise management for specific components of the military community, (airfields, base operations, training areas, and housing and recreation areas) are addressed. The nature of noise generated, means of noise abatement at the source, path, and receiver (both physical and organizational/public relations methods), and a case study example are described.

A Review of Adverse Effects of Road Traffic Noise on Human Health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Devi; Kumari, Neeraj; Sharma, Pooja

Noise pollution due to road traffic is a potential threat to human health. Since it is a global hazard, the rapid urbanization and exponential traffic growth have aggravated the problem. Population residing along the busy traffic lanes is continuously exposed to the sound levels which are above the permissible limits. This constant exposure to noise pollution is a cause of concern as it leads to several adverse impacts on human health. Traffic noise causes irritation and annoyance, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular disease, risk of stroke, diabetes, hypertension and loss of hearing. It results in decreased work performance. The present review highlights the serious health hazards of road traffic noise (RTN) which needs to be curbed. Preventive measures of noise pollution can help in combating noise-induced health hazards and increased work performance.

Statistical modeling of O3, NOx, CO, PM2.5, VOCs and noise levels in commercial complex and associated health risk assessment in an academic institution.

PubMed

Singh, Deepak; Kumar, Amit; Kumar, Krishan; Singh, Bupender; Mina, Usha; Singh, Braj Bihari; Jain, Vinod Kumar

2016-12-01

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is considered to be of great concern due to its adverse impact on the human health nowadays. The presence of different air pollutants along with noise may aggravate the IAQ. The present study attempts to examine IAQ in terms of major criteria air pollutants (O 3 , NOx=NO+NO 2 , CO and PM 2.5 ) along with total volatile organic compound (TVOC), individual VOC and noise pollution in indoor and outdoor environment of a Commercial Shopping Complex (CSC) in Delhi. Real time measurements have been carried out for O 3 , NOx, CO, PM 2.5 , TVOC and noise while thirteen individual VOCs have been estimated using NIOSH method was performed using Gas Chromatograph. The study also aimed to find out the relationship among VOCs, source estimation using Principal Component Analysis. The observed results for the targeted pollutants were also compared with international and national recommended permissible values. The mean values of O 3 , NOx, CO, PM 2.5 and TVOC are found to be 17.6/(15.0) ppb, 15.8/(14.1) ppb, 8.4/(1.9) ppm, 125.4/(74.6) μg/m 3 and 412.5/(226.5) μg/m 3 for indoor/(outdoor), respectively. Among the individual VOC, toluene was the most abundant followed by xylene-isomers and benzene. The noise pollution level in Indoor/outdoor were found to be 51.5/46.4dB which is below the guideline value (65dB) provided by the WHO. Most of the pollutants were found to have indoor sources. The different kinds of pollutants and noise may have synergistic effect and aggravate the health of the people working and visiting the CSC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perceived and actual noise levels in critical care units.

PubMed

White, Brittany Lynn; Zomorodi, Meg

2017-02-01

To compare the noise levels perceived by critical care nurses in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to actual noise levels in the ICU. Following a pilot study (n=18) and revision of the survey tool, a random sample of nurses were surveyed twice in a 3-day period (n=108). Nurses perception of noise was compared to the actual sound pressure level using descriptive statistics. Nurses perceived the ICUs to be noisier than the actual values. The ICU was louder than the recommended noise level for resotrative sleep. This finding raises the question of how we can assist nurses to reduce what they perceive to be a loud environment. Future work is needed to develop interventions specifically for nurses to raise awareness of noise in the ICU and to provide them with skills to assist in noise reduction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perspectives About Personalization for mHealth Solutions Against Noise Pollution.

PubMed

Kepplinger, Sara; Liebetrau, Judith; Clauss, Tobias; Pharow, Peter

2017-01-01

Noise harms the environmental quality and can have negative effect on health and wellbeing. Providing silent areas and periods of rest is one way to improve the perceived environmental quality. However, realization is not easy in the day to day life. The usage of mHealth solutions which can provide information about the sound of a certain area and the respective effect on humans could be supportive. As the perception of sound is highly subjective, the prediction of the perceived acoustic environments is very difficult. This paper describes a course of action to develop an automatic estimation of an acoustic environment, based on the measurement of sound properties solely. The challenges of this endeavor are explained in detail. Possible application areas in mHealth are identified and presented. This future vision paper wants to draw the attention to different possibilities to cope with noise pollution either by personal behavior change or by using personalized data to reach out for a more general applicability for example through soundscape.

Definition of 1992 Technology Aircraft Noise Levels and the Methodology for Assessing Airplane Noise Impact of Component Noise Reduction Concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kumasaka, Henry A.; Martinez, Michael M.; Weir, Donald S.

1996-01-01

This report describes the methodology for assessing the impact of component noise reduction on total airplane system noise. The methodology is intended to be applied to the results of individual study elements of the NASA-Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Noise Reduction Program, which will address the development of noise reduction concepts for specific components. Program progress will be assessed in terms of noise reduction achieved, relative to baseline levels representative of 1992 technology airplane/engine design and performance. In this report, the 1992 technology reference levels are defined for assessment models based on four airplane sizes - an average business jet and three commercial transports: a small twin, a medium sized twin, and a large quad. Study results indicate that component changes defined as program final goals for nacelle treatment and engine/airframe source noise reduction would achieve from 6-7 EPNdB reduction of total airplane noise at FAR 36 Stage 3 noise certification conditions for all of the airplane noise assessment models.

Noise monitoring and adverse health effects in residents in different functional areas of Luzhou, China.

PubMed

Han, Zhi-Xia; Lei, Zhang-Heng; Zhang, Chun-Lian; Xiong, Wei; Gan, Zhong-Lin; Hu, Ping; Zhang, Qing-Bi

2015-03-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the noise pollution situation and the resulting adverse effect on residents' health in Luzhou, China, to provide data for noise pollution prevention policies and interventions. Four different functional areas (commercial, construction, residential, and transportation hub areas) were chosen to monitor noise level for 3 months. The survey was performed by questionnaire on the spot on randomly selected individuals; it collected data on the impact of noise on residents' health (quality of sleep, high blood pressure, subjective feeling of nervous system damage, and attention) as well as the knowledge of noise-induced health damage, the degree of adaptation to noise, and their solutions. The noise levels of residential, commercial, transportation, and construction areas exceeded the national standards (P < .001). Sleep quality, prevalence of hypertension, and attention in transportation hub areas were significantly different from those in the other 3 areas (P < .05); only 24.46% of people knew the health hazards associated with noise; 64.57% of residents have adapted to the current noise environment. Most of them have to close the doors and windows to reduce noise. The noise pollution situation in Luzhou, China, is serious, especially the traffic noise pollution. Residents pay less attention to it and adopt single measures to reduce the noise. We should work toward the prevention and control of traffic noise and improve the residents' awareness to reduce the adverse health effects of noise. © 2014 APJPH.

Noise Pollution Control System in the Hospital Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Figueroa Gallo, LM; Olivera, JM

2016-04-01

Problems related to environmental noise are not a new subject, but they became a major issue to solve because of the increasing, in complexity and intensity, of human activities due technological advances. Numerous international studies had dealt with the exposure of critical patients to noisy environment such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Units; their results show that there are difficulties in the organization in the developing brain, it can damage the delicate auditory structures and can cause biorhythm disorders, specially in preterm infants. The objective of this paper is to present the development and implementation of a control system that includes technical-management-training aspects to regulate the levels of specific noise sources in the neonatal hospitalization environment. For this purpose, there were applied different tools like: observations, surveys, procedures, an electronic control device and a training program for a Neonatal Service Unit. As a result, all noise sources were identified -some of them are eliminable-; all the service stable staff categories participated voluntarily; environmental noise measurements yielded values between 62.5 and 64.6 dBA and maximum were between 86.1 and 89.7 dBA; it was designed and installed a noise control device and the staff is being trained in noise reduction best practices.

Traffic noise drowns out great tit alarm calls.

PubMed

Templeton, Christopher N; Zollinger, Sue Anne; Brumm, Henrik

2016-11-21

Anthropogenic noise is one of the fastest growing and most ubiquitous types of environmental pollution and can impair acoustic communication in a variety of animals [1]. Recent research has shown that birds can adjust acoustic parameters of their sexual signals (songs) in noisy environments [2,3], yet we know little about other types of vocalizations. Anti-predator signals contain subtle information that is critical for avoiding predation [4,5], and failure to detect these calls [6,7] as a result of anthropogenic noise pollution could have large fitness consequences by negatively impacting survival. We investigated whether traffic noise impacts both the production and perception of avian alarm calls using a combination of lab and field experiments with great tits (Parus major), a songbird that frequently inhabits noise-polluted environments. In response to experimental noise manipulation in controlled laboratory conditions, great tits increased the amplitude, but not the frequency parameters, of their mobbing alarm calls (hereafter 'alarm calls'). Playback experiments conducted in the wild indicate that current levels of road traffic noise mask alarm calls, impeding the ability of great tits to perceive these critical signals. These results show that, despite the vocal adjustments used to compensate for anthropogenic noise, great tits are not able to restore the active space of their calls in even moderately noisy environments. Consequently, birds are likely to suffer from increased predation risk under noise, with likely effects on their behaviour, populations, and community dynamics in noise-polluted areas. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Residential proximity to major roads and term low birth weight: the roles of air pollution, heat, noise, and road-adjacent trees.

PubMed

Dadvand, Payam; Ostro, Bart; Figueras, Francesc; Foraster, Maria; Basagaña, Xavier; Valentín, Antònia; Martinez, David; Beelen, Rob; Cirach, Marta; Hoek, Gerard; Jerrett, Michael; Brunekreef, Bert; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J

2014-07-01

Maternal residential proximity to roads has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, there is no study investigating mediators or buffering effects of road-adjacent trees on this association. We investigated the association between mothers' residential proximity to major roads and term low birth weight (LBW), while exploring possible mediating roles of air pollution (PM(2.5), PM(2.5-10), PM(10), PM(2.5) absorbance, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrogen oxides), heat, and noise and buffering effect of road-adjacent trees on this association. This cohort study was based on 6438 singleton term births in Barcelona, Spain (2001-2005). Road proximity was measured as both continuous distance to and living within 200 m from a major road. We assessed individual exposures to air pollution, noise, and heat using, respectively, temporally adjusted land-use regression models, annual averages of 24-hour noise levels across 50 m and 250 m, and average of satellite-derived land-surface temperature in a 50-m buffer around each residential address. We used vegetation continuous fields to abstract tree coverage in a 200-m buffer around major roads. Living within 200 m of major roads was associated with a 46% increase in term LBW risk; an interquartile range increase in heat exposure with an 18% increase; and third-trimester exposure to PM(2.5), PM(2.5-10), and PM10 with 24%, 25%, and 26% increases, respectively. Air pollution and heat exposures together explained about one-third of the association between residential proximity to major roads and term LBW. Our observations on the buffering of this association by road-adjacent trees were not consistent between our 2 measures of proximity to major roads. An increased risk of term LBW associated with proximity to major roads was partly mediated by air pollution and heat exposures.

Exposure to air pollution and noise from road traffic and risk of congenital anomalies in the Danish National Birth Cohort.

PubMed

Pedersen, Marie; Garne, Ester; Hansen-Nord, Nete; Hjortebjerg, Dorrit; Ketzel, Matthias; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Nybo Andersen, Anne-Marie; Sørensen, Mette

2017-11-01

Ambient air pollution has been associated with certain congenital anomalies, but few studies rely on assessment of fine-scale variation in air quality and associations with noise from road traffic are unexplored. Among 84,218 liveborn singletons (1997-2002) from the Danish National Birth Cohort with complete covariate data and residential address history from conception until birth, we identified major congenital anomalies in 4018 children. Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and noise from road traffic (L den ) burden during fetal life was modeled. Outcome and covariate data were derived from registries, hospital records and questionnaires. Odds ratios (ORs) for eleven major anomaly groups associated with road traffic pollution during first trimester were estimated using logistic regression with generalized estimating equation (GEE) approach. Most of the associations tested did not suggest increased risks. A 10-µg/m 3 increase in NO 2 exposure during first trimester was associated with an adjusted ORs of 1.22 (95% confidence interval: 0.98-1.52) for ear, face and neck anomalies; 1.14 0.98-1.33) for urinary anomalies. A 10-dB increase in road traffic noise was also associated with these subgroups of anomalies as well as with an increased OR for orofacial cleft anomalies (1.17, 0.94-1.47). Inverse associations for several both air pollution and noise were observed for atrial septal defects (0.85, 0.68-1.04 and 0.81, 0.65-0.99, respectively). Residential road traffic exposure to noise or air pollution during pregnancy did not seem to pose a risk for development of congenital anomalies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-reported sleep disturbances due to railway noise: exposure-response relationships for nighttime equivalent and maximum noise levels.

PubMed

Aasvang, Gunn Marit; Moum, Torbjorn; Engdahl, Bo

2008-07-01

The objective of the present survey was to study self-reported sleep disturbances due to railway noise with respect to nighttime equivalent noise level (L(p,A,eq,night)) and maximum noise level (L(p,A,max)). A sample of 1349 people in and around Oslo in Norway exposed to railway noise was studied in a cross-sectional survey to obtain data on sleep disturbances, sleep problems due to noise, and personal characteristics including noise sensitivity. Individual noise exposure levels were determined outside of the bedroom facade, the most-exposed facade, and inside the respondents' bedrooms. The exposure-response relationships were analyzed by using logistic regression models, controlling for possible modifying factors including the number of noise events (train pass-by frequency). L(p,A,eq,night) and L(p,A,max) were significantly correlated, and the proportion of reported noise-induced sleep problems increased as both L(p,A,eq,night) and L(p,A,max) increased. Noise sensitivity, type of bedroom window, and pass-by frequency were significant factors affecting noise-induced sleep disturbances, in addition to the noise exposure level. Because about half of the study population did not use a bedroom at the most-exposed side of the house, the exposure-response curve obtained by using noise levels for the most-exposed facade underestimated noise-induced sleep disturbance for those who actually have their bedroom at the most-exposed facade.

Quantification of airport community noise impact in terms of noise levels, population density, and human subjective response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deloach, R.

1981-01-01

The Fraction Impact Method (FIM), developed by the National Research Council (NRC) for assessing the amount and physiological effect of noise, is described. Here, the number of people exposed to a given level of noise is multiplied by a weighting factor that depends on noise level. It is pointed out that the Aircraft-noise Levels and Annoyance MOdel (ALAMO), recently developed at NASA Langley Research Center, can perform the NRC fractional impact calculations for given modes of operation at any U.S. airport. The sensitivity of these calculations to errors in estimates of population, noise level, and human subjective response is discussed. It is found that a change in source noise causes a substantially smaller change in contour area than would be predicted simply on the basis of inverse square law considerations. Another finding is that the impact calculations are generally less sensitive to source noise errors than to systematic errors in population or subjective response.

Ambient noise levels in industrial audiometric test rooms.

PubMed

Frank, T; Williams, D L

1994-05-01

In 1983 the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) specified maximum permissible ambient noise levels (MPANLs) that would allow valid hearing threshold measurements in an audiometric test room. However, ambient noise sound pressure levels (SPLs) in rooms used for industrial hearing tests are unknown. The present study reports octave band (125 to 8000 Hz) ambient noise SPLs measured in 490 single-walled prefabricated audiometric test rooms located in industrial settings that were obtained from eight sources. The ambient noise SPLs were highest in the lower frequencies and decreased as frequency increased. All 490 rooms met the OSHA MPANLs. Fortunately, the ambient noise SPLs were considerably lower than the OSHA MPANLs, since previous research has demonstrated that hearing thresholds cannot be obtained down to 0-dB HL in a test room having ambient noise levels equal to the OSHA MPANLs. In fact, 33%, or 162 of the 490 test rooms, met the more stringent MPANLs recently specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for industrial hearing testing. Given that the OSHA MPANLs are too high and that the test room ambient noise SPLs were considerably less than the OSHA MPANLs, that authors recommend that the OSHA MPANLs be revised to the more stringent ANSI 1991 MPANLs so that hearing thresholds for baseline and annual audiograms can be measured down to 0-dB HL.

Behavioural and biochemical stress responses of Palinurus elephas after exposure to boat noise pollution in tank.

PubMed

Filiciotto, Francesco; Vazzana, Mirella; Celi, Monica; Maccarrone, Vincenzo; Ceraulo, Maria; Buffa, Gaspare; Di Stefano, Vincenzo; Mazzola, Salvatore; Buscaino, Giuseppa

2014-07-15

This study examined the effects of boat noise on the behavioural and biochemical parameters of the Mediterranean spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas). The experiment was conducted in a tank equipped with a video and audio recording system. 18 experimental trials, assigned to boat noise and control conditions, were performed using lobsters in single and group of 4 specimens. After a 1h habituation period, we audio- and video-recorded the lobsters for 1h. During the experimental phase, the animals assigned to the boat groups were exposed to boat noise pollution (a random sequence of boat noises). Exposure to the noise produced significant variations in locomotor behaviours and haemolymphatic parameters. Our results indicate that the lobsters exposed to boat noises increased significantly their locomotor activities and haemolymphatic bioindicator of stressful conditions such as glucose, total proteins, Hsp70 expression and THC when tested both singly and in groups. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Female voice communications in high levels of aircraft cockpit noises--Part I: spectra, levels, and microphones.

