Reporting noise
measurement
including
noise mapping
What is noise ?
• Noise refers to any external and unwanted information that interferes
with a transmission signal.
• Noise can diminish transmission strength and disturb overall
communication efficiency.
• Noise is the unpleasant and undesirable sound which
leads to discomfort in human beings
Types
• Transport Noise
It mainly consists of traffic noise which has increased in recent years with
the increase in the number of vehicles. Principle source of noise.
• Neighborhood Noise
The noise from gadgets, household utensils etc. Some of the main sources
are musical instruments, transistors, loudspeakers, etc.
- Industrial Noise
It is the high-intensity sound which is caused by
heavy industrial machines.
Causes and sources
• Industrialization: Industrialization has led to an increase in noise pollution as the use of heavy
machinery such as generators, mills, huge exhaust fans are used, resulting in the production of
unwanted noise.
• Vehicles: Increased number of vehicles on the roads are the second reason for noise pollution.
• Events: Weddings, public gatherings involve loudspeakers to play music resulting in the production
of unwanted noise in the neighborhood.
• Construction sites: Mining, construction of buildings, etc add to the noise pollution
Effects of Noise Pollution on Human
Health
Noise pollution can be hazardous to human health :
• Hypertension
• Hearing loss
• Sleeping disorders
• Cardiovascular issues
Why is it necessary to measure
noise in workplace ?
• Measuring noise levels and workers' noise exposures is the most
important part of a workplace hearing conservation and noise control
program.
• It helps identify work locations where there are noise problems,
employees who may be exposed to noise levels that can cause hearing
loss, and where additional noise measurements need to be made.
• This information also helps determine appropriate noise control
measures that need to be put in place.
How is it measured ?
• For occupational hygiene purposes, the sound pressure level is
measured to determine noise exposures.
• Various instruments and techniques may be used. The choice
depends on the workplace noise and the information needed.
• However, the first step is to determine if there is a noise problem in
the workplace
How do you identify noise problem ?
• The first step is to determine whether or not noise is a potential
problem in your workplace. A walk-through survey is recommended.
• The indicators of potentially hazardous noise level
include:
- People have to raise their voice
- Reduced hearing sensitivity after working hours
- Speech discrimination problems for people who has worked for many
years
- Tinnitus
Types of instruments ?
- Sound Level Meter
- Integrating Sound Level Meter
- Dosimeter
Measurements
- Frequency analysis (measuring noise level at each frequency or
pitch)
- Background noise level
- Noise survey
Noise Mapping
• After noise survey, There may be a requirement to view sound
pressure levels everywhere in a workplace, or around a particular
piece of plant and machinery.
• Noise mapping can provide that detail. A noise map is just a visual
representation of noise levels in a workplace in the form of a contour
map.
• Contours are usually coloured to indicate intensity of noise, presence
of high or low frequencies etc., and the map is usually overlaid on a
plan of the area or workplace.
• Noise mapping is an important tool for urban planning for assessment,
management and control of ambient noise levels. Noise mapping will help in
analyzing the hot spots and cooler zones for any particular locations.
• The concept is more done in countries like Europe.
• New in India. Primitive stages.
• The Health outcomes of noise levels been done and its increasing.
• The noise maps may be
drawn based on actual
measurements at various
sites utilizing a
predetermined sampling
strategy or may be plotted
using a validated noise
model integrated with
Geographical Interface
Systems (GIS).
The following are the advantages of noise mapping:-
• To predict future noise levels of a proposed highway/Railway/Airport
• To understand spatially the spread of noise level form
industries/refineries/ pile driving and to analysis the areas under the
exposure of noise levels above the permissible limit
• To calculate the optimum noise abutment measures
• Noise mapping will be helpful for developing the urban proposals and
smart city initiatives
• It will help in visualizing the influence of environmental impact of
mines, Wind mills, natural gas plants etc.
The concept of noise mapping is a comprehensive approach involving
the following steps :
• Collecting the raw data, preparing and storing of the data,
• Computing the noise levels in a computer model,
• Cumulating the noise levels (when there are different sources)
• Determining noise contours;
• Determining noise effects;
• Presentation of the impact of noise.
Identification of hot spots and determination of noise impact of various
noise sources are the key stages of noise mapping.
• The noise mapping strategy is not as easy as it looks.
• There are various aspects taken into consideration for noise mapping
such as :-
measurement considerations, Digital terrain model and input
parameters required, validated traffic noise model, spatial interpolation
method, sampling strategy and colour code to be used.
