Noise Lecture Notes

UCL Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
E216 Noise Pollution

Lecture Notes
Objectives of the course:
After these 2 lectures you should
- have some knowledge on what noise and sound are and how they are measured
- be aware of the current UK legislative framework relating to noise pollution
- have some idea on how to control some specific noise problems
Recommended Texts:
- Noise and Noise Law , Adams and McManus, Wiley 1994
- Sound Control in Buildings, Simons and Waters, Blackwell 2004
- Noise and Vibration Control, Beranek, Institute of Noise Control Engineering,
1998
Some relevant official guidelines:
- BSI 4142:1997 Method for rating industrial noise affecting mixed residential
and industrial areas
- Control of Road Traffic Noise, Department of Transport 1988
- Noise at Work Regulation, HMSO 1989
- BS 5228 Part 1-4 1992/97 Noise and Vibration Control on Construction and
open sites.
P Duffour March 2006
UCL Civil & Environmental Engineering 03-06 P Duffour
2
Content:
I. Noise and sound....................................................................................................... 3
A. Some definitions .................................................................................................. 3
What is noise?.......................................................................................................... 3
What is sound?......................................................................................................... 3
B. Nature and measures of sound ............................................................................. 3
What is an air pressure wave?.................................................................................. 3
Measures of Sounds Measures of Noise ............................................................... 5
C. The Ear and human hearing perception ............................................................... 9
The Ear..................................................................................................................... 9
Loudness Level ........................................................................................................ 9
Sound Level Meter and Weighting Networks ....................................................... 10
Equivalent Noise Levels ........................................................................................ 11
Percentiles .............................................................................................................. 12
One more noise indicator (measure): LAX or SEL............................................... 12
Example: ................................................................................................................ 14
II. Environmental Noise Legislation .......................................................................... 15
A. The main sources of Environmental Noise........................................................... 15
B. Flash overview of the English legal system.......................................................... 15
C. Parliamentary Acts relating to Noise: ................................................................... 16
D. Important Standards in relation to Noise ........................................................... 16
E. Noise Calculations ............................................................................................. 17
III. Noise Control Strategies .................................................................................... 17
Strategies tackling the source: ............................................................................... 18
Strategies tacking the transmission........................................................................ 18
Strategies protecting the receptor: ......................................................................... 19
IV. Case Study on the Noise at Work Regulations 1989............................................... 20
Appendix A: Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 1790........................................................ 21
The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 - continued......................................................... 21
Appendix B: list of Acts relevant to Noise Pollutions................................................... 25
3
I. Noise and sound
A. Some definitions
What is noise?
Noise is unwanted sound
Unwanted by whom? Whom is people (human no one cares whether the rabbits
living near Heathrow are bothered by aircraft noise). Peoples tolerance thresholds to
noise vary from individual to individual, with time, location (country to country etc).
Not easy to find a universal definition
What is sound?
Thats a lot easier to define. Sound is air pressure waves which human ears can detect.
This is again a very human-centred definition (for dogs the detection range is different).
B. Nature and measures of sound
What is an air pressure wave?
The atmosphere: The air in the atmosphere is a mixture of gases. A gas kept in an
enclosed space applies a force on the wall of the container (think of a blown-up
balloon). The pressure is the force per unit surface applied by the gas on the container
walls. Now earth isnt a container but because of the Earth gravity, the atmosphere is
kept pushing on and around Earths surface. This attraction results in a pressure which
is around 1 Bar = 10
5
Pa at the surface. 1 Pascal (Pa) is the IS unit for pressures. 1 Pa =
1 Newton/m
2
. This is very small: 1 Newton is roughly the weight of an apple. 1 Pa is
the weight of an apple spread out over a 1-meter side square
Atmospheric pressure / Sound pressure. Some physical media allow the propagation
of disturbances. For example: liquid surfaces. When undisturbed, the interface between
a gas and a fluid is a flat surface. This surface allows the propagation of disruptions:
throwing a stone in a pound causes ripples to radiate away from the source of
disturbance. By contrast, throwing a stone in the middle of a sandpit causes no such
ripples: the surface interfacing air and sand does not propagate disturbances.