PubMed

Nixon, C W; Morris, L J; McCavitt, A R; McKinley, R L; Anderson, T R; McDaniel, M P; Yeager, D G

1998-07-01

Female produced speech, although more intelligible than male speech in some noise spectra, may be more vulnerable to degradation by high levels of some military aircraft cockpit noises. The acoustic features of female speech are higher in frequency, lower in power, and appear more susceptible than male speech to masking by some of these military noises. Current military aircraft voice communication systems were optimized for the male voice and may not adequately accommodate the female voice in these high level noises. This applied study investigated the intelligibility of female and male speech produced in the noise spectra of four military aircraft cockpits at levels ranging from 95 dB to 115 dB. The experimental subjects used standard flight helmets and headsets, noise-canceling microphones, and military aircraft voice communications systems during the measurements. The intelligibility of female speech was lower than that of male speech for all experimental conditions; however, differences were small and insignificant except at the highest levels of the cockpit noises. Intelligibility for both genders varied with aircraft noise spectrum and level. Speech intelligibility of both genders was acceptable during normal cruise noises of all four aircraft, but improvements are required in the higher levels of noise created during aircraft maximum operating conditions. The intelligibility of female speech was unacceptable at the highest measured noise level of 115 dB and may constitute a problem for other military aviators. The intelligibility degradation due to the noise can be neutralized by use of an available, improved noise-canceling microphone, by the application of current active noise reduction technology to the personal communication equipment, and by the development of a voice communications system to accommodate the speech produced by both female and male aviators.

Vessel noise pollution as a human threat to fish: assessment of the stress response in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata, Linnaeus 1758).

PubMed

Celi, Monica; Filiciotto, Francesco; Maricchiolo, Giulia; Genovese, Lucrezia; Quinci, Enza Maria; Maccarrone, Vincenzo; Mazzola, Salvatore; Vazzana, Mirella; Buscaino, Giuseppa

2016-04-01

This study examined the effects of boat noise pollution on the stress indices of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata, Linnaeus 1758). To assess the stress response in these fish, biometric values and plasma parameters such as ACTH, cortisol, glucose, lactate, haematocrit, Hsp70, total protein, cholesterol, triglycerides and osmolarity were analysed. After acclimatization of the animals, the experiment was carried out in a tank fitted with underwater speakers where the fish were exposed to sound treatments (in duplicate) consisting of: 10 days of no sound (control treatment; the animals were only exposed to the experimental tank's background noise) and 10 days of noise derived from original recordings of motor boats, including recreational boats, hydrofoil, fishing boat and ferry boat (vessel noise treatment). The exposure to noise produced significant variations in almost all the plasma parameters assessed, but no differences were observed in weights and fork lengths. A PERMANOVA analysis highlighted significantly increased values (p < 0.05) of ACTH, cortisol, glucose, lactate, haematocrit, Hsp70, cholesterol, triglycerides and osmolarity in the fish exposed to vessel noise for 10 days. This study clearly highlights that anthropogenic noise negatively affects fish, and they are valuable targets for detailed investigations into the effects of this global pollutant. Finally, these experimental studies could represent part of the science that is able to improve the quality of the policies related to management plans for maritime spaces (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 56/2008 CE) that are aimed at stemming this pollutant phenomenon.

A study of interior noise levels, noise sources and transmission paths in light aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayden, R. E.; Murray, B. S.; Theobald, M. A.

1983-01-01

The interior noise levels and spectral characteristics of 18 single-and twin-engine propeller-driven light aircraft, and source-path diagnosis of a single-engine aircraft which was considered representative of a large part of the fleet were studied. The purpose of the flight surveys was to measure internal noise levels and identify principal noise sources and paths under a carefully controlled and standardized set of flight procedures. The diagnostic tests consisted of flights and ground tests in which various parts of the aircraft, such as engine mounts, the engine compartment, exhaust pipe, individual panels, and the wing strut were instrumented to determine source levels and transmission path strengths using the transfer function technique. Predominant source and path combinations are identified. Experimental techniques are described. Data, transfer function calculations to derive source-path contributions to the cabin acoustic environment, and implications of the findings for noise control design are analyzed.

Effects of noise levels and call types on the source levels of killer whale calls.

PubMed

Holt, Marla M; Noren, Dawn P; Emmons, Candice K

2011-11-01

Accurate parameter estimates relevant to the vocal behavior of marine mammals are needed to assess potential effects of anthropogenic sound exposure including how masking noise reduces the active space of sounds used for communication. Information about how these animals modify their vocal behavior in response to noise exposure is also needed for such assessment. Prior studies have reported variations in the source levels of killer whale sounds, and a more recent study reported that killer whales compensate for vessel masking noise by increasing their call amplitude. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the source levels of a variety of call types in southern resident killer whales while also considering background noise level as a likely factor related to call source level variability. The source levels of 763 discrete calls along with corresponding background noise were measured over three summer field seasons in the waters surrounding the San Juan Islands, WA. Both noise level and call type were significant factors on call source levels (1-40 kHz band, range of 135.0-175.7 dB(rms) re 1 [micro sign]Pa at 1 m). These factors should be considered in models that predict how anthropogenic masking noise reduces vocal communication space in marine mammals.

Noise level in neonatal incubators: A comparative study of three models.

PubMed

Fernández Zacarías, F; Beira Jiménez, J L; Bustillo Velázquez-Gaztelu, P J; Hernández Molina, R; Lubián López, Simón

2018-04-01

Preterm infants usually have to spend a long time in an incubator, excessive noise in which can have adverse physiological and psychological effects on neonates. In fact, incubator noise levels typically range from 45 to 70 dB but differences in this respect depend largely on the noise measuring method used. The primary aim of this work was to assess the extent to which noise in an incubator comes from its own fan and how efficiently the incubator can isolate external noise. Three different incubator models were characterized for acoustic performance by measuring their internal noise levels in an anechoic chamber, and also for noise isolation efficiency by using a pink noise source in combination with an internal and an external microphone that were connected to an SVAN958 noise analyzer. The incubators studied produced continuous equivalent noise levels of 53.5-58 dB and reduced external noise by 5.2-10.4 dB. A preterm infant in an incubator is exposed to noise levels clearly exceeding international recommendations even though such levels usually comply with the limit set in the standard IEC60601-2-19: 2009 (60 dBA) under normal conditions of use. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Are the noise levels acceptable in a built environment like Hong Kong?

PubMed Central

To, Wai Ming; Mak, Cheuk Ming; Chung, Wai Leung

2015-01-01

Governments all over the world have enacted environmental noise directives and noise control ordinances/acts to protect tranquility in residential areas. However, there is a lack of literature on the evaluation of whether the Acceptable Noise Levels (ANLs) stipulated in the directive/ordinance/act are actually achievable. The study aimed at measuring outdoor environmental noise levels in Hong Kong and identifying whether the measured noise levels are lower than the stipulated ANLs at 20 categories of residential areas. Data were gathered from a territory-wide noise survey. Outdoor noise measurements were conducted at 203 residential premises in urban areas, low-density residential areas, rural areas, and other areas. In total, 366 daytime hourly Leq outdoor noise levels, 362 nighttime hourly Leq outdoor noise levels, and 20 sets of daily, that is, 24 Leq,1-h outdoor noise levels were recorded. The mean daytime Leq,1-h values ranged 54.4-70.8 dBA, while the mean nighttime Leq,1-h values ranged 52.6-67.9 dBA. When the measured noise levels were compared with the stipulated ANLs, only three out of the 20 categories of areas had outdoor noise levels below ANLs during daytime. All other areas (and all areas during nighttime) were found to have outdoor noise levels at or above ANLs. PMID:26572703

Underwater noise modelling for environmental impact assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farcas, Adrian; Thompson, Paul M.; Merchant, Nathan D., E-mail: nathan.merchant@cefas.co.uk

Assessment of underwater noise is increasingly required by regulators of development projects in marine and freshwater habitats, and noise pollution can be a constraining factor in the consenting process. Noise levels arising from the proposed activity are modelled and the potential impact on species of interest within the affected area is then evaluated. Although there is considerable uncertainty in the relationship between noise levels and impacts on aquatic species, the science underlying noise modelling is well understood. Nevertheless, many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not reflect best practice, and stakeholders and decision makers in the EIA process are often unfamiliarmore » with the concepts and terminology that are integral to interpreting noise exposure predictions. In this paper, we review the process of underwater noise modelling and explore the factors affecting predictions of noise exposure. Finally, we illustrate the consequences of errors and uncertainties in noise modelling, and discuss future research needs to reduce uncertainty in noise assessments.« less

Noise levels in primary schools of medium sized city in Greece.

PubMed

Sarantopoulos, George; Lykoudis, Spyros; Kassomenos, Pavlos

2014-06-01

This study presents and evaluates noise levels recorded at 15 school complexes in order to describe the indoor as well as the outdoor acoustic environment of schools and gain insight on controlling factors. Noise levels at the roadside in front of the school, the schoolyard, and 41 classrooms, both occupied and unoccupied, were simultaneously and continuously recorded through the course of a daily timetable (08:20-13:10). The average speech noise level of teachers was separately measured for 1min periods. Indoor noise levels, in all cases, were much higher than internationally recommended values: LAeq,5min averaged 69.0dB in occupied classrooms, and 47.1dB in unoccupied ones. Average speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) was estimated to be 12.0dB(A) during teaching, whereas both indoor and outdoor noise levels were significantly elevated during break time and outdoor physical-educational activities. Corresponding measurements of indoor and outdoor noise suggest that noise from the outside (road and schoolyard) affects the background noise level in the classrooms, however in varying degrees, depending on the specific layout and road traffic characteristics. Using double glazing diminishes this effect. © 2013.

Low stimulus environments: reducing noise levels in continuing care.

PubMed

Brown, Juliette; Fawzi, Waleed; Shah, Amar; Joyce, Margaret; Holt, Genevieve; McCarthy, Cathy; Stevenson, Carmel; Marange, Rosca; Shakes, Joy; Solomon-Ayeh, Kwesi

2016-01-01

In the low stimulus environment project, we aimed to reduce the levels of intrusive background noise on an older adult mental health ward, combining a very straightforward measure on decibel levels with a downstream measure of reduced distress and agitation as expressed in incidents of violence. This project on reducing background noise levels on older adult wards stemmed from work the team had done on reducing levels of violence and aggression. We approached the problem using quality improvement methods. Reducing harm to patients and staff is a strategic aim of our Trust and in our efforts we were supported by the Trust's extensive programme of quality improvement, including training and support provided by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the trust's own Quality Improvement team. Prior to the project we were running a weekly multi-disciplinary quality improvement group on the ward. We established from this a sub-group to address the specific problem of noise levels and invited carers of people with dementia on our ward to the group. The project was led by nursing staff. We used a noise meter app readily downloadable from the internet to monitor background noise levels on the ward and establish a baseline measure. As a group we used a driver diagram to identify an overall aim and a clear understanding of the major factors that would drive improvements. We also used a staff and carer survey to identify further areas to work on. Change ideas that came from staff and carers included the use of the noise meter to track and report back on noise levels, the use of posters to remind staff about noise levels, the introduction of a visual indication of current noise levels (the Yacker Tracker), the addition of relaxing background music, and adaptations to furniture and environment. We tested many of these over the course of nine months in 2015, using the iterative learning gained from multiple PDSA cycles. The specific aim was a decrease from above 60dB to

A study on traffic noise of two campuses of University, Balasore, India.

PubMed

Goswami, Shreerup; Nayak, Subrata Kumar; Pradhan, Akula Chandra; Dey, Surjendu Kumar

2011-01-01

Noise pollution is a significant environmental problem in many rapidly urbanizing areas of Orissa, India. Transportation sector is one of the major contributors to noise in these areas. The present study is an attempt to estimate traffic noise pollution at five places on the way from Vyasa Vihar Campus to Gyan Vigyan Vihar Campus of Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, Orissa. The sources of noise at the studied sites are predominantly attributable to motor vehicular traffic. The noise levels of all the five locations were found to be beyond permissible limit during the day time. The contributions of different types of vehicles to environmental noise were found to ranging from 70.4-94.2, 79.0-96.1, 77.8-110.2, 70.8-90.3, 71.0-87.5, 71.1-84.4, 72.5-86.9 and 74.0-85.4 dB (A) by cargo carrying Trucks, Tractors, Dumpers, Town Buses, Motor cycles, Bolero/Trucker, Pick up and Tempo respectively. The contributions of individual vehicles towards noise pollution were found to be more than the road traffic noise-limit i.e., 70 dB (A). On certain local inhabitants interviewed, the impact of noise was observed in the forms of alterations in their physical, psychological and personal aspects. This study warrants attention from all sections of people to deal with the problem of noise pollution.

Noise Levels Associated With New York City's Mass Transit Systems

PubMed Central

Gershon, Robyn R. M.; Zeltser, Marina; Canton, Allison; Akram, Muhammad

2009-01-01

Objectives. We measured noise levels associated with various forms of mass transit and compared them to exposure guidelines designed to protect against noise-induced hearing loss. Methods. We used noise dosimetry to measure time-integrated noise levels in a representative sample of New York City mass transit systems (subways, buses, ferries, tramway, and commuter railways) aboard transit vehicles and at vehicle boarding platforms or terminals during June and July 2007. Results. Of the transit types evaluated, subway cars and platforms had the highest associated equivalent continuous average (Leq) and maximum noise levels. All transit types had Leq levels appreciably above 70 A-weighted decibels, the threshold at which noise-induced hearing loss is considered possible. Conclusions. Mass transit noise exposure has the potential to exceed limits recommended by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency and thus cause noise-induced hearing loss among riders of all forms of mass transit given sufficient exposure durations. Environmental noise–control efforts in mass transit and, in cases in which controls are infeasible, the use of personal hearing protection would benefit the ridership's hearing health. PMID:19542046

Noise levels associated with urban land use.

PubMed

King, Gavin; Roland-Mieszkowski, Marek; Jason, Timothy; Rainham, Daniel G

2012-12-01

Recent trends towards the intensification of urban development to increase urban densities and avoid sprawl should be accompanied by research into the potential for related health impacts from environmental exposure. The objective of the current study was to examine the effect of the built environment and land use on levels of environmental noise. Two different study areas were selected using a combination of small area census geography, land use information, air photography, and ground-truthing. The first study area represented residential land use and consisted of two- to three-story single-family homes. The second study area was characteristic of mixed-use urban planning with apartment buildings as well as commercial and institutional development. Study areas were subdivided into six grids, and a location was randomly selected within each grid for noise monitoring. Each location was sampled four times over a 24-h day, resulting in a total of 24 samples for each of the two areas. Results showed significant variability in noise within study areas and significantly higher levels of environmental noise in the mixed-use area. Both study areas exceeded recommended noise limits when evaluated against World Health Organization guidelines and yielded average noise events values in the moderate to serious annoyance range with the potential to obscure normal conversation and cause sleep disturbance.

Noise levels of dental equipment used in dental college of Damascus University.

PubMed

Qsaibati, Mhd Loutify; Ibrahim, Ousama

2014-11-01

In dental practical classes, the acoustic environment is characterized by high noise levels in relation to other teaching areas. The aims of this study were to measure noise levels produced during the different dental learning clinics, by equipments used in dental learning areas under different working conditions and by used and brand new handpieces under different working conditions. The noise levels were measured by using a noise level meter with a microphone, which was placed at a distance of 15 cm from a main noise source in pre-clinical and clinical areas. In laboratories, the microphone was placed at a distance of 15 cm and another reading was taken 2 m away. Noise levels of dental learning clinics were measured by placing noise level meter at clinic center. The data were collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed using t-tests. Significance level was set at 5%. In dental clinics, the highest noise was produced by micro motor handpiece while cutting on acrylic (92.2 dB) and lowest noise (51.7 dB) was created by ultrasonic scaler without suction pump. The highest noise in laboratories was caused by sandblaster (96 dB at a distance of 15 cm) and lowest noise by stone trimmer when only turned on (61.8 dB at a distance of 2 m). There was significant differences in noise levels of the equipment's used in dental laboratories and dental learning clinics (P = 0.007). The highest noise level recorded in clinics was at pedodontic clinic (67.37 dB). Noise levels detected in this study were considered to be close to the limit of risk of hearing loss 85 dB.

Street-level noise in an urban setting: assessment and contribution to personal exposure.

