Document No.

GP 15-01

Applicability

Group

Date

3 March 2008

GP 15-01

Noise Control

Guidance on Practice for

BP GROUP
ENGINEERING TECHNICAL PRACTICES

3 March 2008

GP 15-01
Noise Control

Foreword
This is the first issue of Engineering Technical Practice (ETP) GP 15-01. This document is technically
identical to the former GP 14-01 dated 4-November-2005.This Group Practice (GP) is based on parts
of heritage documents from the merged BP companies as follows:

Amoco (ACES)
A EN-NC-00-E
A EN-NC-00-G

EnvironmentalNoise ControlEngineering Specification

EnvironmentalNoise ControlGuide

ARCO (APCES)
Std 600
Std 601

Noise Control Standard for Refinery Operating Units

Equipment Noise Control

British Petroleum (RPSE)

RP 14-1

Guide to Noise Control.

Copyright 2008, BP Group. All rights reserved. The information contained in this
document is subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement or contract under which
the document was supplied to the recipients organization. None of the information
contained in this document shall be disclosed outside the recipients own organization
without the prior written permission of BP Group, unless the terms of such agreement or
contract expressly allow.

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GP 15-01
Noise Control

Table of Contents
Page
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ 2
1.

Scope .................................................................................................................................... 4

2.

Normative references............................................................................................................. 4

3.

Symbols and abbreviations .................................................................................................... 4

4.

Noise limits ............................................................................................................................ 4

5.

Contractor responsibilities...................................................................................................... 7

6.

Noise reduction techniques.................................................................................................... 8

6.1. General....................................................................................................................... 8
6.1. Insulation .................................................................................................................... 9
6.2. Silencers and acoustic enclosures .............................................................................. 9

7.

Noise monitoring.................................................................................................................... 9

A.1

Noise calculations ................................................................................................................ 11

List of Figures
Figure 1Flowchart for Noise Control ............................................................................................ 7

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1.

GP 15-01
Noise Control

Scope
This Group Practice is a guide to BPs general requirements for noise control for complete plant and
individual items of equipment.

2.

Normative references
The following normative documents contain requirements that, through reference in this text,
constitute requirements of this technical practice. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or
revisions of, any of these publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this
technical practice are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most recent editions of
the normative documents indicated below. For undated references, the latest edition of the normative
document referred to applies.

Engineering Equipment and Materials Users Association (EEMUA)

EEMUA 141

3.

Guide to the Use of Noise Procedure Specification

Symbols and abbreviations

For the purpose of this GP, the following symbols and abbreviations apply:

4.

LEP,d

Daily personal noise exposure

LP

Sound pressure level

LW

Sound power level

Neighbourhood noise limit

Instantaneous pressure variation from the ambient pressure

p2

Mean square pressure variation

po

Reference level (20 x 10-6 Pa)

Acoustic power of the source

Wo

Reference level (10-12 watts)

TLV

Threshold limit value

TWA

Time weighted average

Noise limits
a.

This guidance should be used in the preparation of a noise specification for new plant or
equipment or for any modifications to existing plant or equipment.

b.

New or modified plant equipment should be designed to operate at acceptable noise levels
and eliminate the requirement for retrofitting noise control systems or the ongoing long
term costs associated with poor control of noise.

c.

Exposures over a working lifetime should be kept below 80 dBA LEP,d to provide full
protection from hearing loss due to noise at work.
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GP 15-01
Noise Control

The Occupational Hygiene Team of BPs HSSE Shared Resource therefore

recommends this value as a GOAL for maximum exposure.
d.

e.

The following noise control goals should be adopted:

1.

maximum workplace noise exposure of 80 dB(A)LEP,d

2.

compliance with community/neighbourhood noise limits imposed by regulatory or

planning authorities

3.

compliance with regulatory requirements.

If these goals cannot be achieved a specialist review team of engineers, occupational

hygienists and noise specialists should be formed to determine the most appropriate
economic control mechanisms for the resultant noise levels.
Throughout the specification process for new or modified plant and equipment the
primary objective will be the reduction in personal noise exposure doses to levels
that are known to present a minimal risk to health and the achievement of
community noise limits, as a minimum, as defined for the particular location.

f.

If an employees personal exposure to noise exceeds maximum limits, appropriate action

shall be taken by the employer.

g.

No employee, contractor or visitor to BP facilities, under normal conditions, should receive

a daily personal noise exposure in excess of 80 dBA based on an 8 hour exposure pattern.

h.

