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. Air pollution is the presence of substances in the
atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage
to the climate or to materials.

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.
Q.No.4 what type of mechanism will be resourceful and cost-effective to reduce air and
noise pollution? Categorize effective strategies and legislation for air and noise pollution
control; briefly explain your opinion along with suitable examples? (6)

Mechanisms for Air pollution

Strategy for aircraft noise:

The methods being developed by FAA to perform a CBA of measures for mitigating aircraft
noise. Aircraft noise has a range of undesirable impacts, primarily felt by people living
around airports. These include physical effects, such as annoyance, sleep disturbance,
impacts on school learning and academic achievement, physical and mental health effects,
building rattling and other noise, and compromised work performance (WHO, 2004). These
effects result in monetary impacts, such as lower property values, health costs, and personal
and business economic costs. To perform CBA, aircraft noise must be related to these
impacts.

The current approach to addressing noise levels along proposed highways is to construct
sound barrier walls in residential areas to protect occupants from excessive noise levels as
measured at the property line nearest the highway. However, noise barriers are expensive,
and residents often consider them an eyesore because they obstruct views and are sometimes
subject to graffiti. In addition, they provide significant noise reduction for only the first one
or two rows of houses behind the barrier

Strategy for High way noise:

Since the 1980s, few major CBAs have been done for highway noise in the United States. A
meta-analysis in 1982 of 17 hedonic pricing estimates for the United States and Canada
showed a range of NDIs of 0.16 to 0.63 percent, with a mean value of 0.40 percent per
decibel (Nelson, 1982). New studies, using CBA techniques described in this report and
economic terms, such as hedonic pricing, stated preference, and WTP, are needed to assess
the costs and benefits of both sound barriers and quieter road surfaces with respect to noise
abatement, especially to compare the two to ensure that funds currently provided for noise
mitigation are being well spent.
The FHWA policy for highway noise abatement includes an implied CBA in determining the
“reasonableness” of the abatement method (i.e., sound walls). Following the process outlined
in FHWA noise policy 23 CFR 772, each state develops a cost allowance associated with any
noise-impacted residence for a proposed highway project (FHWA, 2006). These cost
allowances range from a low of $10,000 per residence to a high of $50,000. Some states
allow increases in these values based on the severity of the predicted impact and, in some
cases, the predicted noise reduction. The cost allowance for all “benefited” residences that
receive a 3- to 5-dB reduction from a proposed sound wall are then totalled, and this cost is
compared to the cost of the sound wall, using a process specific to individual states.

Strategies for Noise Barriers

According to official FHWA policy, “the use of specific pavement types or surface textures
must not be considered as a noise abatement measure” (FHWA, 2009c). Thus, wherever
highway noise mitigation is required, noise barriers should be used. A summary of the
number of barriers that have been constructed and their costs is given below. Benefits are
achieved only relatively close to the highway and are generally measured in terms of a
reduction in A-weighted sound pressure level. In addition, noise barriers are not feasible in
many areas—for example, to protect homes on a hillside above a busy highway.

Barriers are constructed from a variety of materials, including wood, concrete block, precast
concrete, brick, and other materials. Earth berms may also be used as noise barriers.
Construction of barriers is a cooperative effort between FHWA and the state in which the
barrier is constructed, in determination of both the requirements and the costs. FHWA defines
two types of highway projects for which barriers are considered. A Type I highway project is
a planned new construction project or construction to increase the capacity of an existing
highway. Federal laws require that a noise impact statement be prepared, and if noise levels
exceed an established limit, noise abatement must be considered. The limits, set by the state,
range from 64 to 67 dB (A) in response to the FHWA requirement that abatement be
provided for levels “approaching” 67 dB (A) for the loudest hour predicted for the highway
project. Given typical urban region traffic patterns, this worst level of 67 dB (A) can result in
day-night levels of 69 dB (A) or more (Greene, 2002). Once a sound wall is designed, the
state determines if it is “reasonable” (cost-effective) and “feasible” (technically) to construct
the barrier. Feasible in this context equates to the requirement that the barrier achieve at least
a 5-dB noise reduction. If not, the barrier is not feasible, and no abatement is implemented in
the project.

Mechanism for Air pollution

Pollution prevention approaches to reduce, eliminate, or prevent pollution at its source,

should be considered. Examples are to use less toxic raw materials or fuels, use a less-
polluting industrial process, and to improve the efficiency of the process.  

The Clean Air Technology Centre serves as a resource on air pollution prevention and
control technologies, including their use, effectiveness and cost. Examples are mechanical
collectors, wet scrubbers, fabric filters, electrostatic precipitators, combustion systems
(thermal oxidizers), condensers, absorbers, absorbers, and biological degradation.

Controlling emissions related to transportation can include emission controls on vehicles as

well as use of cleaner fuels.

Economic incentives, such as emissions trading, banking, and emissions caps can be used.
These strategies may be combined with the "command-and-control" type regulations which
have traditionally been used by air pollution control agencies.

Cost effective mechanism example:

Examples of cost-effectiveness analysis for assessing air quality policy include studies
carried out in Jakarta, Kathmandu, Manila, and Mumbai under the World Bank's Urban Air
Quality Management Strategy in Asia In each city, an emissions inventory was established,
and rudimentary dispersion modelling was carried out. Various mitigation measures for
reducing PM10 and health impacts were examined in terms of reductions in tons of
PM10 emitted, cost of implementation, time frame for implementation, and health benefits and
their associated cost savings. Some of the abatement measures that have been implemented
include introducing unleaded gasoline, tightening standards, introducing low-smoke
lubricants for two-stroke engine vehicles, implementing inspections of vehicle exhaust
emissions to address gross polluters, and reducing garbage burning.

Transportation policies and industrial development do not usually have air quality
considerations as their primary objective, but the World Bank has developed a method to take
these considerations into account. The costs of different air quality improvement policies are
explored in relation to a baseline investment and the estimated health effects of air pollution.
A comparison will indicate the cost-effectiveness of each policy. The World Bank has
worked out this "overlay" approach in some detail for the energy and forestry sectors in the
analogous case of greenhouse gas reduction strategies.