PubMed

McAlexander, Tara P; Gershon, Robyn R M; Neitzel, Richard L

2015-02-28

The urban soundscape, which represents the totality of noise in the urban setting, is formed from a wide range of sources. One of the most ubiquitous and least studied of these is street-level (i.e., sidewalk) noise. Mainly associated with vehicular traffic, street level noise is hard to ignore and hard to escape. It is also potentially dangerous, as excessive noise from any source is an important risk factor for adverse health effects. This study was conducted to better characterize the urban soundscape and the role of street level noise on overall personal noise exposure in an urban setting. Street-level noise measures were obtained at 99 street sites located throughout New York City (NYC), along with data on time, location, and sources of environmental noise. The relationship between street-level noise measures and potential predictors of noise was analyzed using linear and logistic regression models, and geospatial modeling was used to evaluate spatial trends in noise. Daily durations of street-level activities (time spent standing, sitting, walking and running on streets) were estimated via survey from a sample of NYC community members recruited at NYC street fairs. Street-level noise measurements were then combined with daily exposure durations for each member of the sample to estimate exposure to street noise, as well as exposure to other sources of noise. The mean street noise level was 73.4 dBA, with substantial spatial variation (range 55.8-95.0 dBA). Density of vehicular (road) traffic was significantly associated with excessive street level noise levels. Exposure duration data for street-level noise and other common sources of noise were collected from 1894 NYC community members. Based on individual street-level exposure estimates, and in consideration of all other sources of noise exposure in an urban population, we estimated that street noise exposure contributes approximately 4% to an average individual's annual noise dose. Street-level noise

Noise Levels for U.S. Certificated and Foreign Aircraft

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-11-11

This circular provides noise level data for aircraft certificated under 14 CFR : part 36. Noise level data for foreign aircraft certificated to ICAO Annex 16 : standards are also provided in a separate appendix for informational purposes. : Other app...

Long-term air pollution and traffic noise exposures and cognitive function:A cross-sectional analysis of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study.

PubMed

Tzivian, Lilian; Dlugaj, Martha; Winkler, Angela; Hennig, Frauke; Fuks, Kateryna; Sugiri, Dorothee; Schikowski, Tamara; Jakobs, Hermann; Erbel, Raimund; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Moebus, Susanne; Hoffmann, Barbara; Weimar, Christian

2016-01-01

Investigations of adverse effects of air pollution (AP) and ambient noise on cognitive functions are apparently scarce, and findings seem to be inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of long-term exposure to AP and traffic noise with cognitive performance. At the second examination of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall study (2006-2008), cognitive performance was evaluated in 4086 participants. Long-term residential exposure to size-specific particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) with land use regression, to and traffic noise (weighted 24-h (L DEN ) and nighttime (L NIGHT ) means), was assessed according to the European Union (EU) Directive 2002/49/EC. Multiple regression models were calculated for the relationship of environmental exposures with a global cognitive score (GCS) and in five cognitive subtests, using single- and two-exposure models. In fully adjusted models, several AP metrics were negatively associated with four of five subtests and with GCS. For example, an interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 was correlated with verbal fluency, labyrinth test, and immediate and delayed verbal recall. A 10 dB(A) elevation in L DEN and L NIGHT was associated with GCS. Similar but not significant associations were found for the cognitive subtests. In two-exposure models including noise and air pollution simultaneously, the associations did not change markedly for air pollution, but attenuated numerically for noise. Long-term exposures to AP and traffic noise are negatively correlated with subtests related to memory and executive functions. There appears to be little evidence for mutual confounding.

Airport noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pendley, R. E.

1982-01-01

The problem of airport noise at several airports and air bases is detailed. Community reactions to the noise, steps taken to reduce jet engine noise, and the effect of airport use restrictions and curfews on air transportation are discussed. The adverse effect of changes in allowable operational noise on airport safety and altenative means for reducing noise pollution are considered. Community-airport relations and public relations are discussed.

The Impact of Operating Room Noise Upon Communication During Percutaneous Nephrostolithotomy.

PubMed

Cheriyan, Salim; Mowery, Hayley; Ruckle, David; Keheila, Mohamed; Myklak, Kristene; Alysouf, Muhannad; Atiga, Chase; Khuri, Jacob; Khater, Nazih; Faaborg, Daniel; Ruckle, Herbert C; Baldwin, D Daniel; Baldwin, D Duane

2016-10-01

Equipment and personnel contribute to the overall noise level in the operating room (OR). This study aims to determine intraoperative noise levels during percutaneous nephrostolithotomy (PCNL) and the effects of this noise upon intraoperative communication. A PCNL benchtop model was used to measure intraoperative noise and determine its effect upon communication in three progressively increasing sound environments (baseline ambient noise, ambient noise with PCNL equipment, and ambient noise with both PCNL equipment and music). Five trials with 20 different medical words/phrases were spoken by the surgeon and responses were recorded by the first assistant, anesthesiologist, and circulating nurse. In addition, noise levels during PCNL were compared to common environmental noise levels. In the bench top model, noise levels were 53.49 A-weighted decibels (dBA) with ambient noise, 78.79 dBA with equipment in use, and 81.78 dBA with equipment and music. At the ambient noise level, the first assistant, anesthesiologist, and circulator correctly recorded 100%, 100%, and 96% of the words, respectively. The correct response rate by the subjects decreased to 97% (p = 0.208), 81% (p = 0.012), and 56% (p < 0.001) upon addition of PCNL equipment, and 90% (p = 0.022), 48% (p = 0.002), and 13% (p < 0.001) upon addition of music and PCNL equipment in the first assistant, anesthesiologist, and circulator, respectively. In the simulated OR model, PCNL noise level (81.78 dBA) was comparable to a passing freight train at 30 feet (82.2 dBA, p = 0.44). Noise pollution decreases effective intraoperative communication during PCNL. It is important for surgeons to understand the effect noise can have on attempted communication to prevent errors due to miscommunication. In addition, methods to decrease intraoperative noise pollution and improve communication in the OR could improve patient safety and outcomes.

Air pollution and survival within the Washington University-EPRI veterans cohort: risks based on modeled estimates of ambient levels of hazardous and criteria air pollutants.

PubMed

Lipfert, Frederick W; Wyzga, Ronald E; Baty, Jack D; Miller, J Philip

2009-04-01

For this paper, we considered relationships between mortality, vehicular traffic density, and ambient levels of 12 hazardous air pollutants, elemental carbon (EC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and sulfate (SO4(2-)). These pollutant species were selected as markers for specific types of emission sources, including vehicular traffic, coal combustion, smelters, and metal-working industries. Pollutant exposures were estimated using emissions inventories and atmospheric dispersion models. We analyzed associations between county ambient levels of these pollutants and survival patterns among approximately 70,000 U.S. male veterans by mortality period (1976-2001 and subsets), type of exposure model, and traffic density level. We found significant associations between all-cause mortality and traffic-related air quality indicators and with traffic density per se, with stronger associations for benzene, formaldehyde, diesel particulate, NOx, and EC. The maximum effect on mortality for all cohort subjects during the 26-yr follow-up period is approximately 10%, but most of the pollution-related deaths in this cohort occurred in the higher-traffic counties, where excess risks approach 20%. However, mortality associations with diesel particulates are similar in high- and low-traffic counties. Sensitivity analyses show risks decreasing slightly over time and minor differences between linear and logarithmic exposure models. Two-pollutant models show stronger risks associated with specific traffic-related pollutants than with traffic density per se, although traffic density retains statistical significance in most cases. We conclude that tailpipe emissions of both gases and particles are among the most significant and robust predictors of mortality in this cohort and that most of those associations have weakened over time. However, we have not evaluated possible contributions from road dust or traffic noise. Stratification by traffic density level suggests the

Noise pollution limits metal bioaccumulation and growth rate in a filter feeder, the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas

PubMed Central

Charifi, Mohcine; Miserazzi, Alison; Sow, Mohamedou; Perrigault, Mickael; Gonzalez, Patrice; Ciret, Pierre; Benomar, Soumaya

2018-01-01

Shipping has increased dramatically in recent decades and oysters can hear them. We studied the interaction between noise pollution and trace metal contamination in the oyster Magallana gigas. Four oyster-groups were studied during a 14-day exposure period. Two were exposed to cadmium in the presence of cargo ship-noise ([Cd++]w ≈ 0.5 μg∙L-1; maximum sound pressure level 150 dBrms re 1 μPa), and 2 were exposed only to cadmium. The Cd concentration in the gills ([Cd]g) and the digestive gland ([Cd]dg), the valve closure duration, number of valve closures and circadian distribution of opening and closure, the daily shell growth-rate and the expression of 19 genes in the gills were studied. Oysters exposed to Cd in the presence of cargo ship-noise accumulated 2.5 times less Cd in their gills than did the controls without ship noise and their growth rate was 2.6 times slower. In the presence of ship noise, oysters were closed more during the daytime, and their daily valve activity was reduced. Changes in gene activity in the gills were observed in 7 genes when the Cd was associated with the ship noise. In the absence of ship noise, a change in expression was measured in 4 genes. We conclude that chronic exposure to cargo ship noise has a depressant effect on the activity in oysters, including on the volume of the water flowing over their gills (Vw). In turn, a decrease in the Vw and valve-opening duration limited metal exposure and uptake by the gills but also limited food uptake. This latter conclusion would explain the slowing observed in the fat metabolism and growth rate. Thus, we propose that cargo ship noise exposure could protect against metal bioaccumulation and affect the growth rate. This latter conclusion points towards a potential risk in terms of ecosystem productivity. PMID:29617387

Noise levels of dental equipment used in dental college of Damascus University

PubMed Central

Qsaibati, Mhd. Loutify; Ibrahim, Ousama

2014-01-01

Background: In dental practical classes, the acoustic environment is characterized by high noise levels in relation to other teaching areas. The aims of this study were to measure noise levels produced during the different dental learning clinics, by equipments used in dental learning areas under different working conditions and by used and brand new handpieces under different working conditions. Materials and Methods: The noise levels were measured by using a noise level meter with a microphone, which was placed at a distance of 15 cm from a main noise source in pre-clinical and clinical areas. In laboratories, the microphone was placed at a distance of 15 cm and another reading was taken 2 m away. Noise levels of dental learning clinics were measured by placing noise level meter at clinic center. The data were collected, tabulated and statistically analyzed using t-tests. Significance level was set at 5%. Results: In dental clinics, the highest noise was produced by micro motor handpiece while cutting on acrylic (92.2 dB) and lowest noise (51.7 dB) was created by ultrasonic scaler without suction pump. The highest noise in laboratories was caused by sandblaster (96 dB at a distance of 15 cm) and lowest noise by stone trimmer when only turned on (61.8 dB at a distance of 2 m). There was significant differences in noise levels of the equipment's used in dental laboratories and dental learning clinics (P = 0.007). The highest noise level recorded in clinics was at pedodontic clinic (67.37 dB). Conclusions: Noise levels detected in this study were considered to be close to the limit of risk of hearing loss 85 dB. PMID:25540655

Factors Affecting Noise Levels of High-Speed Handpieces

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

regarding handpiece -induced hearing loss among dental providers remains equivocal, warranting continued concern. Moreover, handpiece noise may hinder...turbines can be applied to dental handpieces to reduce noise emission without compromising performance. Methods: Three samples of three brands of...high-speed dental handpieces were chosen. Following baseline measurements for speed (rpm) and noise level (dB), the following internal modifications

Neonatal nursery noise: practice-based learning and improvement.

PubMed

Hassanein, Sahar M A; El Raggal, Nehal M; Shalaby, Amani A

2013-03-01

To study the impact of interrupted loud noise in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on neonatal physiologic parameters, and apply methods to alleviate noise sources through teaching NICU's staff. Noise level measured at different day times and during different noisy events in the NICU. Changes in the heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were recorded just before and immediately after providing noisy events for 36 preterm and 26 full-term neonates. Focused training, guided by sound-level-meter, was provided to the NICU's staff to minimize noise. The highest mean baseline noise level, 60.5 decibel (dB), was recorded in the NICU critical care area at 12:00 am. The lowest level, 55.2 dB was recorded at 10:00 pm. Noise level inside the incubators was significantly lower than outside, p < 0.001. Noisy events resulted in a significant increase in heart and respiratory rates in preterm neonates as compared to full-terms, p < 0.05. Noise in our NICU exceeded the international permissible levels. Noisy events are numerous, which altered the neonates' physiologic stability especially preterm infants. Staff education is mandatory in ameliorating noise pollution with its deleterious effects on neonatal physiologic homeostasis.

Valuing Quiet: An Economic Assessment of U.S. Environmental Noise as a Cardiovascular Health Hazard.

PubMed

Swinburn, Tracy K; Hammer, Monica S; Neitzel, Richard L

2015-09-01

Environmental noise pollution increases the risk for hearing loss, stress, sleep disruption, annoyance, and cardiovascular disease and has other adverse health impacts. Recent (2013) estimates suggest that more than 100 million Americans are exposed to unhealthy levels of noise. Given the pervasive nature and significant health effects of environmental noise pollution, the corresponding economic impacts may be substantial. This 2014 economic assessment developed a new approach to estimate the impact of environmental noise on the prevalence and cost of key components of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in the U.S. By placing environmental noise in context with comparable environmental pollutants, this approach can inform public health law, planning, and policy. The effects of hypothetical national-scale changes in environmental noise levels on the prevalence and corresponding costs of hypertension and coronary heart disease were estimated, with the caveat that the national-level U.S. noise data our exposure estimates were derived from are >30 years old. The analyses suggested that a 5-dB noise reduction scenario would reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 1.4% and coronary heart disease by 1.8%. The annual economic benefit was estimated at $3.9 billion. These findings suggest significant economic impacts from environmental noise-related cardiovascular disease. Given these initial findings, noise may deserve increased priority and research as an environmental health hazard. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Noise levels and their effects on Shuttle crewmembers' performance: Operational concerns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koros, Anton S.; Adam, Susan C.; Wheelwright, Charles D.

1993-01-01

When excessive, noise can result in sleep interference, fatigue, interference with verbal communication, and hearing damage. Shuttle crewmembers are exposed to noise throughout their mission. The contribution of noise to decrements in crew performance over these extended exposure durations was the focus of this study. On the STS-40/SLS-1, mission noise levels were evaluated through the use of a sound level meter and a crew questionnaire. Crewmembers noted that sleep, concentration, and relaxation were negatively impacted by high noise levels. Speech Interference Levels (SIL's), calculated from the sound level measurements, suggested that crewmembers were required to raise their voice in order to be heard. No difficulty detecting caution and warning alarms was noted. The higher than desirable noise levels in Spacelab were attributed to flight specific payloads for which acoustic waivers were granted. It is recommended that current noise levels be reduced in Spacelab and the Orbiter Middeck especially as longer missions are planned for the buildup of Space Station Freedom. Levels of NC 50 are recommended in areas where speech communication is required and NC 40 in sleep areas. These levels are in accordance with the NASA Man-Systems Integration Standards. Measurements proposed for subsequent orbiter missions are discussed.

Pilot task-based assessment of noise levels among firefighters.

PubMed

Neitzel, Rl; Hong, O; Quinlan, P; Hulea, R

2013-11-01

Over one million American firefighters are routinely exposed to various occupational hazards agents. While efforts have been made to identify and reduce some causes of injuries and illnesses among firefighters, relatively little has been done to evaluate and understand occupational noise exposures in this group. The purpose of this pilot study was to apply a task-based noise exposure assessment methodology to firefighting operations to evaluate potential noise exposure sources, and to use collected task-based noise levels to create noise exposure estimates for evaluation of risk of noise-induced hearing loss by comparison to the 8-hr and 24-hr recommended exposure limits (RELs) for noise of 85 and 80.3 dBA, respectively. Task-based noise exposures (n=100 measurements) were measured in three different fire departments (a rural department in Southeast Michigan and suburban and urban departments in Northern California). These levels were then combined with time-at-task information collected from firefighters to estimate 8-hr noise exposures for the rural and suburban fire departments (n=6 estimates for each department). Data from 24-hr dosimetry measurements and crude self-reported activity categories from the urban fire department (n=4 measurements) were used to create 24-hr exposure estimates to evaluate the bias associated with the task-based estimates. Task-based noise levels were found to range from 82-109 dBA, with the highest levels resulting from use of saws and pneumatic chisels. Some short (e.g., 30 min) sequences of common tasks were found to result in nearly an entire allowable daily exposure. The majority of estimated 8-hr and 24-hr exposures exceeded the relevant recommended exposure limit. Predicted 24-hr exposures showed substantial imprecision in some cases, suggesting the need for increased task specificity. The results indicate potential for overexposure to noise from a variety of firefighting tasks and equipment, and suggest a need for further

The associations between traffic-related air pollution and noise with blood pressure in children: results from the GINIplus and LISAplus studies.

