ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY

Lecturate
Unit 4:
Noise Pollution

Presented By
Husnain Afzal
Executive Engineer (Civil), WAPDA
Presentation Sequence

 Sources of Noise Pollution

 Types of Noise Pollution
 Effects of Noise Pollution on Human Beings
 Effects of Noise Pollution on wild Life
Noise Pollution
 Noise by definition is “sound without value” or
“any noise that is unwanted by the recipient”.
Noise Pollution
 Noise in industries such as stone cutting and crushing, steel
forgings , loudspeakers, shouting by hawkers selling their
wares, movement of heavy transport vehicles, railways and
airports leads to irritation and an increased blood pressure,
loss of temper, decrease in work efficiency, loss of hearing
which may be first temporary but can become permanent
in the noise stress continues.
 Noise level is measured in terms of decibels (dB). W.H.O.
(World Health Organization) has prescribed optimum
noise level as 45 dB by day and 35 dB by night. Anything
above 80 dB is hazardous.
Sources of Noise Pollution
 Indoor sources include noise produced by radio,
television, generators, electric fans, air coolers, air
conditioners, different home appliances.

 Outdoor sources of noise pollution include indiscriminate

use of loudspeakers, industrial activities, automobiles, rail
traffic, aero planes and activities such as those at market
place, religious, social, and cultural functions, sports and
political rallies.
Types of Noise Pollution

Industrial Noise:
 Most of the industries use big machines which are capable
of producing large amount of noise. Apart from that,
various equipments like compressors, generators, exhaust
fans, grinding mills also participate in producing big
noise.
 Workers in steel industry, who work close to heavy
industrial blowers are exposed to 112dB.
Types of Noise Pollution
Transport Noise
 Large number of vehicles on roads, aero planes flying over
houses, underground trains produce heavy noise and
people get it difficult to get accustomed to that. The high
noise leads to a situation wherein a normal person lose the
ability to hear properly.
 Poor urban planning
Types of Noise Pollution
Domestic pollution
 This type of noise includes disturbance from household
gadgets and community. Common sources being musical
instruments, TV, VCR, Radios, Transistors, Telephones,
and loudspeakers etc.
 Noise is at its peak in most of the social events. Whether it
is marriage, parties, political gatherings, people normally
flout rules set by the local administration and create
nuisance in the area
Types of Noise Pollution
Construction Activities
 Under construction activities like mining, construction of
bridges, dams, buildings, stations, roads, flyovers take
place in almost every part of the world. However, The
down point is that these construction equipments are too
noisy.
Effects of Noise Pollution on Human Beings

Hearing Problems:
Any unwanted sound that our ears have not been built to
filter can cause problems within the body. Our ears can
take in a certain range of sounds without getting damaged.
Man made noises such as jackhammers, horns, machinery,
airplanes and even vehicles can be too loud for our hearing
range. Constant exposure to loud levels of noise can easily
result in the damage of our ear drums and loss of hearing.
It also reduces our sensitivity to sounds that our ears pick
up unconsciously to regulate our body’s rhythm.
Effects of Noise Pollution on Human Beings

Health Issues:
 Excessive noise pollution influence psychological health.
Occurrence of aggressive behavior, disturbance of sleep,
constant stress, fatigue and hypertension can be linked to
excessive noise levels.
 High intensity noise causes high blood pressure and
increases heart beat rate as it disrupts the normal blood
flow and contraction of blood vessels
 Making skin pale
 Blaring sounds are known to cause mental distress
 Heart attacks, neurological problems and even birth defects
Effects of Noise Pollution on Wild Life

 High intensity sound induces fear, which can force species

to abandon their habitat. In loud places, some species have
trouble finding prey, animals lose habitat by avoiding areas
with roads and construction.

 By changing the fine-tuned balance between predator and

prey detection due to the interference with the natural
sound parameters impact reproduction and navigation.
Effects of Noise Pollution on Wild Life

 The "auditory scene" provides marine animals with a three

dimensional view of the world and extends far beyond the
visual scene. The rising level of intense underwater
Artificial noise produced by industrial ocean noise, oil and
gas exploration, shipping traffic, seismic, surveys, military
sonar etc alters the marine organism's ability to detect and
analyze its auditory scene has the potential to cause a
detrimental impact on the marine life for mating,
communicating, hunting, and even survival.
 Cell phone applications have been developed to check the
Noise.
Preventive measures
 Prescribing noise limits for vehicular traffic
 Ban on horns in certain areas
 Creation of silence zones near schools and hospitals
 Redesigning buildings to make them noise proof
 Reduction of traffic density in residential areas
 Giving preference to mass public transport system.
 Proper oiling will reduce noise from the machine.
 Use of Ear Plugs
THANK YOU!!