If the normal work period is greater that 8 hours per day this exposure standard should be
reduced to reflect the increased exposure time.
It is recognised that US-Specification noise dosimeters only begin to respond to
noise above 80 dBA and therefore careful interpretation of data will be required if
levels are expected to be at or near the 78 dBA dose applicable to 12 hour shift
working. Older US Specification dosimeters maybe set to integrate on a 5 dB
doubling rate rather than the 3 dB rate used elsewhere. Recent changes in the US
have brought them in line with international practice but older US specification
dosimeters will need to be adjusted or upgraded to accept 3 dB doubling rate.
(European and ISO Standard dosimeters are generally not affected as they are set
for 3 dB doubling rate and have dynamic ranges that extend well below 80 dB).
Where noise limits have been promulgated, either for personal exposure or
environmental nuisance control, it is unlikely, based on current information, that
they will remain at current levels indefinitely (see above). It is anticipated that in
time noise limits will be reduced from their current levels and therefore due
consideration should be given to this possibility when specifying noise criteria for
plant and equipment.

i.

A noise specification should be created for all new plant and equipment and for any
modifications to existing facilities.

j.

The noise specification should reflect the following

1.

applicable regulatory requirements, the best available technology and industry

practice and therefore provide for the cost effective control of noise

2.

results of any health, safety and environmental risk assessment of the proposed
modification or new plant, including the nature of the local working pattern at the
location (i.e. 8 hour or 12 hour shifts)

3.

expected noise emissions from the on-line operation of the facility, for example, fluid
flow through equipment.

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GP 15-01
Noise Control

k.

Noise limits should be set for operating areas for the purpose of minimising the health risk
to people working at BPs facilities, to minimise neighbourhood nuisance and to comply
with local authority requirements.

l.

For offshore facilities it is accepted that neighbourhood nuisance is unlikely to be an issue.

m.

Noise limits should also be established for office areas, control rooms, and other normally
occupied areas.

n.

Acoustic enclosures or insulation used for noise control should not limit operation and
maintenance of the base equipment.

o.

Noise limits for individual items of equipment should be derived from the overall plant
limit and should consider the location of the equipment and any impact on the resultant
noise level associated with this e.g. operations inside buildings, reflections from nearby
equipment or sources with particular distinctive high or low frequency noises.

p.

Equipment noise limits should be checked by acceptance testing for legal or guarantee
purposes.

q.

If the noise limit for any individual item of equipment (and/or the complete process) does
not satisfy the design criteria, the supplier or manufacturer shall indicate the reasons for
this and suitable noise control measures that can be used to ensure the limits are met.

r.

If equipment from different suppliers is to be used and joined together mechanically, e.g.
by pipe work, consideration should be given to noise generated via these connections.

s.

Noise control limits for new/modified plant or equipment should be established in

accordance with Figure 1.
In practice, to allow for design error and the anticipated reduction in noise
exposure limits, it is recommended that the plant be designed to meet limits that are
5 dBA below those currently quoted in national legislation or licences to operate.

t.

If, for any reason, it is not technically feasible to engineer a plant to the recommended
standards, the design team shall nominate a specialist review team to develop and justify a
revised specification. If possible, the review team should comprise the Project Lead
Engineer, Occupational Hygienist, the Contractor and equipment manufacturers as a
minimum.

u.

A program to monitor occupational and community noise levels and to meet regulatory
requirements should be developed for new facilities.

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GP 15-01
Noise Control

Adopt / Set Limits

(see 1.6 + 2.1)

Noise dose < 80dB(A)LEP,d

Noise specification at boundary
fence or in local community

Review individual
equipment item
noise emissions

< Limit

> Limit

Determine additive effect

of equipment pipework
structures etc.

Determine cost
effective means to
reduce noise
emissions.
>Limit

< Limit
Implementation of
project and/or
modification

Determine cost
effective means to
reduce noise emissions

Undertake compliance/Acceptance Test and Plant Surveys

and personal exposure monitoring

Noise level < limit

Noise level > limit

Periodic checks
to confirm no
deterioration.

Determine and
implement cost
effective and practical
noise management system

If necessary

Figure 1Flowchart for Noise Control

5.

Contractor responsibilities
a.

The division of responsibilities for noise control between BP, the contractor and equipment
vendors should normally be as defined in EEMUA 140.

b.

The contractor shall prepare a noise control study for any new plant or modification to an
existing facility.

c.

A noise control study should include the following:

1.

a list of potentially noisy equipment, including those sources having characteristic

high or low frequency noise emissions and those sources subject to vibration effects.
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6.
6.1.

GP 15-01
Noise Control

2.

a record of the proposed location and position of equipment and assessment to

determine if these are arranged to minimise overall noise level.

3.

details on how the BP noise specifications will be achieved for both internal site
limits and those in the neighbourhood surrounding the facility.