Air is a physical media which allows the propagation of pressure disturbances. The
human ear is sensitive to some of these disturbances and this is what we call sound.
A wave is a disturbance travelling in a propagating medium
4
Human ears can detect pressure fluctuations as low as 20Pa = 210
-5
Pa. This is 10
orders of magnitude below the atmospheric pressure. An annoying sound (e.g. a loud
horn) is about 2 Pa. This is still much smaller than 1 Bar. Sound waves are extremely
small pressure disturbances superimposed to a much larger atmospheric pressure.
There is another important difference between atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric
pressure does not change very quickly; it varies with the weather so the time scale is,
say, one day. By contrast, the human ear only detects pressure fluctuations which
change at least 20 times per second, i.e. 20 Hz. Below that, the sensation is more that of
vibration or throbbing rather than sound: think of the sound emitted by the largest organ
pipes (gravest sounds). The upper frequency limit of sounds that human ears can detect
is roughly 16-20 kHz quite a range. This is represented diagrammatically on Fig.1.
Figure 1 Schematic representation of sound superimposed on top of the atmospheric
pressure
Propagation
These pressure disturbances can be quite complex (think of the pressure fluctuations
produced by a jet engine) but however complex they are, they propagate outwards, or
away from the source as long as the medium is homogeneous. Medium non-
homogeneities can be anything like a glass wall, the groundThey partially redirect
and transmit the incident sound wave. This is represented diagrammatically on Fig. 2.
Figure 2 Schematic representation of sound propagation
One usually speaks of sounds in terms of single frequency components although real
noises are hardly ever pure tones. This is because the Fourier transform allows us to
Sound Source
Transmitted
Sound
Reflected
Sound
Direct
Sound Wall
Pressure
time
10
5
Pa
200 Pa
Bust of sound Atmospheric pressure
5
decompose a complex sound into its single frequency components which are much
easier to deal with.
Wave speed, wavelength. Sound waves travel at a specific speed the speed of sound
which is roughly c=340m/s in air. This speed depends very little on the frequency of
the wave: high frequencies say 12 kHz travel as fast as a 50 Hz wave. However these
two parameters define another important one: the wavelength . If T is the period of the
pressure fluctuation, then its frequency is f=1/T and the wavelength is defined by
=cT=c/f
It is the distance between two successive wave fronts (like the distance between two
wave crests with sea waves). For sound waves, at 50 Hz, the wavelength is about 5m; at
5kHz, it is about 7cm so there is a significant different. The wavelength is an important
parameter in acoustics although we wont go far enough to see why.
Attenuation. If a source of sound emits the same pressure fluctuation in all directions
in free space (the so-called pulsating bubble), the surface with the same level of
pressure will be concentric spheres. As the waves propagate outward, the spheres
become larger and larger and the energy emitted by the source spread over an ever
larger surface causing the amplitude to decay like 1/r
2
, where r is the distance from the
source. This is called geometrical decay. Even if this did not happen, sound wave
would decay anyway due to the small but finite viscosity of the air and the absorbing
capacity of most surfaces.
Sound waves are characterised by their pressure amplitude and their frequency
Measures of Sounds Measures of Noise
Source power. Sources of sound (a loudspeaker, a hammer drill) have a characteristic
acoustic power measured in Watts. This is the acoustics energy emitted by a source
regardless of the subsequent propagation of the sounds.
Acoustic intensity I. The energy produced by the source spreads out in space. The
acoustic intensity is the amount of acoustic energy that flows per unit surface (this type
of quantity is sometimes called a flux in other area of physics). The acoustic intensity
indicate the amount of energy a given surface receives. It is proportional to the square
of the sound pressure.
Noise levels.
As mentioned before, the sound pressures perceived by human range from 20 Pa to
200 Pa. This range is enormous. As the intensity is proportional to the square of the
pressure, its range of variation is even greater. When a quantity varies over several
orders of magnitudes, it is usually more helpful to look at its Logarithm and this is what
people working with noise do. A number of these logarithmic levels are used:
Intensity Level:
L
I
=Log
10
(I/I
0
) (in Bell),
6
where I
0
=10
-12
W/m
2
is a reference level which roughly corresponds to the lower
threshold of hearing.