PubMed

Liu, Chuang; Fuertes, Elaine; Tiesler, Carla M T; Birk, Matthias; Babisch, Wolfgang; Bauer, Carl-Peter; Koletzko, Sibylle; von Berg, Andrea; Hoffmann, Barbara; Heinrich, Joachim

2014-01-01

Although traffic emits both air pollution and noise, studies jointly examining the effects of both of these exposures on blood pressure (BP) in children are scarce. We investigated associations between land-use regression modeled long-term traffic-related air pollution and BP in 2368 children aged 10 years from Germany (1454 from Munich and 914 from Wesel). We also studied this association with adjustment of long-term noise exposure (defined as day-evening-night noise indicator "Lden" and night noise indicator "Lnight") in a subgroup of 605 children from Munich inner city. In the overall analysis including 2368 children, NO2, PM2.5 mass (particles with aerodynamic diameters below 2.5μm), PM10 mass (particles with aerodynamic diameters below 10μm) and PM2.5 absorbance were not associated with BP. When restricting the analysis to the subgroup of children with noise information (N=605), a significant association between NO2 and diastolic BP was observed (-0.88 (95% confidence interval: -1.67, -0.08)). However, upon adjusting the models for noise exposure, only noise remained independently and significantly positively associated with diastolic BP. Diastolic BP increased by 0.50 (-0.03, 1.02), 0.59 (0.05, 1.13), 0.55 (0.03, 1.07), and 0.58 (0.05, 1.11)mmHg for every five decibel increase in Lden and by 0.59 (-0.05, 1.22), 0.69 (0.04, 1.33), 0.64 (0.02, 1.27), and 0.68 (0.05, 1.32)mmHg for every five decibel increase in Lnight, in different models of NO2, PM2.5 mass, PM10 mass and PM2.5 absorbance as the main exposure, respectively. In conclusion, air pollution was not consistently associated with BP with adjustment for noise, noise was independently and positively associated with BP in children. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

REDUCTION OF CLASSROOM NOISE LEVELS USING GROUP CONTINGENCIES

PubMed Central

Ring, Brandon M.; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur O.; Eubanks, Sean L.; Silverman, Kenneth

2016-01-01

The therapeutic workplace is an employment-based abstinence reinforcement intervention for unemployed drug users where trainees receive on-the-job employment skills training in a classroom setting. The study is an extension of prior therapeutic workplace research, which suggested that trainees frequently violated noise standards. Participants received real-time graphed feedback of noise levels and had the opportunity to earn monetary group reinforcement for maintaining a low number of noise violations. Results suggested that feedback and monetary reinforcement reduced the number of noise violations. PMID:25175843

Traffic Noise Assessment at Residential Areas in Skudai, Johor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulaiman, F. S.; Darus, N.; Mashros, N.; Haron, Z.; Yahya, K.

2018-03-01

Vehicles passing by on roadways in residential areas may produce unpleasant traffic noise that affects the residents. This paper presents the traffic noise assessment of three selected residential areas located in Skudai, Johor. The objectives of this study are to evaluate traffic characteristics at selected residential areas, determine related noise indices, and assess impact of traffic noise. Traffic characteristics such as daily traffic volume and vehicle speed were evaluated using automatic traffic counter (ATC). Meanwhile, noise indices like equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq), noise level exceeded 10% (L10) and 90% (L90) of measurement time were determined using sound level meter (SLM). Besides that, traffic noise index (TNI) and noise pollution level (LNP) were calculated based on the measured noise indices. The results showed an increase in noise level of 60 to 70 dBA maximum due to increase in traffic volume. There was also a significant change in noise level of more than 70 dBA even though average vehicle speed did not vary significantly. Nevertheless, LAeq, TNI, and LNP values for all sites during daytime were lower than the maximum recommended levels. Thus, residents in the three studied areas were not affected in terms of quality of life and health.

Assessment and control design for steam vent noise in an oil refinery.

PubMed

Monazzam, Mohammad Reza; Golmohammadi, Rostam; Nourollahi, Maryam; Momen Bellah Fard, Samaneh

2011-06-13

Noise is one of the most important harmful agents in work environment. Noise pollution in oil refinery industries is related to workers' health. This study aimed to determine the overall noise pollution of an oil refinery operation and its frequency analysis to determine the control plan for a vent noise in these industries. This experimental study performed in control unit of Tehran Oil Refinery in 2008. To determine the noise distributions, environmental noise measurements were carried out by lattice method according to basic information and technical process. The sound pressure level and frequency distribution was measured for each study sources subject separately was performed individually. According to the vent's specification, the measured steam noise characteristics reviewed and compared to the theoretical results of steam noise estimation. Eventually, a double expansion muffler was designed. Data analysis and graphical design were carried out using Excel software. The results of environmental noise measurements indicated that the level of sound pressure was above the national permitted level (85 dB (A)). The Mean level of sound pressure of the studied steam jet was 90.3 dB (L). The results of noise frequency analysis for the steam vents showed that the dominant frequency was 4000 Hz. To obtain 17 dB noise reductions, a double chamber aluminum muffler with 500 mm length and 200 mm diameter consisting pipe drilled was designed. The characteristics of steam vent noise were separated from other sources, a double expansion muffler was designed using a new method based on the level of steam noise, and principle sound frequency, a double expansion muffler was designed.

Ambient and at-the-ear occupational noise exposure and serum lipid levels.

PubMed

Arlien-Søborg, Mai C; Schmedes, Astrid S; Stokholm, Z A; Grynderup, M B; Bonde, J P; Jensen, C S; Hansen, Å M; Frederiksen, T W; Kristiansen, J; Christensen, K L; Vestergaard, J M; Lund, S P; Kolstad, H A

2016-10-01

Occupational and residential noise exposure has been related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Alteration of serum lipid levels has been proposed as a possible causal pathway. The objective of this study was to investigate the relation between ambient and at-the-ear occupational noise exposure and serum levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides when accounting for well-established predictors of lipid levels. This cross-sectional study included 424 industrial workers and 84 financial workers to obtain contrast in noise exposure levels. They provided a serum sample and wore portable dosimeters that every 5-s recorded ambient noise exposure levels during a 24-h period. We extracted measurements obtained during work and calculated the full-shift mean ambient noise level. For 331 workers who kept a diary on the use of a hearing protection device (HPD), we subtracted 10 dB from every noise recording obtained during HPD use and estimated the mean full-shift noise exposure level at the ear. Mean ambient noise level was 79.9 dB (A) [range 55.0-98.9] and the mean estimated level at the ear 77.8 dB (A) [range 55.0-94.2]. Ambient and at-the-ear noise levels were strongly associated with increasing levels of triglycerides, cholesterol-HDL ratio, and decreasing levels of HDL-cholesterol, but only in unadjusted analyses that did not account for HPD use and other risk factors. No associations between ambient or at-the-ear occupational noise exposure and serum lipid levels were observed. This indicates that a causal pathway between occupational and residential noise exposure and cardiovascular disease does not include alteration of lipid levels.

Advanced supersonic propulsion study. [with emphasis on noise level reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabatella, J. A. (Editor)

1974-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the promising propulsion systems for advanced supersonic transport application, and to identify the critical propulsion technology requirements. It is shown that noise constraints have a major effect on the selection of the various engine types and cycle parameters. Several promising advanced propulsion systems were identified which show the potential of achieving lower levels of sideline jet noise than the first generation supersonic transport systems. The non-afterburning turbojet engine, utilizing a very high level of jet suppression, shows the potential to achieve FAR 36 noise level. The duct-heating turbofan with a low level of jet suppression is the most attractive engine for noise levels from FAR 36 to FAR 36 minus 5 EPNdb, and some series/parallel variable cycle engines show the potential of achieving noise levels down to FAR 36 minus 10 EPNdb with moderate additional penalty. The study also shows that an advanced supersonic commercial transport would benefit appreciably from advanced propulsion technology. The critical propulsion technology needed for a viable supersonic propulsion system, and the required specific propulsion technology programs are outlined.

Recent and long-term occupational noise exposure and salivary cortisol level.

PubMed

Stokholm, Zara Ann; Hansen, Åse Marie; Grynderup, Matias Brødsgaard; Bonde, Jens Peter; Christensen, Kent Lodberg; Frederiksen, Thomas Winther; Lund, Søren Peter; Vestergaard, Jesper Medom; Kolstad, Henrik Albert

2014-01-01

Environmental and occupational noise exposure have been related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypothetically mediated by stress-activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The objective of this study was to investigate the relation between recent and long-term occupational noise exposure and cortisol level measured off work to assess a possible sustained HPA-axis effect. We included 501 industrial, finance, and service workers who were followed for 24h during work, leisure, and sleep. Ambient occupational noise exposure levels were recorded every 5s by personal dosimeters and we calculated the full-shift LAEq value and estimated duration and cumulative exposure based on their work histories since 1980. For 332 workers who kept a log-book on the use of hearing protection devices (HPD), we subtracted 10 dB from every noise recording obtained during HPD use and estimated the noise level at the ear. Salivary cortisol concentration was measured at 20.00 h, the following day at awakening, and 30 min after awakening on average 5, 14 and 14.5h after finishing work. The mean ambient noise exposure level was 79.9 dB(A) [range: 55.0-98.9] and the mean estimated level at the ear 77.7 dB(A) [range: 55.0-94.2]. In linear and mixed regression models that adjusted for age, sex, current smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, personal income, BMI, leisure-time noise exposure level, time since occupational noise exposure ceased, awakening time, and time of saliva sampling, we observed no statistically significant exposure response relation between recent, or long-term ambient occupational noise exposure level and any cortisol parameter off work. This was neither the case for recent noise level at the ear. To conclude, neither recent nor long-term occupational noise exposure levels were associated with increased cortisol level off work. Thus, our results do not indicate that a sustained activation of the HPA axis, as measured by cortisol, is involved in

Environmental noise forecasting based on support vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yumei; Zan, Xinwu; Chen, Tianyi; Xiang, Shihan

2018-01-01

As an important pollution source, the noise pollution is always the researcher's focus. Especially in recent years, the noise pollution is seriously harmful to the human beings' environment, so the research about the noise pollution is a very hot spot. Some noise monitoring technologies and monitoring systems are applied in the environmental noise test, measurement and evaluation. But, the research about the environmental noise forecasting is weak. In this paper, a real-time environmental noise monitoring system is introduced briefly. This monitoring system is working in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. It is monitoring and collecting the environmental noise about more than 20 enterprises in this district. Based on the large amount of noise data, the noise forecasting by the Support Vector Machine (SVM) is studied in detail. Compared with the time series forecasting model and the artificial neural network forecasting model, the SVM forecasting model has some advantages such as the smaller data size, the higher precision and stability. The noise forecasting results based on the SVM can provide the important and accuracy reference to the prevention and control of the environmental noise.

En route noise levels from propfan test assessment airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garber, Donald P.; Willshire, William L., Jr.

1994-01-01

The en route noise test was designed to characterize propagation of propfan noise from cruise altitudes to the ground. In-flight measurements of propfan source levels and directional patterns were made by a chase plane flying in formation with the propfan test assessment (PTA) airplane. Ground noise measurements were taken during repeated flights over a distributed microphone array. The microphone array on the ground was used to provide ensemble-averaged estimates of mean flyover noise levels, establish confidence limits for those means, and measure propagation-induced noise variability. Even for identical nominal cruise conditions, peak sound levels for individual overflights varied substantially about the average, particularly when overflights were performed on different days. Large day-to-day variations in peak level measurements appeared to be caused by large day-to-day differences in propagation conditions and tended to obscure small variations arising from operating conditions. A parametric evaluation of the sensitivity of this prediction method to weather measurement and source level uncertainties was also performed. In general, predictions showed good agreement with measurements. However, the method was unable to predict short-term variability of ensemble-averaged data within individual overflights. Although variations in absorption appear to be the dominant factor in variations of peak sound levels recorded on the ground, accurate predictions of those levels require that a complete description of operational conditions be taken into account. The comprehensive and integrated methods presented in this paper have adequately predicted ground-measured sound levels. On average, peak sound levels were predicted within 3 dB for each of the three different cruise conditions.

Long-term transportation noise annoyance is associated with subsequent lower levels of physical activity.

PubMed

Foraster, Maria; Eze, Ikenna C; Vienneau, Danielle; Brink, Mark; Cajochen, Christian; Caviezel, Seraina; Héritier, Harris; Schaffner, Emmanuel; Schindler, Christian; Wanner, Miriam; Wunderli, Jean-Marc; Röösli, Martin; Probst-Hensch, Nicole

2016-05-01

Noise annoyance (NA) might lead to behavioral patterns not captured by noise levels, which could reduce physical activity (PA) either directly or through impaired sleep and constitute a noise pathway towards cardiometabolic diseases. We investigated the association of long-term transportation NA and its main sources (aircraft, road, and railway) at home with PA levels. We assessed 3842 participants (aged 37-81) that attended the three examinations (SAP 1, 2, and 3 in years 1991, 2001 and 2011, respectively) of the population-based Swiss cohort on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA). Participants reported general 24-h transportation NA (in all examinations) and source-specific NA at night (only SAP 3) on an ICBEN-type 11-point scale. We assessed moderate, vigorous, and total PA from a short-questionnaire (SAP 3). The main outcome was moderate PA (active/inactive: cut-off≥150min/week). We used logistic regression including random effects by area and adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and lifestyles (main model) and evaluated potential effect modifiers. We analyzed associations with PA at SAP 3 a) cross-sectionally: for source-specific and transportation NA in the last year (SAP 3), and b) longitudinally: for 10-y transportation NA (mean of SAP 1+2), adjusting for prior PA (SAP 2) and changes in NA (SAP 3-2). Reported NA (score≥5) was 16.4%, 7.5%, 3%, and 1.1% for 1-year transportation, road, aircraft, and railway at SAP 3, respectively. NA was greater in the past, reaching 28.5% for 10-y transportation NA (SAP 1+2). The 10-y transportation NA was associated with a 3.2% (95% CI: 6%-0.2%) decrease in moderate PA per 1-NA rating point and was related to road and aircraft NA at night in cross-sectional analyses. The longitudinal association was stronger for women, reported daytime sleepiness or chronic diseases and it was not explained by objectively modeled levels of road traffic noise at SAP 3. In conclusion, long-term NA

Noise levels in a neonatal transport incubator in medically configured aircraft.

PubMed

Sittig, Steven E; Nesbitt, Jeffrey C; Krageschmidt, Dale A; Sobczak, Steven C; Johnson, Robert V

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate exposure of neonates to noise during air medical transport as few commercially available hearing protective devices exist for premature newborns during air medical transport. Sound pressure levels in an infant incubator during actual flight conditions in four common medically configured aircraft were measured. Three noise dosimeters measured time-weighted average noise exposure during flight in each aircraft. One dosimeter was placed in the infant incubator, and the remaining dosimeters recorded noise levels in various parts of the aircraft cabin. The incubator provided a 6-dBA decrease in noise exposure from that in the crew cabin. The average noise level in the incubator in all aircraft was close to 80 dB, much higher than the proposed limits of 45 dB for neonatal intensive care unit noise exposure or 60 dB during transport. Exposure of neonates to elevated noise levels during transport may be harmful, and steps should be taken to protect the hearing of this patient population. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Age and Type of Noise on Speech Perception under Conditions of Changing Context and Noise Levels.

PubMed

Taitelbaum-Swead, Riki; Fostick, Leah

2016-01-01

Everyday life includes fluctuating noise levels, resulting in continuously changing speech intelligibility. The study aims were: (1) to quantify the amount of decrease in age-related speech perception, as a result of increasing noise level, and (2) to test the effect of age on context usage at the word level (smaller amount of contextual cues). A total of 24 young adults (age 20-30 years) and 20 older adults (age 60-75 years) were tested. Meaningful and nonsense one-syllable consonant-vowel-consonant words were presented with the background noise types of speech noise (SpN), babble noise (BN), and white noise (WN), with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 0 and -5 dB. Older adults had lower accuracy in SNR = 0, with WN being the most difficult condition for all participants. Measuring the change in speech perception when SNR decreased showed a reduction of 18.6-61.5% in intelligibility, with age effect only for BN. Both young and older adults used less phonemic context with WN, as compared to other conditions. Older adults are more affected by an increasing noise level of fluctuating informational noise as compared to steady-state noise. They also use less contextual cues when perceiving monosyllabic words. Further studies should take into consideration that when presenting the stimulus differently (change in noise level, less contextual cues), other perceptual and cognitive processes are involved. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

An intervention for noise control of blast furnace in steel industry.

PubMed

Golmohammadi, Rostam; Giahi, Omid; Aliabadi, Mohsen; Darvishi, Ebrahim

2014-01-01

Noise pollution is currently a major health risk factor for workers in industries. The aim of this study was to investigate noise pollution and implement a control intervention plan for blast furnace in a steel industry. The measurement of sound pressure level (SPL) along with frequency analysis was done with the sound-level-meter Cell-450. Personal noise exposure was performed using dosimeter TES-1345 calibrated with CEL-282. Before planning noise controls, acoustic insulation properties of the furnace control unit and workers' rest room were assessed. Control room and workers' rest room were redesigned in order to improve acoustical condition. The SPL before intervention around the Blast Furnace was 90.3 dB (L) and its dominant frequency was 4000 Hz. Besides, noise transmission loss of the control and rest rooms were 10.3 dB and 4.2 dB, respectively. After intervention, noise reduction rates in the control and rest rooms were 27.4 dB and 27.7 dB, respectively. The workers' noise dose before and after the intervention was 240% and less than 100%, respectively. Improvement the workroom acoustic conditions through noise insulation can be considered effective method for preventing workers exposure to harmful noise.