4.

a list of noise that will occur during construction works, start-up and shutdown of the
plant or equipment

5.

a list of noise control systems to be used

d.

Equipment suppliers data should be checked to determine if the quoted noise levels are
truly representative and not quoted artificially high as this might lead to the specification
of unnecessary abatement equipment.

e.

If the contractor uses a computer programme in the calculation of noise levels then the
specific programme shall be approved by the responsible BP Project Manager.

f.

The study shall set down the test methods to be used where these do not follow the
procedures outlined in EEMUA 140.

g.

The nominated BP Project Manager will be responsible for the achievement of the noise
specification.

h.

In the event that the noise specification cannot be met, the BP Project Manager shall
nominate a specialist review team to further investigate the particular circumstances and to
recommend an appropriate action plan.

i.

The review team should comprise the Project Lead Engineer, Occupational Hygienist, the
Contractor and equipment manufacturers as a minimum and any action plan shall be based
on a cost-benefit analysis of the specific installation to ensure the most appropriate
corrective action is undertaken such that the resultant noise levels are economically
controlled as near to the original specification as possible.

Noise reduction techniques

General
a.

The following basic techniques should be used for noise reduction:

1.

Noise reduction at source using engineering techniques incorporated at the design

stage of the new plant/modification.

2.

Partial or total enclosure of the noise source(s) to physically separate a source of

noise from those people who may be harmed or inconvenienced by that noise.

3.

Silencing or damping of the source of noise by means of a specially designed acoustic

silencer or damping material.

4.

Isolation by distance.

5.

Regular monitoring, maintenance and repair of equipment.

6.

Provision and use of appropriate hearing protection devices (HPDs) to those

personnel required to work in defined Noise Hazard Areas.

7.

Administrative controls of work scheduling and employee rotation. By scheduling

work for known quieter periods in a process cycle it might be possible to reduce
overall employee noise dose. Similarly, if the time employees spend in high noise
areas is reduced again it is possible to reduce the overall noise dose.
While the most appropriate means of control is likely to be the use of noise
reduction at source, sometimes it is a combination of noise reduction measures that
offers the most effective means of achieving a satisfactory level.
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GP 15-01
Noise Control

b.

c.

6.1.

Items to check during the design stage of any new plant/modification should include the
following:
1.

Insulation

2.

Relief Valve Discharges

3.

Control Valves

4.

Fans

5.

Silencers and Acoustic Enclosures

6.

Pipe work

7.

Flares

If the plant/equipment includes specialist machinery such as steam or gas turbines,

compressors and pumps, the manufacturer should be consulted to discuss the most suitable
approach to noise control.

Insulation
a.

If insulation is specified as part of the noise reduction management system, consideration

should be given to the adequacy and absorbing capacity of the proposed material to ensure
its suitability for the application.

b.

Where insulation is used in the oil and petrochemical industries, checks should be made as
to the fire retardant properties of the material and note made that, during use, the
temperature of the insulation material may increase as the sound energy is absorbed.
If acoustic insulation is specified, design calculations for foundations, structures
and equipment should be checked to allow for the additional weight of the insulating
material. Care should also be taken to ensure conditions are not created that will
cause under lagging corrosion.

6.2.

Silencers and acoustic enclosures

a.

Typically these are proprietary items and manufacturers literature should be reviewed to
find the most appropriate size and type.
EEMUA Publication No.161 Guide to the Selection and Assessment of Silencers
and Acoustic Enclosures (Printed 1988/98) provides useful information and
guidance.

b.

If a silencer or acoustic enclosure is specified care must be taken to ensure the design
performance of the item does not deteriorate with time.
Most manufacturers of silencers and acoustic enclosures specify effective life times
for their equipment and this must be reflected in the maintenance and inspection
schedules for the base equipment and provision made for replacement as necessary.

7.

Noise monitoring
Following the design, installation and commissioning of new or modified plant or
equipment, it is necessary to introduce a detailed programme of monitoring and
record keeping to ensure that the noise emissions, as originally specified, do not
deteriorate. The exact form of the monitoring programme and the other activities
necessary to check that a satisfactory noise environment prevails depend on the
nature and type of the overall plant and the individual equipment item noise levels
and characteristics
A noise monitoring programme should include the following:
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GP 15-01
Noise Control

a.

Hearing surveillance, including regular hearing checks of all personnel exposed to high
noise levels (above 80 dBA). Surveillance should include a pre-employment hearing test
for any new employee to establish a base line hearing activity and an on-going test
programme to check whether any deterioration in hearing is occurring as a result of
occupational exposure to noise. Careful interpretation by a suitably qualified person of the
results of hearing tests is required to ensure the age effect of hearing loss is not attributed
to occupational exposure. If hearing loss deterioration is attributed to occupational
exposure corrective action will be necessary to ensure no further loss occurs.

b.