These levels are actually non-dimensional numbers but they are commonly assigned a
fictitious unit, the Bell. Since most intensity levels are fairly small numbers in Bells,
one usually counts them in decibels (dB) i.e. a tenth of a Bell. In decibel, the intensity
level is therefore:
L
I
=10Log
10
(I/I
0
) (dB)
Although intensity is physically the meaningful quantity (as an indicator of the
strength of a sound), pressures are much easier to measure experimentally using a
simple microphone. Fortunately, it turns out that the intensity is proportional to the
square of the pressure. So an alternative to L
I
is the Sound Pressure Level L
P
:
L
p
=10Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
) = 20 Log
10
(p/p
0
) in dB,
where p
0
= 20 Pa = 210
-5
Pa is the reference pressure so that L
p
=0 at the standard
threshold of hearing. The pressure p used here is the root-mean square pressure
which is more representative than the maximum amplitude for complex non-harmonic
sounds. Due to the different reference chosen for both levels, the numerical values of
L
p
and L
I
are different but this difference is very small (0.5 dB) and usually ignored.
Effectively, they both represent the same thing the strength of the sound at a given
instant in time and space. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the level in dB of some common
noisy situations.
Figure 3 Common noise shown on a dB scale
7
Both intensity and pressure define what is occurring at a point in space. The more
fundamental quantity is the Sound Power Level of the source, L
w
defined by:
L
w
= 10 Log (W/W
0
)
where W is the source power in watts and W
0
=10
-12
Watts.
Addition of decibels:
Not e! Noise levels in dB are not additive. There are two separate issues which make
the addition of SPL delicate.
(1) Standard acoustics is a linear science which means that if a noise source A
working alone produces an instantaneous pressure p
A
at some point M in a room and if
a source B produces a pressure p
B
at M simultaneously (when the source A is not on)
then the resultant pressure at M when both sources are working is p
A
+ p
B
. However if
the two sources are uncorrelated (which is usually the case), this instantaneous pressure
fluctuate widely. To get a measure of the magnitude of the noise, we need its root mean
square value over a couple of periods (say 1s). It turns out that for uncorrelated sources,
the resultant rms pressure is such that is such that p
2
= p
2
A
+ p
2
B.
This is illustrated in
the diagram shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 4 Addition at point M of pressures coming from two different sources
(2) The second pitfall is that the logarithm function is not linear:
Log(p
2
A
+ p
2
B
) Log(p
2
A
) + Log( p
2
B
) .
dB noise levels cannot be simply added
The solution is to get back to the squared pressures from the SPL, add them up then re-
transform then into sound pressure levels.
Example: if source A produces a 50 dB noise level at M on its own and if Source B
produces at M a 60 dB noise level on its own, then the resultant noise when both
sources are working is not 110 dB!! To find the resultant dB level, we must work back
to the individual pressures produced by each source independently. For source A the
corresponding pressure p
A
in Pascal is such that L
PA
=10 log [p
2
A
/(210
-5
)
2
]=50. This
gives a square pressure p
2
A
=410
-5
Pa
2
. If source B produces a sound level L
PB
= 60dB
p
A
(M)
Source A: ON
M
Source B: OFF
p
B
(M)
Source A: OFF
M
Source B: ON
p
2
(M)=p
2
A
+ p
2
B
Source A: ON
M
Source B: ON
8
at M on its own then the corresponding square pressure p
2
B
is p
B
=410
-10
10
(60/10)
=
410
-4
Pa
2
. The square rms pressure resulting from both sources is p
2
A
+ p
2
B
= 4.4 10
-4
Pa
2
, which in dB means 10Log [4.410
-4
/(210
-5
)
2
]= 60.4 dB and not 110 dB!
Exercise: You live near Gatwick. You want to work out the resultant noise level in
your living room when an aircraft flies by and when your washing machine is in
spinning mode. The spin of your washing machine on its own produces a 63 dB noise
while at worst an aircraft produces a 68 dB noise in your living room (when the
washing machine is not on). What is the resultant noise level when youre reading on
your couch?
Answer:
The noise pressure level is by definition: L
p
=10Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
)
We want to calculate the resultant noise pressure level in dB. However noise pressure levels cannot be
added directly. Pressures in Pascal can. Therefore we must convert the individual pressure levels in Pa
first then add them up and finally convert the result back as a pressure level in dB.