Noise-induced hearing loss in workers exposed to urban stressors.

PubMed

Caciari, Tiziana; Rosati, Maria Valeria; Casale, Teodorico; Loreti, Beatrice; Sancini, Angela; Riservato, Roberto; Nieto, Hector A; Frati, Paola; Tomei, Francesco; Tomei, Gianfranco

2013-10-01

The technological and industrial progress together with the intensification of vehicular traffic and the adoption of new social habits are the cause of an increasing noise pollution with possible negative effects on the auditory system. This study aims to assess the noise exposure levels and the effects on the hearing threshold in outdoor and indoor male workers of a big Italian city. The study was carried out on 357 outdoor male workers, exposed to urban noise and on a control group of 357 unexposed indoor workers. Noise levels were measured in 30 outdoor and indoor areas. The subjects underwent tonal liminal audiometry in order to determine the value of their hearing threshold. During their working activity, outdoor and indoor workers are exposed to different noise levels LEX<80 dB(A). At mid-low frequencies (250-2000 Hz), the results show significant differences in the average values of hearing threshold between the two groups in both ears and for all age classes; there are no significant differences between the two groups at higher frequencies. The outdoor noise levels measured are not usually ototoxic and the hearing loss at mid-low frequencies is not characteristic of the exposure to industrial noise. For these reasons the Authors hypothesize that the results may be due to the combined effect of the exposure to noise and to ototoxic air pollutants. The impairment of speech frequencies is disabling and involves the risk of missed forensic recognition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Analysis of Urban Form and Pedestrian Exposure to Traffic Noise

PubMed Central

Sheng, Ni; Tang, U. Wa

2011-01-01

In the Macao Peninsula, the high population density (49,763 inhabitants/km2) and the lack of control over the number of vehicles (460 vehicles/km) have led to an increase in urban pollution. To provide useful information to local government and urban planners, this paper investigates the spatial distribution of traffic noise in the Macao Peninsula. The interactions among urban form, traffic flow and traffic noise are addressed. Considering the spatial nature of urban geometry and traffic, a high-resolution GIS-based traffic noise model system is applied. Results indicate that the Macao Peninsula has fallen into a situation of serious traffic noise pollution. About 60% of traffic noise levels along the major pedestrian sidewalks in the evening peak hour exceed the National Standard of 70 dB(A) in China. In particular, about 21% of traffic noise levels along the pedestrian sidewalks are above the National Standard by 5 dB(A). Noticeably, the high pedestrian exposure to traffic noise in the historical urban area reduces the comfort of tourists walking in the historic centre and is ruining the reputation of the area as a World Cultural Heritage site. PMID:21776213

Spatial analysis of urban form and pedestrian exposure to traffic noise.

PubMed

Sheng, Ni; Tang, U Wa

2011-06-01

In the Macao Peninsula, the high population density (49,763 inhabitants/km2) and the lack of control over the number of vehicles (460 vehicles/km) have led to an increase in urban pollution. To provide useful information to local government and urban planners, this paper investigates the spatial distribution of traffic noise in the Macao Peninsula. The interactions among urban form, traffic flow and traffic noise are addressed. Considering the spatial nature of urban geometry and traffic, a high-resolution GIS-based traffic noise model system is applied. Results indicate that the Macao Peninsula has fallen into a situation of serious traffic noise pollution. About 60% of traffic noise levels along the major pedestrian sidewalks in the evening peak hour exceed the National Standard of 70 dB(A) in China. In particular, about 21% of traffic noise levels along the pedestrian sidewalks are above the National Standard by 5 dB(A). Noticeably, the high pedestrian exposure to traffic noise in the historical urban area reduces the comfort of tourists walking in the historic centre and is ruining the reputation of the area as a World Cultural Heritage site.

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and traffic noise and incident hypertension in seven cohorts of the European study of cohorts for air pollution effects (ESCAPE).

PubMed

Fuks, Kateryna B; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Basagaña, Xavier; Gruzieva, Olena; Hampel, Regina; Oftedal, Bente; Sørensen, Mette; Wolf, Kathrin; Aamodt, Geir; Aasvang, Gunn Marit; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Becker, Thomas; Beelen, Rob; Brunekreef, Bert; Caracciolo, Barbara; Cyrys, Josef; Elosua, Roberto; Eriksen, Kirsten Thorup; Foraster, Maria; Fratiglioni, Laura; Hilding, Agneta; Houthuijs, Danny; Korek, Michal; Künzli, Nino; Marrugat, Jaume; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Östenson, Claes-Göran; Penell, Johanna; Pershagen, Göran; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Swart, Wim J R; Peters, Annette; Hoffmann, Barbara

2017-04-01

We investigated whether traffic-related air pollution and noise are associated with incident hypertension in European cohorts. We included seven cohorts of the European study of cohorts for air pollution effects (ESCAPE). We modelled concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5), ≤10 µm (PM10), >2.5, and ≤10 µm (PMcoarse), soot (PM2.5 absorbance), and nitrogen oxides at the addresses of participants with land use regression. Residential exposure to traffic noise was modelled at the facade according to the EU Directive 2002/49/EC. We assessed hypertension as (i) self-reported and (ii) measured (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg or intake of BP lowering medication (BPLM). We used Poisson regression with robust variance estimation to analyse associations of traffic-related exposures with incidence of hypertension, controlling for relevant confounders, and combined the results from individual studies with random-effects meta-analysis. Among 41 072 participants free of self-reported hypertension at baseline, 6207 (15.1%) incident cases occurred within 5-9 years of follow-up. Incidence of self-reported hypertension was positively associated with PM2.5 (relative risk (RR) 1.22 [95%-confidence interval (CI):1.08; 1.37] per 5 µg/m³) and PM2.5 absorbance (RR 1.13 [95% CI:1.02; 1.24] per 10 - 5m - 1). These estimates decreased slightly upon adjustment for road traffic noise. Road traffic noise was weakly positively associated with the incidence of self-reported hypertension. Among 10 896 participants at risk, 3549 new cases of measured hypertension occurred. We found no clear associations with measured hypertension. Long-term residential exposures to air pollution and noise are associated with increased incidence of self-reported hypertension. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2016. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Do perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to air and noise pollution predict incident self-rated poor health? A prospective analysis of independent and joint associations using a German national representative cohort study

PubMed Central

Riedel, Natalie; Loerbroks, Adrian; Bolte, Gabriele; Li, Jian

2017-01-01

Background Current economic and social change has contributed to increasing job insecurity and traffic-related pollution in residential areas. Both job insecurity and exposure to noise and air pollution are known determinants of population health and can concur in peoples' lives. This may hold true particularly for socially disadvantaged subpopulations. Nevertheless, the potential independent and joint links of those exposures to health have been rarely examined so far. We aimed to contribute to the scarce body of evidence. Methods Information on perceived job insecurity and exposures to noise and air pollution as expressed by annoyance as well as on self-rated health were gathered from 2 waves of the population-based German Socio-Economic Panel (2009 and 2011, N=6544). We performed multivariable Poisson regression to examine the independent and joint risk of poor health in 2011 by perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to noise and air pollution in 2009. Results After the 2-year follow-up in 2011, 571 (8.7%) participants rated their health as poor. The risk of reporting incident poor health was increased by roughly 40% in employees reporting high versus low perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to noise and air pollution, respectively. This risk increased when both exposures were present at higher levels (risk ratio=1.95 (1.49 to 2.55)). Conclusions Work-related and environmental exposures may accumulate and have a joint health impact. Elaboration on the link between occupational and residential exposures is warranted in the light of their concurrence and their implications for health inequities. PMID:28115332

Effects of sound level fluctuations on annoyance caused by aircraft-flyover noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccurdy, D. A.

1979-01-01

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the effects of variations in the rate and magnitude of sound level fluctuations on the annoyance caused by aircraft-flyover noise. The effects of tonal content, noise duration, and sound pressure level on annoyance were also studied. An aircraft-noise synthesis system was used to synthesize 32 aircraft-flyover noise stimuli representing the factorial combinations of 2 tone conditions, 2 noise durations, 2 sound pressure levels, 2 level fluctuation rates, and 2 level fluctuation magnitudes. Thirty-two test subjects made annoyance judgements on a total of 64 stimuli in a subjective listening test facility simulating an outdoor acoustic environment. Variations in the rate and magnitude of level fluctuations were found to have little, if any, effect on annoyance. Tonal content, noise duration, sound pressure level, and the interaction of tonal content with sound pressure level were found to affect the judged annoyance significantly. The addition of tone corrections and/or duration corrections significantly improved the annoyance prediction ability of noise rating scales.

Manatee (Trichechus manatus) vocalization usage in relation to environmental noise levels.

PubMed

Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L; Tyack, Peter L

2009-03-01

Noise can interfere with acoustic communication by masking signals that contain biologically important information. Communication theory recognizes several ways a sender can modify its acoustic signal to compensate for noise, including increasing the source level of a signal, its repetition, its duration, shifting frequency outside that of the noise band, or shifting the timing of signal emission outside of noise periods. The extent to which animals would be expected to use these compensation mechanisms depends on the benefit of successful communication, risk of failure, and the cost of compensation. Here we study whether a coastal marine mammal, the manatee, can modify vocalizations as a function of behavioral context and ambient noise level. To investigate whether and how manatees modify their vocalizations, natural vocalization usage and structure were examined in terms of vocalization rate, duration, frequency, and source level. Vocalizations were classified into two call types, chirps and squeaks, which were analyzed independently. In conditions of elevated noise levels, call rates decreased during feeding and social behaviors, and the duration of each call type was differently influenced by the presence of calves. These results suggest that ambient noise levels do have a detectable effect on manatee communication and that manatees modify their vocalizations as a function of noise in specific behavioral contexts.

Environmental noise levels affect the activity budget of the Florida manatee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L.; Donaghay, Percy L.; Miller, James H.; Tyack, Peter L.

2005-09-01

Manatees inhabit coastal bays, lagoons, and estuaries because they are dependent on the aquatic vegetation that grows in shallow waters. Food requirements force manatees to occupy the same areas in which human activities are the greatest. Noise produced from human activities has the potential to affect these animals by eliciting responses ranging from mild behavioral changes to extreme aversion. This study quantifies the behavioral responses of manatees to both changing levels of ambient noise and transient noise sources. Results indicate that elevated environmental noise levels do affect the overall activity budget of this species. The proportion of time manatees spend feeding, milling, and traveling in critical habitats changed as a function of noise level. More time was spent in the directed, goal-oriented behaviors of feeding and traveling, while less time was spent milling when noise levels were highest. The animals also responded to the transient noise of approaching vessels with changes in behavioral state and movements out of the geographical area. This suggests that manatees detect and respond to changes in environmental noise levels. Whether these changes legally constitute harassment and produce biologically significant effects need to be addressed with hypothesis-driven experiments and long-term monitoring. [For Animal Bioacoustics Best Student Paper Award.

Annoyance from Road Traffic, Trains, Airplanes and from Total Environmental Noise Levels.

PubMed

Ragettli, Martina S; Goudreau, Sophie; Plante, Céline; Perron, Stéphane; Fournier, Michel; Smargiassi, Audrey

2015-12-29

There is a lack of studies assessing the exposure-response relationship between transportation noise and annoyance in North America. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence of noise annoyance induced by road traffic, trains and airplanes in relation to distance to transportation noise sources, and to total environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada; annoyance was assessed as noise-induced disturbance. A telephone-based survey among 4336 persons aged >18 years was conducted. Exposure to total environmental noise (A-weighted outdoor noise levels-LAeq24h and day-evening-night equivalent noise levels-Lden) for each study participant was determined using a statistical noise model (land use regression-LUR) that is based on actual outdoor noise measurements. The proportion of the population annoyed by road traffic, airplane and train noise was 20.1%, 13.0% and 6.1%, respectively. As the distance to major roads, railways and the Montreal International Airport increased, the percentage of people disturbed and highly disturbed due to the corresponding traffic noise significantly decreased. When applying the statistical noise model we found a relationship between noise levels and disturbance from road traffic and total environmental noise, with Prevalence Proportion Ratios (PPR) for highly disturbed people of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07-1.13) and 1.04 (1.02-1.06) per 1 dB(A) Lden, respectively. Our study provides the first comprehensive information on the relationship between transportation noise levels and disturbance in a Canadian city. LUR models are still in development and further studies on transportation noise induced annoyance are consequently needed, especially for sources other than road traffic.

Assessment of noise level and noise propagation generated by light-lift helicopters in mountain natural environments.

PubMed

Grigolato, Stefano; Mologni, Omar; Proto, Andrea Rosario; Zimbalatti, Giuseppe; Cavalli, Raffaele

2018-01-20

The use of helicopter rises discussion about environmental noise propagation especially when it operates in proximity of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) for an extended period because of its potential implications in wildlife behaviours. In order to support decisions on helicopter logging operation management in proximity of ESAs, this study focused on (i) analysing the noise spectrum of a light-lift helicopter during logging operations and on (ii) assessing the noise propagation in the surrounding environments. This study investigated a helicopter logging operation for wood fuel extraction in the eastern part of the Italian Alps. The potential disturbance area covered for the entire helicopter logging operation was evaluated by a specific GIS application according to hearing sensitivity of the most sensitive wildlife species in the study area (different strigiform species). The noise level at the ground appeared to be affected by the location regardless both the use of equivalent continuous sound pressures level dB(A) (LAeq) and the single-event level (SEL) noise metrics. The lowest values were recorded when the helicopter was flown over the sound meter level located under the forest canopy, while the highest was recorded when the helicopter was unhooking the loads at the landing. The GIS application highlighted the consistent of the exceeded noise area (weighted to strigiform hearing range and sensitivity) for the lower frequency bands (0.016-0.250 kHz). A more restricted exceeded noise area concerned instead the most sensitive frequency bands" for the strigiform (1-2 kHz). Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Cardiovascular effects of environmental noise exposure

PubMed Central

Münzel, Thomas; Gori, Tommaso; Babisch, Wolfgang; Basner, Mathias

2014-01-01

The role of noise as an environmental pollutant and its impact on health are being increasingly recognized. Beyond its effects on the auditory system, noise causes annoyance and disturbs sleep, and it impairs cognitive performance. Furthermore, evidence from epidemiologic studies demonstrates that environmental noise is associated with an increased incidence of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Both observational and experimental studies indicate that in particular night-time noise can cause disruptions of sleep structure, vegetative arousals (e.g. increases of blood pressure and heart rate) and increases in stress hormone levels and oxidative stress, which in turn may result in endothelial dysfunction and arterial hypertension. This review focuses on the cardiovascular consequences of environmental noise exposure and stresses the importance of noise mitigation strategies for public health. PMID:24616334

An instantaneous spatiotemporal model to predict a bicyclist's Black Carbon exposure based on mobile noise measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekoninck, Luc; Botteldooren, Dick; Int Panis, Luc

2013-11-01

Several studies have shown that a significant amount of daily air pollution exposure, in particular Black Carbon (BC), is inhaled during trips. Assessing this contribution to exposure remains difficult because on the one hand local air pollution maps lack spatio-temporal resolution, at the other hand direct measurement of particulate matter concentration remains expensive. This paper proposes to use in-traffic noise measurements in combination with geographical and meteorological information for predicting BC exposure during commuting trips. Mobile noise measurements are cheaper and easier to perform than mobile air pollution measurements and can easily be used in participatory sensing campaigns. The uniqueness of the proposed model lies in the choice of noise indicators that goes beyond the traditional overall A-weighted noise level used in previous work. Noise and BC exposures are both related to the traffic intensity but also to traffic speed and traffic dynamics. Inspired by theoretical knowledge on the emission of noise and BC, the low frequency engine related noise and the difference between high frequency and low frequency noise that indicates the traffic speed, are introduced in the model. In addition, it is shown that splitting BC in a local and a background component significantly improves the model. The coefficients of the proposed model are extracted from 200 commuter bicycle trips. The predicted average exposure over a single trip correlates with measurements with a Pearson coefficient of 0.78 using only four parameters: the low frequency noise level, wind speed, the difference between high and low frequency noise and a street canyon index expressing local air pollution dispersion properties.