Routine monitoring of the noise levels and personal exposures within the plant area and the
communities in the neighbourhood surrounding the BP installation. These monitoring
programmes should identify if and when noise levels increase so that remedial
maintenance work can be organised or arrangements made for the planned replacement of
any problem or noisy equipment.

c.

A programme of education and training for all employees to ensure the noise control
management system and hearing conservation programmes for the new/modified plant or
equipment is clearly defined and communicated to all those concerned and their roles and
responsibilities understood.

d.

The development of a documentation and record system such that all records associated
with the noise control management system can be maintained in a safe and secure manner
and are available for reference at any time, including noise level/exposure data,
maintenance of control systems etc.

e.

Clear designation and marking of all areas with noise levels above 80 dBA as Noise
Hazard Areas.

f.

Selection, maintenance and use of appropriate hearing protection, where personal noise
exposures exceed 80 dBA LEP,d.
Depending on the scale of the plant/equipment development or modification it might
be appropriate to nominate a person with overall responsibility for the development
and maintenance of the noise control management system. This is often found to be
a successful element in achieving an effective noise control programme

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Annex A
A.1

Noise calculations
When reviewing equipment vendor data or product literature, it is normally useful to undertake some
simple, basic noise calculations to determine the effect of the proposed equipment. Detailed
calculations of noise can involve some complex mathematics and the associated measurements
necessitate specialist sound level/noise meters (as required by EEMUA 140). However the log nature
of the decibel scale associated with noise measurement makes it possible to derive some simple rule
of thumb guidelines, namely:

A doubling of the sound level results in an increase of 3 dBA, e.g. if there are two items of
equipment both emitting 85 dBA, the combined noise level will be 88 dBA.

Where two or more sources of noise are involved, the resultant sound level can be
calculated by use of the following table:

Additive effect of noise

Difference in noise levels between two
sources in dBA

Add the following to the higher value to get

the resultant (combined) noise level (dBA)

0 to 1

2 to 3

4 to 9

10 or more

Inverse Square Law. The pressure waves associated with sound energy obey the inverse square
law. In far field conditions, this means that their intensity decreases in proportion to the square
of the distance from the noise source, i.e. the sound pressure level decreases by 6 dB for each
doubling of distance. Therefore if the distance between the source and receptor is increased by a
factor of 10, the sound intensity decreases by a factor of 100, and when the sound intensity has
decreased by a factor of 100, this is equivalent to a noise reduction of 20 dB.
Application of these guidelines should enable an initial estimate of the likely noise
level of the plant or equipment development(s)/modification(s) to be made quickly
and easily such that any key problem areas can be identified and addressed early in
the design stage.
Where noise limits are set in dBA these can be converted into an octave-band spectra such that
frequency data can be used for the specification of individual equipment items. This can be
achieved by means of either of the following methods:
Use of Noise-Rating (NR) curves, (published in literature on acoustics and noise control). In the
literature it is recommended that the NR curve to be used is that numbered 5 less than the dB(A)
level to be achieved and the octave-band levels read from the curve.
Derivation of a spectrum based on the A-weighting curve which has a 1 kHz noise level 5 less
than the dB(A) limit set.

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This is to ensure any item specific noise characteristics such as impulse noise are
addressed at the design stage. The final octave-band data can subsequently be
recombined to compare with the initial limit set.
If this data is not available a possible alternative approach would be to review equipment
literature to determine if typical spectra have been quoted/previously published.
In the literature on noise and acoustics there are often references to Sound Pressure
Level and Sound Power Level and these terms might be quoted by manufacturers.
The Sound Pressure Level is basically an indication of the loudness of a noise and
its the quantity measured by sound level meters. It is measured in decibels and it is
ten times the logarithm of the mean square of the pressure variation, which form the
sound energy. It is defined as:
Lp = 10 Log10
p:
2;

p2
dB
po 2

instantaneous pressure variation from the ambient pressure

mean square pressure variation

po:

reference level of 20 x 10-6 Pascals

The Sound Power Level is a measure of the acoustic power, measured in watts,
emitted by a noise source. The relevant decibel term is ten times the acoustic power
of the source divided by the reference quantity.
Lw = 10 Log10

W
dB
Wo

W: Acoustic power of the source

Wo: reference level of 10-12 watts.
The above simple basic noise calculations in addition to being useful in determining the effect
of a proposed modification or development could also be used as an initial screening technique
to determine if additional equipment can be installed at various positions within an existing
facility without compromising any boundary fence noise limit currently imposed.

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