If a pressure p is such that 63 =10Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
) then 6.3 = Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
) and 10
6.3
= p
2
/p
0
2
. By
definition, p
0
= 210
-5
so p
2
=[210
-5
]
2
10
6.3
=7.9810
-4
Pa
2
.
For the second source: 68 =10Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
) i.e. 6.8 = Log
10
(p
2
/p
0
2
) and 10
6.8
= p
2
/p
0
2
. By definition, p
0
=
210
-5
so p
2
=(210
-5
)
2
10
6.8
= 2.5210
-3
Pa
2
.
The square RMS pressure resulting when both sources are active at the same time is P
2
total
=7.9810
-4
+2.5210
-3
=0.0033Pa
2
. The resulting pressure level is therefore: L
p
=10Log
10
[0.0033/(210
-5
)
2
] = 69.2
dB and not 131 dB.
Now try getting the background noise when a specific 58dB noise is taken off a 60 dB
ambient (i.e. total) noise.
9
C. The Ear and human hearing perception
The Ear
The human ear is the
organ that allows us to
perceive sound waves
(among other things).
When a sound wave enters
the external auditory
canal, it impinges on the
eardrum which activates a
small mechanism of bones
effectively transmitting the
air pressure to the fluid
contained in the cochlea.
The cochlea is long coiled
canal whose wall is
covered with small nerve-
ended hairs the cilia
which detect the motion of
the fluid. The strongest the
sound, the furthest down the spiral the cilia will be disturbed causing an appropriate
nerve response to feed the brain. For your info, the semi-circular canals are connected
to our perception and our keeping in balance. The Eustachian tube is a simple passage
connecting the throat to the internal ear allowing internal and external (static) air
pressures to balance out.
Physiological damage to the ear is often manifest by an increase in the threshold of
hearing which is monitored by audiometric assessments. Sleep disorders, loss of
concentration, stress and other psychological factors are also common and well known
consequences of noise exposure. However, in a typical hard-scientific way, the inherent
difficulties in quantifying them means that they are not much talked about.
Loudness Level
The ear is not simple linear perceiving sensor. The subjective impression of the
intensity or magnitude of a sound depends on the frequency content, the waveform and
the duration of the noise. The loudness level of a given sound is measured by making a
(statistical) subjective comparison between the perceived loudness of that sound and
that of a pure tone of specified amplitude and frequency that seems equally loud. The
sound pressure level of the pure tone in Phons is then called the loudness level of the
sound. Equal Loudness Contours monitor how the same impression of loudness
changes with frequency. An example of such contours is shown in Fig. 6.
Figure 5 Section diagram of the human ear
10
Figure 6 Equal loudness contours
These contours show that human is more sensitive to frequencies in the 1-10 kHz range
than below 1 kHz (it takes a lot more actual pressure to reach the same impression of
loundess at 100 Hz than at 1 kHz). This conclusion is what motives the introduction of
weighting filters.
Sound Level Meter and Weighting Networks
Sound Level Meters are the instruments commonly used to measure environmental
noise. They have 3 main components: a microphone, some filtering electronics (the
weighting networks, described next) and some display. An example of Sound Level
Meter is shown in Fig. 7a.
A filter is an electronic circuit which cuts out part of the frequency content of an input
signal. Weighting networks are filters that are applied on the raw noise signal
(measured by the microphone). They are meant to take into account the distortion
introduced by the human perception. The "A" weighting network weights a signal in a
way that approximates an inverted equal loudness contour at low Sound Pressure
Levels, the "B" network corresponds to a contour at medium pressure levels and the
"C" network to an equal loudness contour at high pressure levels. A specialized filter,
the "D" weighting, has also been introduced for aircraft noise measurements. In
addition to one or more of these weighting networks, sound level meters (noise
measuring instruments) usually also have a Linear or "Lin." network. This does not
weight the signal but enables the signal to pass through unmodified. Nowadays the "A"
weighting network is the most widely used since the "B" and "C" weightings do not
correlate well with subjective tests. One reason for this lack of correlation between
subjective tests and "B" and "C" weighted measurements is because the equal loudness
contours were based on experiments which used pure tones and most common
sounds are not pure tones, but very complex signals made up of many different tones.