Anthropogenic noise pollution from pile-driving disrupts the structure and dynamics of fish shoals

PubMed Central

Kremer, Louise; Bruintjes, Rick

2017-01-01

Noise produced from a variety of human activities can affect the physiology and behaviour of individual animals, but whether noise disrupts the social behaviour of animals is largely unknown. Animal groups such as flocks of birds or shoals of fish use simple interaction rules to coordinate their movements with near neighbours. In turn, this coordination allows individuals to gain the benefits of group living such as reduced predation risk and social information exchange. Noise could change how individuals interact in groups if noise is perceived as a threat, or if it masked, distracted or stressed individuals, and this could have impacts on the benefits of grouping. Here, we recorded trajectories of individual juvenile seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in groups under controlled laboratory conditions. Groups were exposed to playbacks of either ambient background sound recorded in their natural habitat, or playbacks of pile-driving, commonly used in marine construction. The pile-driving playback affected the structure and dynamics of the fish shoals significantly more than the ambient-sound playback. Compared to the ambient-sound playback, groups experiencing the pile-driving playback became less cohesive, less directionally ordered, and were less correlated in speed and directional changes. In effect, the additional-noise treatment disrupted the abilities of individuals to coordinate their movements with one another. Our work highlights the potential for noise pollution from pile-driving to disrupt the collective dynamics of fish shoals, which could have implications for the functional benefits of a group's collective behaviour. PMID:28954915

Comparing the relationships between noise level and annoyance in different surveys - A railway noise vs. aircraft and road traffic comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, J. M.; Walker, J. G.

1982-01-01

Annoyance expressed in a railway noise survey is compared with that from two road traffic and three aircraft surveys in order to determine whether responses to various types of environmental noise are source-specific. Railway noise is found to be less annoying than other noises at any given high noise level. Railway noise annoyance rises less rapidly with increasing noise level. At high levels, this gap in reactions averages about 10 dB; it ranges from 4 dB to more than 20 dB. The methods used for comparing the surveys are examined. It is found that methodological uncertainties lead to imprecise comparisons and that different annoyance scales yield different estimates of intersurvey differences.

Noise sensitivity, rather than noise level, predicts the non-auditory effects of noise in community samples: a population-based survey.

PubMed

Park, Jangho; Chung, Seockhoon; Lee, Jiho; Sung, Joo Hyun; Cho, Seung Woo; Sim, Chang Sun

2017-04-12

Excessive noise affects human health and interferes with daily activities. Although environmental noise may not directly cause mental illness, it may accelerate and intensify the development of latent mental disorders. Noise sensitivity (NS) is considered a moderator of non-auditory noise effects. In the present study, we aimed to assess whether NS is associated with non-auditory effects. We recruited a community sample of 1836 residents residing in Ulsan and Seoul, South Korea. From July to November 2015, participants were interviewed regarding their demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, medical history, and NS. The non-auditory effects of noise were assessed using the Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression, Insomnia Severity index, State Trait Anxiety Inventory state subscale, and Stress Response Inventory-Modified Form. Individual noise levels were recorded from noise maps. A three-model multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors that might affect psychiatric illnesses. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 91 years (mean: 47.0 ± 16.1 years), and 37.9% (n = 696) were male. Participants with high NS were more likely to have been diagnosed with diabetes and hyperlipidemia and to use psychiatric medication. The multivariable analysis indicated that even after adjusting for noise-related variables, sociodemographic factors, medical illness, and duration of residence, subjects in the high NS group were more than 2 times more likely to experience depression and insomnia and 1.9 times more likely to have anxiety, compared with those in the low NS group. Noise exposure level was not identified as an explanatory value. NS increases the susceptibility and hence moderates there actions of individuals to noise. NS, rather than noise itself, is associated with an elevated susceptibility to non-auditory effects.

Reducing Indoor Noise Levels Using People's Perception on Greenery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mediastika, Christina E.; Binarti, Floriberta

2013-12-01

Employees working in cubicles of open-plan offices in Indonesia were studied in regard to their perception on the ability of indoor greenery to reduce noise levels. Sansevieria trifasciata and Scindapsus sp were used. Each was placed in the cubicle and noise levels were measured without plants, with Sansevieria, and with Scindapsus in place. The meters showed very insignificant difference. However, responses to surveys indicated a perception of lower noise in the presence of greenery. This seemed to be supported by prior knowledge and preconception and may be useful in creating a "quieter" indoor environment.

[Equivalent continuous noise level in neonatal intensive care unit associated to burnout syndrome].

PubMed

Garrido Galindo, A P; Camargo Caicedo, Y; Vélez-Pereira, A M

2015-01-01

Noise levels in neonatal intensive care units allow the appearance of symptoms associated with burnout such as stress, irritability, fatigue and emotional instability on health care personnel. The aim of this study was to evaluate the equivalent continuous noise levels in the neonatal intensive care unit and compare the results with noise levels associated with the occurrence of burnout syndrome on the care team. Continuous sampling was conducted for 20 days using a type I sound level meter on the unit. The maximum, the ninetieth percentile and the equivalent continuous noise level (Leq) values were recorded. Noise level is reported in the range of 51.4-77.6 decibels A (dBA) with an average of 64 dBA, 100.6 dBA maximum, and average background noise from 57.9 dBA. Noise levels exceed the standards suggested for neonatal intensive care units, are close to maximum values referred for noise exposure in the occupational standards and to noise levels associated with the onset of burnout; thus allowing to infer the probability of occurrence of high levels of noise present in the unit on the development of burnout in caregivers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEEIUC. All rights reserved.

Noise exposure levels from model airplane engines.

PubMed

Pearlman, R C; Miller, M

1985-01-01

Previous research indicates that noise levels from unmuffled model airplane engines produce sufficient noise to cause TTS. The present study explored SPLs of smaller engines under 3.25 cc (.19 cu. in.) and the effectiveness of engine mufflers. Results showed that model airplanes can exceed a widely used damage risk criterion (DRC) but that engine mufflers can reduce levels below DRC. Handling model gasoline engines should be added to the list of recreational activities such as snow-mobile and motorcycle riding, shooting, etc. in which the participant's hearing may be in jeopardy. Suggestions are presented to the model engine enthusiast for avoiding damage to hearing.

Ambient noise levels and characterization in Aegean region, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sevim, Fatih; Zor, Ekrem; Açıkgöz, Cem; Tarancıoğlu, Adil

2018-03-01

We assessed the ambient noise level in the Aegean region and analyzed its diurnal variation and its relation to the earthquake detection capability of the Aegean Region Seismic Network (ARSN). We prepared probability density functions (PDFs) for 19 broadband stations in the Aegean region operated by the Earth and Marine Sciences Institute (EMSI) of the Marmara Research Center (MRC) of the Turkish Scientific Research Council (TÜBİTAK). The power spectral densities (PSDs) used to construct PDFs for each station were computed for the periods between 0.02 and 180 s. In addition, we generated noise map of the Aegean region for different periods using the PDFs to assess the origin of the noise. We analyzed earthquake activity in the region and found that there are more local events recorded at night than during the day for each station. This difference is strongly related to diurnal variation of background noise level for the period range mostly covering the frequency range for the local events. We observed daytime noise level 15 to 20 dB higher than that at the nighttime in high frequencies for almost all stations caused by its proximity to settled areas and roads. Additionally, we observed a splitting peak within the Double Frequency (DF) microseism band; it showed a clear noise increase around the short period DF band at all the stations, decreasing inland. This peak may be related to sea waves locally generated in the Aegean Sea. We also identified a prominent increase related to marble saw companies in some stations' noise PDFs.

Noise Pollution and How it Can Indirectly Affect the Amounts of Particulate Matter in the Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swamy, S.; Power, J.; Pham, D.; Preston, K. B.; Iqbal, A.

2007-12-01

Human and animal activity that occurs on gravel and dirt roads tends to contribute to high levels of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Birds molt their feathers, automobiles emit unused residues, and humans and animals stir up debris on the ground. Not only do these activities generate particulate matter, but they also generate noise. The aim of our study was to determine if a direct correlation exists between the amount of particulate matter and the noise levels in select areas within the Lake Merritt Park region of downtown Oakland, California. In addition, our research was aimed at determining if the level of noise at various locations conforms to City of Oakland regulations. Over a four-week period we measured noise levels and particulate matter concentrations at 27 different sites within the Park region. Preliminary results indicate that at a construction site and a residential area near the lake a direct correlation between our two variables existed; high noise level accompanied high particulate matter while low noise level accompanied low particulate matter, respectively. However, at the majority of the areas around the lake either indirect or no correlation was observed. Based on our results thus far, we conclude that noise levels are not indicative of particulate matter levels and that noise levels around Lake Merritt do conform to the city's regulations.

Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia.

PubMed

Pultznerova, Alzbeta; Eva, Panulinova; Kucharova, Daniela; Argalasova, Lubica

2018-01-01

This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (L Aeq  = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [OR MH  = 7.80 (4.02-15.14)] and the noise from industry [OR MH  = 3.08 (1.72-5.50)] in the exposed location. The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail transport.

Railway Noise Annoyance on the Railway Track in Northwest Slovakia

PubMed Central

Pultznerova, Alzbeta; Eva, Panulinova; Kucharova, Daniela; Argalasova, Lubica

2018-01-01

Introduction: This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. Materials and Methods: The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. Results: The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (L Aeq = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [ORMH = 7.80 (4.02–15.14)] and the noise from industry [ORMH = 3.08 (1.72–5.50)] in the exposed location. Discussion: The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. Conclusion: The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail

Noise levels in the learning-teaching activities in a dental medicine school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matos, Andreia; Carvalho, Antonio P. O.; Fernandes, Joao C. S.

2002-11-01

The noise levels made by different clinical handpieces and laboratory engines are considered to be the main descriptors of acoustical comfort in learning spaces in a dental medicine school. Sound levels were measured in five types of classrooms and teaching laboratories at the University of Porto Dental Medicine School. Handpiece noise measurements were made while instruments were running free and during operations with cutting tools (tooth, metal, and acrylic). Noise levels were determined using a precision sound level meter, which was positioned at ear level and also at one-meter distance from the operator. Some of the handpieces were brand new and the others had a few years of use. The sound levels encountered were between 60 and 99 dB(A) and were compared with the noise limits in A-weighted sound pressure level for mechanical equipments installed in educational buildings included in the Portuguese Noise Code and in other European countries codes. The daily personal noise exposure levels (LEP,d) of the students and professors were calculated to be between 85 and 90 dB(A) and were compared with the European legal limits. Some noise limits for this type of environment are proposed and suggestions for the improvement of the acoustical environment are given.

Anthropogenic noise pollution from pile-driving disrupts the structure and dynamics of fish shoals.

PubMed

Herbert-Read, James E; Kremer, Louise; Bruintjes, Rick; Radford, Andrew N; Ioannou, Christos C

2017-09-27

Noise produced from a variety of human activities can affect the physiology and behaviour of individual animals, but whether noise disrupts the social behaviour of animals is largely unknown. Animal groups such as flocks of birds or shoals of fish use simple interaction rules to coordinate their movements with near neighbours. In turn, this coordination allows individuals to gain the benefits of group living such as reduced predation risk and social information exchange. Noise could change how individuals interact in groups if noise is perceived as a threat, or if it masked, distracted or stressed individuals, and this could have impacts on the benefits of grouping. Here, we recorded trajectories of individual juvenile seabass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ) in groups under controlled laboratory conditions. Groups were exposed to playbacks of either ambient background sound recorded in their natural habitat, or playbacks of pile-driving, commonly used in marine construction. The pile-driving playback affected the structure and dynamics of the fish shoals significantly more than the ambient-sound playback. Compared to the ambient-sound playback, groups experiencing the pile-driving playback became less cohesive, less directionally ordered, and were less correlated in speed and directional changes. In effect, the additional-noise treatment disrupted the abilities of individuals to coordinate their movements with one another. Our work highlights the potential for noise pollution from pile-driving to disrupt the collective dynamics of fish shoals, which could have implications for the functional benefits of a group's collective behaviour. © 2017 The Authors.

Intermittent Noise Induces Physiological Stress in a Coastal Marine Fish

PubMed Central

Nichols, Tye A.; Anderson, Todd W.; Širović, Ana

2015-01-01

Anthropogenic noise in the ocean has increased substantially in recent decades, and motorized vessels produce what is likely the most common form of underwater noise pollution. Noise has the potential to induce physiological stress in marine fishes, which may have negative ecological consequences. In this study, physiological effects of increased noise (playback of boat noise recorded in the field) on a coastal marine fish (the giant kelpfish, Heterostichus rostratus) were investigated by measuring the stress responses (cortisol concentration) of fish to increased noise of various temporal dynamics and noise levels. Giant kelpfish exhibited acute stress responses when exposed to intermittent noise, but not to continuous noise or control conditions (playback of recorded natural ambient sound). These results suggest that variability in the acoustic environment may be more important than the period of noise exposure for inducing stress in a marine fish, and provide information regarding noise levels at which physiological responses occur. PMID:26402068

Hearing loss from cockpit noise in motor gliders.

PubMed

Stueben, U

2001-09-01

Over the past 15 yr, remarkable progress has been made in the development of touring motor gliders and self-launching sail-planes with retractable propulsion units (RPU gliders.) Annually, over 50% of the gliders produced have had such units, often two-stroke engines which produce high frequency sound emissions. Sound emission regulations require that all power gliders be insulated to avoid external emissions and noise pollution in the airspace near airfields. However, these regulations do not cover noise within the cockpit. To determine the noise level in the cockpits of powered gliders and how this noise affects the hearing of pilots, cockpit noise in six touring motor gliders and nine RPU gliders were measured. Both types of motor gliders have noise levels that may be hazardous to pilots' hearing if they are not equipped with personal noise protection. In extreme cases an exposure time of only 20 seconds to the cockpit noise of an RPU glider may cause permanent hearing loss. Pilots must be warned not to fly motor gliders without personal noise protection.

An Experimental Study of the Noise Due to Traffic in a Congested Urban Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangeetha, M.; Sankar, P.

2016-03-01

Noise pollution in an urban environment is an issue of serious concern in the major cities of India. There are various factors that contribute to the increase of noise levels in urban areas. The intensity of traffic is one of the factors which contributes to a drastic increase in environmental noise. The management of noise pollution has to be considered in the decision making process. In this paper, an attempt is made to study the existing noise level due to the traffic in Velachery which is declared as a sensitive area by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF). The noise level data is collected using the MS6710 digital sound meter. The Custic simulation software version 3.2 is used for finding the propagation of noise. The spatial patterns of measurement were also calculated, in the sub-urban area of Velachery, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. A means of transmitting this data to vehicles moving in the area, through a wireless medium is simulated using NCTUns 6.0 (network simulator), to enable drivers to understand the environmental conditions. A hardware was also designed which can be used to transmit and receive the noise data using the Zigbee module. A noise transmitting station is placed at a junction, so that it can transmit this noise data to the receivers which are fitted inside the vehicles.

Harbour porpoises react to low levels of high frequency vessel noise

PubMed Central

Dyndo, Monika; Wiśniewska, Danuta Maria; Rojano-Doñate, Laia; Madsen, Peter Teglberg

2015-01-01

Cetaceans rely critically on sound for navigation, foraging and communication and are therefore potentially affected by increasing noise levels from human activities at sea. Shipping is the main contributor of anthropogenic noise underwater, but studies of shipping noise effects have primarily considered baleen whales due to their good hearing at low frequencies, where ships produce most noise power. Conversely, the possible effects of vessel noise on small toothed whales have been largely ignored due to their poor low-frequency hearing. Prompted by recent findings of energy at medium- to high-frequencies in vessel noise, we conducted an exposure study where the behaviour of four porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in a net-pen was logged while they were exposed to 133 vessel passages. Using a multivariate generalised linear mixed-effects model, we show that low levels of high frequency components in vessel noise elicit strong, stereotyped behavioural responses in porpoises. Such low levels will routinely be experienced by porpoises in the wild at ranges of more than 1000 meters from vessels, suggesting that vessel noise is a, so far, largely overlooked, but substantial source of disturbance in shallow water areas with high densities of both porpoises and vessels. PMID:26095689

The influence of subway station design on noise levels.

PubMed

Shah, Ravi R; Suen, Jonathan J; Cellum, Ilana P; Spitzer, Jaclyn B; Lalwani, Anil K

2017-05-01

To investigate the impact of subway station design on platform noise levels. Observational. Continuous A-weighted decibel (dBA) sound levels were recorded in 20 New York City subway stations, where trains entered on either a straight track or curved track in 10 stations each. Equivalent continuous noise levels (L eq ) at various locations on the boarding platform (inbound end, midplatform, and outbound end) during train entry and exit were compared between the straight and curved stations in broadband as well as narrow one-third octave bands. Overall, curved stations trended louder than straight stations, although the difference in broadband L eq did not reach statistical significance (curve, 83.4 dBA; straight, 82.6 dBA; P = .054). Noise levels were significantly louder at the inbound end of the platform during train entry (inbound, 89.7 dBA; mid, 85.5 dBA; outbound, 78.7 dBA; P < .001) and at the outbound end during train exit (inbound, 79.7 dBA; mid, 85.3 dBA; outbound, 89.1 dBA; P < .001). Narrow band analysis showed that curved stations were significantly louder than straight stations at 100 Hz and high frequencies from 8 to 20 kHz. Peak impact levels ranged from 104 to 121 dBA. Curved stations have a different noise profile compared to straight stations and are significantly louder than straight stations at high frequencies. Designing stations with straight tracks within the platform can help reduce commuter noise exposure. NA Laryngoscope, 127:1169-1174, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Assessment of noise levels of the equipments used in the dental teaching institution, Bangalore.

