Noise Pollution
Vasquez 1
Naisy Vasquez
Professor Machado
EOH 350 T/Th
April 29, 2010
Noise Pollution and Its Impact
“Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere.”
-William H. Stewart
The word noise is derived from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness. Like its root meaning, noise has a negative effect to human health and well-being. Noise resulting from road traffic, jet planes, jet skis, garbage trucks, construction equipment, manufacturing processes, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and boom boxes, to name a few, are among the audible litter that are routinely broadcast into the air (Noise, Noise Pollution and Clearinghouse). They interfere with sleep, concentration, communication, and recreation. The potential health effects of noise pollution are numerous, pervasive, persistent, and medically and socially significant. Health problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, sleep loss, distraction and lost productivity, and a general reduction in the quality of life and opportunities for tranquility. Noise is among the most pervasive pollutants today, Its more severe and widespread than ever before, and it will continue to increase in magnitude and severity because of population growth, urbanization, and the associated growth in the use of increasingly powerful, varied, and highly mobile sources of noise. However, strategies such as noise mitigation and its three distinct methods: control, path control and receptor shielding (Noise Mitigation) can reduce environmental noise. Vasquez 2
Noise intensity is measure by decibel units. The decibel scale runs from zero for the perceptible sound, to one hundred and thirty for sound that causes pain. Examples of noise levels in decimals are; 10db for noise as low as breathing, 50db for a quiet conversation, and 100db for noise as high as a jet take-off or power lawn mower and if exposure is sustained for
Naisy Vasquez
Professor Machado
EOH 350 T/Th
April 29, 2010
Noise Pollution and Its Impact
“Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere.”
-William H. Stewart
The word noise is derived from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness. Like its root meaning, noise has a negative effect to human health and well-being. Noise resulting from road traffic, jet planes, jet skis, garbage trucks, construction equipment, manufacturing processes, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and boom boxes, to name a few, are among the audible litter that are routinely broadcast into the air (Noise, Noise Pollution and Clearinghouse). They interfere with sleep, concentration, communication, and recreation. The potential health effects of noise pollution are numerous, pervasive, persistent, and medically and socially significant. Health problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, sleep loss, distraction and lost productivity, and a general reduction in the quality of life and opportunities for tranquility. Noise is among the most pervasive pollutants today, Its more severe and widespread than ever before, and it will continue to increase in magnitude and severity because of population growth, urbanization, and the associated growth in the use of increasingly powerful, varied, and highly mobile sources of noise. However, strategies such as noise mitigation and its three distinct methods: control, path control and receptor shielding (Noise Mitigation) can reduce environmental noise. Vasquez 2
Noise intensity is measure by decibel units. The decibel scale runs from zero for the perceptible sound, to one hundred and thirty for sound that causes pain. Examples of noise levels in decimals are; 10db for noise as low as breathing, 50db for a quiet conversation, and 100db for noise as high as a jet take-off or power lawn mower and if exposure is sustained for
References: "Environmental Sleep Disturbance: Discover What Effects Are Doing to You." Sleep-disorders. Web. 17 Apr. 2010. <http://www.sleep-disorders.org.uk/>. "Noise- Induced Hearing Loss." Dangerousdecibels. Web. 16 Apr. 2020. <http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/hearingloss.cfm>. "Noise, Noise Pollution and Clearinghouse." Nonoise. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.nonoise.org/aboutno.htm>. "Principles of Mitigation." Environmental Protection Department. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/noise_education/web/ENG_EPD_HTML/m4/mitigation_1.html>. | | |