Q.No.

2 Validate the understanding of the basic science of air and noise propagation,
including effects and damages that arise from air and noise pollution. Evaluate
demonstrative sources and the impact of air and noise pollution with suitable examples?

Introduction:

Noise pollution, unwanted or excessive sound that can have deleterious effects on human

health, wildlife, and environmental quality.

Sources of noise pollution:

1) Industrial sources:
Industrialization has resulted in creating noise pollution. Textile mills, printing
presses, engineering establishments and metal works etc. contribute heavily towards
noise pollution.
2) Transport vehicles:
Automobile revolution in urban centres has proved to be a big source of noise
pollution. Increasing traffic has given rise to traffic jams in congested areas where the
repeated hooting of horns by impatient drivers pierce the ears of all road users.
3) Households
The household is an industry in itself and is a source of many indoor noises such as
the banging of doors, noise of playing children, crying of infants, moving of furniture,
loud conversation of the inhabitants etc. and equipment in the house, namely the
radio, record-players and television sets. Domestic gadgets are all indoor sources of
noise pollution.
4) Agricultural machines
Tractors, thrashers, harvesters, tube wells, powered tillers etc. have all made
agriculture highly mechanical but at the same time highly noisy. Noise level 90 dB to
98 dB due to running of farm machines have been recorded in the state of Punjab.

Effects of Noise pollution:

1) Physical effects:
The physical manifestation of noise pollution is the effect on hearing ability. Repeated
exposure to noise may result in temporary or permanent shifting of the hearing
threshold of a person depending upon the level and duration of exposure. The
 immediate and acute effect of noise pollution is impairment of hearing (i.e. total
deafness.)
2) Physiological effects:
Headache by dilating blood vessels of the brain, Increase in the rate of heart-beat,
Narrowing of arteries, Fluctuations in the arterial blood pressure by increasing the
level of cholesterol in the blood, Decrease in heart output, Pain in the heart.

Air pollution sources:

1) Combustion of fossil fuels, like coal and oil for electricity and road transport,
producing air pollutants like nitrogen and sulphur dioxide

2) Emissions from industries and factories, releasing large amount of carbon

monoxide, hydrocarbon, chemicals and organic compounds into the air

3) Agricultural activities, due to the use of pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers that
emit harmful chemicals

4) Waste production, mostly because of methane generation in landfills

Air pollution effects:

1) On the environment: Air pollution has a major impact on the process of plant evolution by
preventing photosynthesis in many cases, with serious consequences for the purification of the
air we breathe. It also contributes to acid rain, atmospheric precipitations in the form of rain,
frost, snow or fog.
2) Global Warming: On top of that, air pollution is a major contributor to global warming and
climate change. In fact, the abundance of carbon dioxide in the air is one of the causes of the
greenhouse effect. Normally, the presence of greenhouse gases should be beneficial for the
planet because they absorb the infra-red radiation produced by the surface of the earth. But the
excessive concentration of these gases in the atmosphere is the cause of the recent climate
change.
3) Human Health: Air pollution is indeed a significant risk factor for human health conditions,
causing allergies, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases as well as lung damage