PubMed

Kadanakuppe, Sushi; Bhat, Padma K; Jyothi, C; Ramegowda, C

2011-01-01

In dental practical classes, the acoustic environment is characterized by high noise levels in relation to other teaching areas, due to the exaggerated noise produced by some of these devices and use of dental equipment by many users at the same time. To measure, analyze and compare noise levels of equipments among dental learning areas under different working conditions and also to measure and compare noise levels between used and brand new handpieces under different working conditions. Noise levels were measured and analyzed in different dental learning areas that included clinical, pre-clinical areas and laboratories selected as representatives of a variety of learning-teaching activities. The noise levels were determined using a precision noise level meter (CENTER® 325 IEC 651 TYPE II) with a microphone. The mean of the maxima was determined. The data were collected, tabulated, and statistically analyzed using t tests. The noise levels measured varied between 64 and 97 dB(A).The differences in sound levels when the equipment was merely turned on and during cutting operations and also between used and brand new equipments were recorded. The laboratory engines had the highest noise levels, whereas the noise levels in high-speed turbine handpieces and the low-speed contra angle handpieces were decreased. The noise levels detected in this study are considered to be close to the limit of risk of hearing loss.

The Noise Level Optimization for Induction Magnetometer of SEP System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, W.; Fang, G.

2011-12-01

The Surface Electromagnetic Penetration (SEP) System, subsidized by the SinoProbe Plan in China, is designed for 3D conductivity imaging in geophysical mineral exploration, underground water distribution exploration, oil and gas reservoir exploration. Both the Controlled Source Audio Magnetotellurics (CSAMT) method and Magnetotellurics (MT) method can be surveyed by SEP system. In this article, an optimization design is introduced, which can minimize the noise level of the induction magnetometer for SEP system magnetic field's acquisition. The induction magnetometer transfers the rate of the magnetic field's change to voltage signal by induction coil, and amplified it by Low Noise Amplifier The noise parts contributed to the magnetometer are: the coil's thermal noise, the equivalent input voltage and current noise of the pre-amplifier. The coil's thermal noise is decided by coil's DC resistance. The equivalent input voltage and current noise of the pre-amplifier depend on the amplifier's type and DC operation condition. The design here optimized the DC operation point of pre-amplifier, adjusted the DC current source, and realized the minimum of total noise level of magnetometer. The calculation and test results show that: the total noise is about 1pT/√Hz, the thermal noise of coils is 1.7nV/√Hz, the preamplifier equivalent input voltage and current noise is 3nV/ √Hz and 0.1pA/√Hz, the weight of the magnetometer is 4.5kg and meet the requirement of SEP system.

Noise levels of neonatal high-flow nasal cannula devices--an in-vitro study.

PubMed

König, Kai; Stock, Ellen L; Jarvis, Melanie

2013-01-01

Excessive ambient noise levels have been identified as a potential risk factor for adverse outcome in very preterm infants. Noise level measurements for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices demonstrated that these constantly exceed current recommendations. The use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) as an alternative non-invasive ventilation modality has become more popular in recent years in neonatal care. To study noise levels of two HFNC devices commonly used in newborns. As a comparison, noise levels of a continuous flow CPAP device were also studied. In-vitro study. The noise levels of two contemporary HFNC devices (Fisher & Paykel NHF™ and Vapotherm Precision Flow®) and one CPAP device (Dräger Babylog® 8000 plus) were measured in the oral cavity of a newborn manikin in an incubator in a quiet environment. HFNC flows of 4-8 l/min and CPAP pressures of 4-8 cm H2O were applied. The CPAP flow was set at 8 l/min as per unit practice. Vapotherm HFNC generated the highest noise levels, measuring 81.2-91.4 dB(A) with increasing flow. Fisher & Paykel HFNC noise levels were between 78.8 and 81.2 dB(A). The CPAP device generated the lowest noise levels between 73.9 and 77.4 dB(A). Both HFNC devices generated higher noise levels than the CPAP device. All noise levels were far above current recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In light of the long duration of non-invasive respiratory support of very preterm infants, less noisy devices are required to prevent the potentially adverse effects of continuing excessive noise exposure in the neonatal intensive care unit. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Interior noise levels of two propeller-driven light aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Catherines, J. J.; Mayes, W. H.

1975-01-01

The relationships between aircraft operating conditions and interior noise and the degree to which ground testing can be used in lieu of flight testing for performing interior noise research were studied. The results show that the noise inside light aircraft is strongly influenced by the rotational speed of the engine and propeller. Both the overall noise and low frequency spectra levels were observed to decrease with increasing high speed rpm operations during flight. This phenomenon and its significance is not presently understood. Comparison of spectra obtained in flight with spectra obtained on the ground suggests that identification of frequency components and relative amplitude of propeller and engine noise sources may be evaluated on stationary aircraft.

Potential of neuro-fuzzy methodology to estimate noise level of wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolić, Vlastimir; Petković, Dalibor; Por, Lip Yee; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Zamani, Mazdak; Ćojbašić, Žarko; Motamedi, Shervin

2016-01-01

Wind turbines noise effect became large problem because of increasing of wind farms numbers since renewable energy becomes the most influential energy sources. However, wind turbine noise generation and propagation is not understandable in all aspects. Mechanical noise of wind turbines can be ignored since aerodynamic noise of wind turbine blades is the main source of the noise generation. Numerical simulations of the noise effects of the wind turbine can be very challenging task. Therefore in this article soft computing method is used to evaluate noise level of wind turbines. The main goal of the study is to estimate wind turbine noise in regard of wind speed at different heights and for different sound frequency. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is used to estimate the wind turbine noise levels.

Noise levels near streets, effectiveness and cost abatement measures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lang, J.

1980-01-01

During the years 1975-1978, research was carried concerning the current noise levels near streets, the annoyance felt by the population, possible noise abatement measures for these streets, and the economic impact of such measures. The results of the research are summarized.

Noise level measurements of railroads : freight yards and wayside

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-05-01

Noise from railroad operations were measured. Noise level data from freight yard operations were measured at the Argentine Freight Yard of the Santa Fe Railroad in Kansas City, Kansas and on a smaller scale in three facilities of the Boston and Maine...

Environmental Propagation of Noise in Mines and Nearby Villages: A Study Through Noise Mapping

PubMed Central

Manwar, Veena D.; Mandal, Bibhuti B.; Pal, Asim K.

2016-01-01

Background: Noise mapping being an established practice in Europe is hardly practiced for noise management in India although it is mandatory in Indian mines as per guidelines of the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS). As a pilot study, noise mapping was conducted in an opencast mine with three different models; one based on the baseline operating conditions in two shifts (Situation A), and two other virtual situations where either production targets were enhanced by extending working hours to three shifts (Situation B) or only by increased mechanization and not changing the duration of work (Situation C). Methods: Noise sources were categorized as point, line, area, and moving sources. Considering measured power of the sources, specific meteorological and geographical parameters, noise maps were generated using Predictor LimA software. Results: In all three situations, Lden values were 95 dB(A) and 70–80 dB(A) near drill machine and haul roads, respectively. Noise contours were wider in Situation C due to increase in frequency of dumpers. Lden values near Shovel 1 and Shovel 2 under Situation B increased by 5 dB and 3 dB, respectively due to expansion of working hours. In Situation C, noise levels were >82 dB(A) around shovels. Noise levels on both sides of conveyor belts were in the range of 80–85 dB(A) in Situations A and C whereas it was 85–90 dB(A) in Situation B. Near crusher plants, it ranged from 80 to 90 dB(A) in Situations A and C and between 85 and 95 dB(A) in Situation B. In all situations, noise levels near residential areas exceeded the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) limits, i.e., 55 dB(A). Conclusions: For all situations, predicted noise levels exceeded CPCB limits within the mine and nearby residential area. Residential areas near the crusher plants are vulnerable to increased noise propagation. It is recommended to put an acoustic barrier near the crusher plant to attenuate the noise propagation. PMID:27569406

Environmental propagation of noise in mines and nearby villages: A study through noise mapping.

PubMed

Manwar, Veena D; Mandal, Bibhuti B; Pal, Asim K

2016-01-01

Noise mapping being an established practice in Europe is hardly practiced for noise management in India although it is mandatory in Indian mines as per guidelines of the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS). As a pilot study, noise mapping was conducted in an opencast mine with three different models; one based on the baseline operating conditions in two shifts (Situation A), and two other virtual situations where either production targets were enhanced by extending working hours to three shifts (Situation B) or only by increased mechanization and not changing the duration of work (Situation C). Noise sources were categorized as point, line, area, and moving sources. Considering measured power of the sources, specific meteorological and geographical parameters, noise maps were generated using Predictor LimA software. In all three situations, Lden values were 95 dB(A) and 70-80 dB(A) near drill machine and haul roads, respectively. Noise contours were wider in Situation C due to increase in frequency of dumpers. Lden values near Shovel 1 and Shovel 2 under Situation B increased by 5 dB and 3 dB, respectively due to expansion of working hours. In Situation C, noise levels were >82 dB(A) around shovels. Noise levels on both sides of conveyor belts were in the range of 80-85 dB(A) in Situations A and C whereas it was 85-90 dB(A) in Situation B. Near crusher plants, it ranged from 80 to 90 dB(A) in Situations A and C and between 85 and 95 dB(A) in Situation B. In all situations, noise levels near residential areas exceeded the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) limits, i.e., 55 dB(A). For all situations, predicted noise levels exceeded CPCB limits within the mine and nearby residential area. Residential areas near the crusher plants are vulnerable to increased noise propagation. It is recommended to put an acoustic barrier near the crusher plant to attenuate the noise propagation.

Noise Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Environmental Health Systems puts forth an increasing effort in the U.S. to develop ways of controlling noise, particularly in industrial environments due to Federal and State laws, labor union insistence and new findings relative to noise pollution impact on human health. NASA's Apollo guidance control system aided in the development of a noise protection product, SMART. The basis of all SMART products is SMART compound a liquid plastic mixture with exceptional energy/sound absorbing qualities. The basic compound was later refined for noise protection use.

The impact of road traffic noise on cognitive performance in attention-based tasks depends on noise level even within moderate-level ranges

PubMed Central

Schlittmeier, Sabine J.; Feil, Alexandra; Liebl, Andreas; Hellbrück, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Little empirical evidence is available regarding the effects of road traffic noise on cognitive performance in adults, although traffic noise can be heard at many offices and home office workplaces. Our study tested the impact of road traffic noise at different levels (50 dB(A), 60 dB(A), 70 dB(A)) on performance in three tasks that differed with respect to their dependency on attentional and storage functions, as follows: The Stroop task, in which performance relied predominantly on attentional functions (e.g., inhibition of automated responses; Experiment 1: n = 24); a non-automated multistage mental arithmetic task calling for both attentional and storage functions (Exp. 2: n = 18); and verbal serial recall, which placed a burden predominantly on storage functions (Experiment 3: n = 18). Better performance was observed during moderate road traffic noise at 50 dB(A) compared to loud traffic noise at 70 dB(A) in attention-based tasks (Experiments 1-2). This contrasted with the effects of irrelevant speech (60 dB(A)), which was included in the experiments as a well-explored and common noise source in office settings. A disturbance impact of background speech was only given in the two tasks that called for storage functions (Experiments 2-3). In addition to the performance data, subjective annoyance ratings were collected. Consistent with the level effect of road traffic noise found in the performance data, a moderate road traffic noise at 50 dB(A) was perceived as significantly less annoying than a loud road traffic noise at 70 dB(A), which was found, however, independently of the task at hand. Furthermore, the background sound condition with the highest detrimental performance effect in a task was also rated as most annoying in this task, i.e., traffic noise at 70 dB(A) in the Stroop task, and background speech in the mental arithmetic and serial recall tasks. PMID:25913554

Industrial noise level study in a wheat processing factory in ilorin, nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, I.; Ajao, K. R.; Aremu, S. A.

2016-05-01

An industrial process such as wheat processing generates significant noise which can cause adverse effects on workers and the general public. This study assessed the noise level at a wheat processing mill in Ilorin, Nigeria. A portable digital sound level meter HD600 manufactured by Extech Inc., USA was used to determine the noise level around various machines, sections and offices in the factory at pre-determined distances. Subjective assessment was also mode using a World Health Organization (WHO) standard questionnaire to obtain information regarding noise ratings, effect of noise on personnel and noise preventive measures. The result of the study shows that the highest noise of 99.4 dBA was recorded at a pressure blower when compared to other machines. WHO Class-4 hearing protector is recommended for workers on the shop floor and room acoustics should be upgraded to absorb some sounds transmitted to offices.

A comparison of high-frequency noise levels on Cascadia Initiative ocean-bottom seismometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilmo, R.; Wilcock, W. S. D.; Roland, E. C.; Bodin, P.; Connolly, J.

2017-12-01

The Cascadia Initiative (CI) included a four-year deployment of 70 ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) on the Cascadia subduction zone and the Juan de Fuca plate for the purposes of characterizing seismicity and imaging the Earth's interior. The Cascadia subduction zone megathrust exhibits very low rates of seismicity relative to most other subduction zones, and there is great motivation to understand deformation on the megathrust because of its potential to produce a catastrophic M9 earthquake. An understanding of earthquake detectability of the CI network, based on knowledge of noise levels, could contribute to the interpretation of earthquake catalogs derived from the experiment and aid in the design of future networks. This project is aimed at estimating these thresholds of local earthquake detectability and how they change across the array both geographically and temporally. We characterize background noise levels recorded from 0.1 to 20 Hz with an emphasis on the frequency band used to detect local seismicity ( 3-15 Hz) to understand how noise levels depend on instrument design and environmental parameters including seafloor depth, season and oceanographic conditions. Our initial analysis of 3 weeks of vertical channel data in September, January, and May 2012-2013 shows that noise increase significantly moving from the continental shelf to deeper water. Noise levels at a given depth vary with instrument type but further analysis is required to determine whether this reflects variations in instrumental noise and ground coupling noise or errors in the scaling of the instrument response. There is also a strong seasonality in recorded noise levels at some frequencies, with winter noise levels exceeding spring and fall noise levels by up to 10 decibels in both the microseism band and in the fin whale calling band (15-20 Hz). In contrast, the seasonal noise level in the local seismicity band for a given instrument type and location shows smaller noise variation

Do perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to air and noise pollution predict incident self-rated poor health? A prospective analysis of independent and joint associations using a German national representative cohort study.