11
Figure 7a K&B
Sound Level Meter
Figure 7b Transfer functions of the three main
weighting networks
Most noise level meters also have some frequency analysis capability allowing the user
to measure the frequency content of a given noise.
Equivalent Noise Levels
All the noise measures discussed so far were concerned with the noise at given point in
space, at a given instant in time. The L
p
could also be a significant measure of the
steady-state noise from a machine producing a constant noise since in this case, the
noise level would always be the same. What measure should be given to a noise such as
a train passing on a bridge in an urban area?
A currently almost universal measure for such transient and variable noises is the
equivalent continuous A-weighted sound pressure. Whatever its limitations it is
important because it is used by legislative or regulatory bodies. Mathematically it is
defined by
(
=
}
2
1
2
0
2
) ( 1
10
t
t
A
dt
p
t p
T
Log L
T AEq,
(dB), where T=t
2
-t
1
Remembering that
2
0
2
) (
10
p
t p
A
Log L
PA
= , then
10 /
2
0
2
10
) (
PA
L
=
p
t p
A
and L
AEq,T
can be re-
written:
(
=
}
2
1
10 /
10
1
10
t
t
L
dt
T
PA
Log L
T AEq,
(dB)
The concept of L
AEq,T
is illustrated graphically in Fig. 8.
12
Figure 8 Illustration of the continuous equivalent A-weighted noise Level.
It is simply the average sound A-weighted sound level. Although useful (and widely
used), it is clear from its definition that it has two severe limitations:
- As an average, it smoothes out the extremes values which can be both very
annoying psychologically and very damaging for the ear.
- As the A-network is used, it tends to underestimate the low frequency
components of the noise.
However it is still very useful because experience has proved that it correlates fairly
well with annoyance (i.e. a high L
AEq
noise will be identified as annoying by most
people)
Percentiles
For highly fluctuating noises, L
AEq
is not enough. It is sometimes complemented by
slightly more refined statistical analysis of the noise based on percentiles. Thus L
AX
=
Y dB(A) where X is a percentage and Y a dB level means that for the noise considered,
the level Y dB(A) is exceeded X% of the time. For example: L
A10
=60 dB(A) means
that the level of 60 dB(A) is exceeded 10 percent of the time. This is a good indication
of noise events which are extreme but sporadic.
One more noise indicator (measure): LAX or SEL
In many cases, community reaction to noise is governed by a single noisy event or by a
series of identifiable noisy events (like blasts). A parameter is needed to quantify the
effect of such events on the overall noise climate. The parameter used is the single
event noise exposure level, noted LAX or SEL
The SEL or LAX of a single discrete noise event is the level which if maintained
constant for a period of 1s would have as much A-weighted energy as is contained in
the actual noise event. The SEL can be thought of as a standardised impulsive strength
of a noise event. This definition is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10.
13
Figure 9 Illustration of the definition of the Single Event Exposure Level (SEL
or LAX)
Figure 10
Another Illustration of
the definition of the
Single Event Exposure
Level (SEL or LAX)
14
Example:
Given the following noise data, calculate LAeq, L10, and L90.
time (s) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
L
P
dB(A) 70 50 65 60 55 65 60 55 70 50
To work out L
Aeq
, it is best to use the formula defining it. In this note, L
Aeq
was defined for a continuous
pressure signal p(t). If the pressure is sampled at discrete times like here, the version equivalent
to
(
=
}
2
1
2
0
2
) ( 1
10
t
t
A
dt
p
t p
T
Log L
T AEq,
is
(
A =

i
i
i A
t
p
t p
T
2
0
2
) ( 1
10 Log L
T AEq,
, where t
i
is the
time interval during which the pressure is equal to p(t
i
) in Pa. Here, t
1
=10s, t
2
=20s,, p(t
1
)=10
70/10
Pa,
p(t
2
)=10
50/10
, t
i
=10s for all i and T= 100s (or 90s depending whether we start at 0 or 10s).