PubMed

Riedel, Natalie; Loerbroks, Adrian; Bolte, Gabriele; Li, Jian

2017-01-23

Current economic and social change has contributed to increasing job insecurity and traffic-related pollution in residential areas. Both job insecurity and exposure to noise and air pollution are known determinants of population health and can concur in peoples' lives. This may hold true particularly for socially disadvantaged subpopulations. Nevertheless, the potential independent and joint links of those exposures to health have been rarely examined so far. We aimed to contribute to the scarce body of evidence. Information on perceived job insecurity and exposures to noise and air pollution as expressed by annoyance as well as on self-rated health were gathered from 2 waves of the population-based German Socio-Economic Panel (2009 and 2011, N=6544). We performed multivariable Poisson regression to examine the independent and joint risk of poor health in 2011 by perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to noise and air pollution in 2009. After the 2-year follow-up in 2011, 571 (8.7%) participants rated their health as poor. The risk of reporting incident poor health was increased by roughly 40% in employees reporting high versus low perceived job insecurity and annoyance due to noise and air pollution, respectively. This risk increased when both exposures were present at higher levels (risk ratio=1.95 (1.49 to 2.55)). Work-related and environmental exposures may accumulate and have a joint health impact. Elaboration on the link between occupational and residential exposures is warranted in the light of their concurrence and their implications for health inequities. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Annoyance from Road Traffic, Trains, Airplanes and from Total Environmental Noise Levels

PubMed Central

Ragettli, Martina S.; Goudreau, Sophie; Plante, Céline; Perron, Stéphane; Fournier, Michel; Smargiassi, Audrey

2015-01-01

There is a lack of studies assessing the exposure-response relationship between transportation noise and annoyance in North America. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence of noise annoyance induced by road traffic, trains and airplanes in relation to distance to transportation noise sources, and to total environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada; annoyance was assessed as noise-induced disturbance. A telephone-based survey among 4336 persons aged >18 years was conducted. Exposure to total environmental noise (A-weighted outdoor noise levels—LAeq24h and day-evening-night equivalent noise levels—Lden) for each study participant was determined using a statistical noise model (land use regression—LUR) that is based on actual outdoor noise measurements. The proportion of the population annoyed by road traffic, airplane and train noise was 20.1%, 13.0% and 6.1%, respectively. As the distance to major roads, railways and the Montreal International Airport increased, the percentage of people disturbed and highly disturbed due to the corresponding traffic noise significantly decreased. When applying the statistical noise model we found a relationship between noise levels and disturbance from road traffic and total environmental noise, with Prevalence Proportion Ratios (PPR) for highly disturbed people of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07–1.13) and 1.04 (1.02–1.06) per 1 dB(A) Lden, respectively. Our study provides the first comprehensive information on the relationship between transportation noise levels and disturbance in a Canadian city. LUR models are still in development and further studies on transportation noise induced annoyance are consequently needed, especially for sources other than road traffic. PMID:26729143

Influence of solid noise barriers on near-road and on-road air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldauf, Richard W.; Isakov, Vlad; Deshmukh, Parikshit; Venkatram, Akula; Yang, Bo; Zhang, K. Max

2016-03-01

Public health concerns regarding adverse health effects for populations spending significant amounts of time near high traffic roadways has increased substantially in recent years. Roadside features, including solid noise barriers, have been investigated as potential methods that can be implemented in a relatively short time period to reduce air pollution exposures from nearby traffic. A field study was conducted to determine the influence of noise barriers on both on-road and downwind pollutant concentrations near a large highway in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ultrafine particles, and black carbon were measured using a mobile platform and fixed sites along two limited-access stretches of highway that contained a section of noise barrier and a section with no noise barrier at-grade with the surrounding terrain. Results of the study showed that pollutant concentrations behind the roadside barriers were significantly lower relative to those measured in the absence of barriers. The reductions ranged from 50% within 50 m from the barrier to about 30% as far as 300 m from the barrier. Reductions in pollutant concentrations generally began within the first 50 m of the barrier edge; however, concentrations were highly variable due to vehicle activity behind the barrier and along nearby urban arterial roadways. The concentrations on the highway, upwind of the barrier, varied depending on wind direction. Overall, the on-road concentrations in front of the noise barrier were similar to those measured in the absence of the barrier, contradicting previous modeling results that suggested roadside barriers increase pollutant levels on the road. Thus, this study suggests that noise barriers do reduce potential pollutant exposures for populations downwind of the road, and do not likely increase exposures to traffic-related pollutants for vehicle passengers on the highway.

Validation of Aircraft Noise Prediction Models at Low Levels of Exposure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Page, Juliet A.; Hobbs, Christopher M.; Plotkin, Kenneth J.; Stusnick, Eric; Shepherd, Kevin P. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Aircraft noise measurements were made at Denver International Airport for a period of four weeks. Detailed operational information was provided by airline operators which enabled noise levels to be predicted using the FAA's Integrated Noise Model. Several thrust prediction techniques were evaluated. Measured sound exposure levels for departure operations were found to be 4 to 10 dB higher than predicted, depending on the thrust prediction technique employed. Differences between measured and predicted levels are shown to be related to atmospheric conditions present at the aircraft altitude.

Effects of rotating flows on combustion and jet noise.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, I. R.

1972-01-01

Experimental investigations of combustion in rotating (swirling) flow have shown that the mixing and combustion processes were accelerated, flame length and noise levels significantly decreased, and flame stability increased relative to that obtained without rotation. Unsteady burning accompanied by a pulsating flame, violent fluctuating jet, and intense noise present in straight flow burning were not present in rotating flow burning. Correlations between theory and experiment show good agreement. Such effects due to rotating flows could lead to suppressing jet noise, improving combustion, reducing pollution, and decreasing aircraft engine size. Quantitative analysis of the aero-acoustic relationship and noise source characteristics are needed.-

Noise in the operating rooms of Greek hospitals.

PubMed

Tsiou, Chrisoula; Efthymiatos, Gerasimos; Katostaras, Theophanis

2008-02-01

This study is an evaluation of the problem of noise pollution in operating rooms. The high sound pressure level of noise in the operating theatre has a negative impact on communication between operating room personnel. The research took place at nine Greek public hospitals with more than 400 beds. The objective evaluation consisted of sound pressure level measurements in terms of L(eq), as well as peak sound pressure levels in recordings during 43 surgeries in order to identify sources of noise. The subjective evaluation consisted of a questionnaire answered by 684 operating room personnel. The views of operating room personnel were studied using Pearson's X(2) Test and Fisher's Exact Test (SPSS Version 10.00), a t-test comparison was made of mean sound pressure levels, and the relationship of measurement duration and sound pressure level was examined using linear regression analysis (SPSS Version 13.00). The sound pressure levels of noise per operation and the sources of noise varied. The maximum measured level of noise during the main procedure of an operation was measured at L(eq)=71.9 dB(A), L(1)=84.7 dB(A), L(10)=76.2 dB(A), and L(99)=56.7 dB(A). The hospital building, machinery, tools, and people in the operating room were the main noise factors. In order to eliminate excess noise in the operating room it may be necessary to adopt a multidisciplinary approach. An improvement in environment (background noise levels), the implementation of effective standards, and the focusing of the surgical team on noise matters are considered necessary changes.

The prediction of en route noise levels for a DC-9 aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weir, Donald S.

1988-01-01

En route noise for advanced propfan powered aircraft has become an issue of concern for the Federal Aviation Administration. The NASA Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP) is used to demonstrate the source noise and propagation effects for an aircraft in level flight up to 35,000 feet altitude. One-third octave band spectra of the source noise, atmospheric absorption loss, and received noise are presented. The predicted maximum A-weighted sound pressure level is compared to measured data from the Aeronautical Research Institute of Sweden. ANOPP is shown to be an effective tool in evaluating the en route noise characteristics of a DC-9 aircraft.

Associations of long-term exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise with cognitive function-An analysis of effect measure modification.

PubMed

Tzivian, Lilian; Jokisch, Martha; Winkler, Angela; Weimar, Christian; Hennig, Frauke; Sugiri, Dorothea; Soppa, Vanessa J; Dragano, Nico; Erbel, Raimund; Jöckel, Karl-Heinz; Moebus, Susanne; Hoffmann, Barbara

2017-06-01

Adverse effects of traffic-related air pollution (AP) and noise on cognitive functions have been proposed, but little is known about their interactions and the combined effect of co-exposure. Cognitive assessment was completed by 4086 participants of the population-based Heinz Nixdorf Recall cohort study using five neuropsychological subtests and an additively calculated global cognitive score (GCS). We assessed long-term residential concentrations for size-fractioned particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides with land use regression. Road traffic noise (weighted 24-h (L DEN ) and night-time (L NIGHT ) means) was assessed according to the EU directive 2002/49/EC. Linear regression models adjusted for individual-level characteristics were calculated to estimate effect modification of associations between AP and noise with cognitive function. We used multiplicative interaction terms and categories of single or double high exposure, dichotomizing the potential effect modifier at the median (AP) or at an a priori defined threshold (road traffic noise). In fully adjusted models, high noise exposure increased the association of AP with cognitive function. For example, for an interquartile range increase of PM 2.5 (IQR 1.43), association s with GCS were: estimate (β)=-0.16 [95% confidence interval: -0.33; 0.01] and β=-0.48 [-0.72; -0.23] for low and high L DEN , respectively. The association of noise with GCS was restricted to highly AP-exposed participants. We observed stronger negative associations in those participants with double exposure compared to the addition of effect estimates of each single exposure. Our study suggests that AP and road traffic noise might act synergistically on cognitive function in adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Humpback whale-generated ambient noise levels provide insight into singers' spatial densities.

PubMed

Seger, Kerri D; Thode, Aaron M; Urbán-R, Jorge; Martínez-Loustalot, Pamela; Jiménez-López, M Esther; López-Arzate, Diana

2016-09-01

Baleen whale vocal activity can be the dominant underwater ambient noise source for certain locations and seasons. Previous wind-driven ambient-noise formulations have been adjusted to model ambient noise levels generated by random distributions of singing humpback whales in ocean waveguides and have been combined to a single model. This theoretical model predicts that changes in ambient noise levels with respect to fractional changes in singer population (defined as the noise "sensitivity") are relatively unaffected by the source level distributions and song spectra of individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). However, the noise "sensitivity" does depend on frequency and on how the singers' spatial density changes with population size. The theoretical model was tested by comparing visual line transect surveys with bottom-mounted passive acoustic data collected during the 2013 and 2014 humpback whale breeding seasons off Los Cabos, Mexico. A generalized linear model (GLM) estimated the noise "sensitivity" across multiple frequency bands. Comparing the GLM estimates with the theoretical predictions suggests that humpback whales tend to maintain relatively constant spacing between one another while singing, but that individual singers either slightly increase their source levels or song duration, or cluster more tightly as the singing population increases.

Environmental stressors and cardio-metabolic disease: part I-epidemiologic evidence supporting a role for noise and air pollution and effects of mitigation strategies.

PubMed

Münzel, Thomas; Sørensen, Mette; Gori, Tommaso; Schmidt, Frank P; Rao, Xiaoquan; Brook, Jeffrey; Chen, Lung Chi; Brook, Robert D; Rajagopalan, Sanjay

2017-02-21

Traffic noise and air pollution together represent the two most important environmental risk factors in urbanized societies. The first of this two-part review discusses the epidemiologic evidence in support of the existence of an association between these risk factors with cardiovascular and metabolic disease. While independent effects of these risk factors have now clearly been shown, recent studies also suggest that the two exposures may interact with each other and with traditional risk factors such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes. From a societal and policy perspective, the health effects of both air pollution and traffic noise are observed for exposures well below the thresholds currently accepted as being safe. Current gaps in knowledge, effects of intervention and their impact on cardiovascular disease, will be discussed in the last section of this review. Increased awareness of the societal burden posed by these novel risk factors and acknowledgement in traditional risk factor guidelines may intensify the efforts required for effective legislation to reduce air pollution and noise. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A decision-support tool for the control of urban noise pollution.

PubMed

Suriano, Marcia Thais; de Souza, Léa Cristina Lucas; da Silva, Antonio Nelson Rodrigues

2015-07-01

Improving the quality of life is increasingly seen as an important urban planning goal. In order to reach it, various tools are being developed to mitigate the negative impacts of human activities on society. This paper develops a methodology for quantifying the population's exposure to noise, by proposing a classification of urban blocks. Taking into account the vehicular flow and traffic composition of the surroundings of urban blocks, we generated a noise map by applying a computational simulation. The urban blocks were classified according to their noise range and then the population was estimated for each urban block, by a process which was based on the census tract and the constructed area of the blocks. The acoustical classes of urban blocks and the number of inhabitants per block were compared, so that the population exposed to noise levels above 65 dB(A) could be estimated, which is the highest limit established by legislation. As a result, we developed a map of the study area, so that urban blocks that should be priority targets for noise mitigation actions can be quickly identified.

Increase of Investment Appeal of Projects for Noise Control Measures in Urban Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolmakov, A. V.; Ignatyeva, V. O.

2017-11-01

The authors analyzed the contemporary noise pollution level in the large cities of the Russian Federation. The article identifies the factors causing the reduction of acoustically comfortable urban territories. It states the task for the increase of investment appeal of the projects aimed at noise control measures adoption.

Detection System of Sound Noise Level (SNL) Based on Condenser Microphone Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajagukguk, Juniastel; Eka Sari, Nurdieni

2018-03-01

The research aims to know the noise level by using the Arduino Uno as data processing input from sensors and called as Sound Noise Level (SNL). The working principle of the instrument is as noise detector with the show notifications the noise level on the LCD indicator and in the audiovisual form. Noise detection using the sensor is a condenser microphone and LM 567 as IC op-amps, which are assembled so that it can detect the noise, which sounds are captured by the sensor will turn the tide of sinusoida voice became sine wave energy electricity (altering sinusoida electric current) that is able to responded to complaints by the Arduino Uno. The tool is equipped with a detector consists of a set indicator LED and sound well as the notification from the text on LCD 16*2. Work setting indicators on the condition that, if the measured noise > 75 dB then sound will beep, the red LED will light up indicating the status of the danger. If the measured value on the LCD is higher than 56 dB, sound indicator will be beep and yellow LED will be on indicating noisy. If the noise measured value <55 dB, sound indicator will be quiet indicating peaceful from noisy. From the result of the research can be explained that the SNL is capable to detecting and displaying noise level with a measuring range 50-100 dB and capable to delivering the notification noise in audiovisual.

14 CFR 91.859 - Modification to meet Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... noise levels. 91.859 Section 91.859 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Noise Limits § 91.859 Modification to meet Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels. For an airplane subject to... Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels. [Doc. No. FAA-2003-16526, 70 FR 38750, July 5, 2005] ...

14 CFR 91.859 - Modification to meet Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... noise levels. 91.859 Section 91.859 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Noise Limits § 91.859 Modification to meet Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels. For an airplane subject to... Stage 3 or Stage 4 noise levels. [Doc. No. FAA-2003-16526, 70 FR 38750, July 5, 2005] ...

Noise and low-frequency sound levels due to aerial fireworks and prediction of the occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise

PubMed Central

Tanaka, Tagayasu; Inaba, Ryoichi; Aoyama, Atsuhito

2016-01-01

Objectives: This study investigated the actual situation of noise and low-frequency sounds in firework events and their impact on pyrotechnicians. Methods: Data on firework noise and low-frequency sounds were obtained at a point located approximately 100 m away from the launch site of a firework display held in "A" City in 2013. We obtained the data by continuously measuring and analyzing the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq) and the one-third octave band of the noise and low-frequency sounds emanating from the major firework detonations, and predicted sound levels at the original launch site. Results: Sound levels of 100-115 dB and low-frequency sounds of 100-125 dB were observed at night. The maximum and mean Leq values were 97 and 95 dB, respectively. The launching noise level predicted from the sounds (85 dB) at the noise measurement point was 133 dB. Occupational exposure to noise for pyrotechnicians at the remote operation point (located 20-30 m away from the launch site) was estimated to be below 100 dB. Conclusions: Pyrotechnicians are exposed to very loud noise (>100 dB) at the launch point. We believe that it is necessary to implement measures such as fixing earplugs or earmuffs, posting a warning at the workplace, and executing a remote launching operation to prevent hearing loss caused by occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise. It is predicted that both sound levels and low-frequency sounds would be reduced by approximately 35 dB at the remote operation site. PMID:27725489

Noise and low-frequency sound levels due to aerial fireworks and prediction of the occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise.

PubMed

Tanaka, Tagayasu; Inaba, Ryoichi; Aoyama, Atsuhito

2016-11-29

This study investigated the actual situation of noise and low-frequency sounds in firework events and their impact on pyrotechnicians. Data on firework noise and low-frequency sounds were obtained at a point located approximately 100 m away from the launch site of a firework display held in "A" City in 2013. We obtained the data by continuously measuring and analyzing the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq) and the one-third octave band of the noise and low-frequency sounds emanating from the major firework detonations, and predicted sound levels at the original launch site. Sound levels of 100-115 dB and low-frequency sounds of 100-125 dB were observed at night. The maximum and mean Leq values were 97 and 95 dB, respectively. The launching noise level predicted from the sounds (85 dB) at the noise measurement point was 133 dB. Occupational exposure to noise for pyrotechnicians at the remote operation point (located 20-30 m away from the launch site) was estimated to be below 100 dB. Pyrotechnicians are exposed to very loud noise (>100 dB) at the launch point. We believe that it is necessary to implement measures such as fixing earplugs or earmuffs, posting a warning at the workplace, and executing a remote launching operation to prevent hearing loss caused by occupational exposure of pyrotechnicians to noise. It is predicted that both sound levels and low-frequency sounds would be reduced by approximately 35 dB at the remote operation site.

Preferred listening levels of mobile phone programs when considering subway interior noise

PubMed Central

Yu, Jyaehyoung; Lee, Donguk; Han, Woojae

2016-01-01

Today, people listen to music loud using personal listening devices. Although a majority of studies have reported that the high volume played on these listening devices produces a latent risk of hearing problems, there is a lack of studies on “double noise exposures” such as environmental noise plus recreational noise. The present study measures the preferred listening levels of a mobile phone program with subway interior noise for 74 normal-hearing participants in five age groups (ranging from 20s to 60s). The speakers presented the subway interior noise at 73.45 dB, while each subject listened to three application programs [Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB), music, game] for 30 min using a tablet personal computer with an earphone. The participants’ earphone volume levels were analyzed using a sound level meter and a 2cc coupler. Overall, the results showed that those in their 20s listened to the three programs significantly louder with DMB set at significantly higher volume levels than for the other programs. Higher volume levels were needed for middle frequency compared to the lower and higher frequencies. We concluded that any potential risk of noise-induced hearing loss for mobile phone users should be communicated when users listen regularly, although the volume level was not high enough that the users felt uncomfortable. When considering individual listening habits on mobile phones, further study to predict total accumulated environmental noise is still needed. PMID:26780960

Preferred listening levels of mobile phone programs when considering subway interior noise.