L
10
is not easy to work out directly by hand. Here, it is best to use a semi graphical method. By definition,
L
10
is the pressure level such that the measured pressure is above that level for 10 % of the time. L
10
is a
Level so something to be read on the vertical axis of the graph. To understand how it works, pick a level
say 60 dB. Draw a horizontal line across the graph at the level (dotted line on the plot). The straight
line crosses the pressure curve at a number of points so that sometimes the pressure curve is above 60
dB, sometimes it is below. Measure the total duration during which p(t) is above 60 dB by adding up the
length of the individual intervals (marked in green on the graph). This is the total length of time for
which the measured pressure is above 60 dB. If you divide this by the total length of the sample (100s)
and multiply by 100, you get the percentage of time for which the measured pressure is above 60 dB.
Suppose this is number is 45% (this is a guess, I havent worked it out), then we would have found that
L
45
= 60dB. Now if you do the same thing starting at a level of 65 dB you find that the measured pressure
is above 65 dB for about 11% of the time so that L
10
is approximately 66 dB(A). This is in dB(A)
because the original pressures were given in dB(A).
Answers: LAeq65 dB(A), L1066 dB(A), L9054 dB(A).
40
20 40 60 80 100
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

L
e
v
e
l

(
d
B
)
Time (s)
L
AEq
15
II. Environmental Noise Legislation
A. The main sources of Environmental Noise
- Road Traffic Noise
- Rail Traffic Noise Transportation Noise
- Air traffic/airport Noise
- Impact on workers within the workplace
- Impact on nearby residential areas of a plant
- Impact on nearby residential areas of construction sites
- Community Noise: neighbours, animals, pubs, clubs, fairgrounds, etc
The dB(A) scale is adopted by almost everyone to measure these noises.
B. Flash overview of the English legal system
Sources of English Law:
- Custom
- Judicial precedents = past judgements
- Parliament Acts. They aim at being self-contained: they define rules, by whom
they are to be followed, how and by whom they are to be enforced and can
indicate what the penalty should be if they are contravened.
Two main types of courts:
- Civil Courts: an individual sues another individual for compensation for public
or private nuisance, negligence etc
- Criminal Courts: A state representative (Crown prosecution services, Health and
Safety officer etc.) prosecutes an individual for a presumed criminal offence.
Example Noise at work:
(a) You become deaf because youve been working for thirty years on a noisy
press machine. You can sue your employer for damage and negligence. This is a private
law suit and will take place in a civil court.
(b) A Health and Safety executive comes to a factory and suspects workers are
dangerously exposed. S/he orders a noise assessment and finds that workers noise
exposure exceeds the limit. As a consequence, the employer will be prosecuted in a
criminal court for not following the specifications of the Noise at Work Regulation
1989.
Industrial Noise
Common Law
16
C. Parliamentary Acts relating to Noise:
The parliamentary acts relating to noise are numerous and widely scattered through
several acts. A fairly exhaustive list is given as an Appendix.
The main ones are:
1. Control of Pollution Act 1974 (almost completely superseded by EPA 1990)
2. Environmental Protection Act 1990
3. Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993
4. Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 [Noise at Work Regulations 1989]
5. Planning Policy Guidance PPG 24
6. Land Compensation Act 19773
7. Building Act 1984 [Building Regulations 1991, Part E]
8. Road Traffic Act 1972/1988 + other transport Acts.
These Acts work at very different levels:
- Defining Statutory Nuisances and the penalty for contravention. For instance:
noise from clubs, street bands, barking dogs, indoor loud music etc...
- Defining specific noise levels for given circumstances (eg L
AEq,8h
for noise at
work) and setting limits on these levels at certain locations (e.g. 85dB(A)
Noise at Work Regulation, Building Regulations, Part E) or imposing limits on
sound power emitted by car or jet engines.
- Giving a framework for the issue of planning permissions for new
developments or the transformation of existing ones. Noise is taken into account
when a Local Authority considers a planning application. The Act allows to
tackles questions like Is there provision for a noise reduction scheme for the
work being carried out? or How is the operational noise from this new
factory going to affect local residents?, etc...
- Regulating compensation on land adversely affected by public works or
transport. Defines who is entitled, in which circumstances and for what kind of
compensation (cash for loss in value, grants for double glazing, new ventilation,
etc)
D. Important Standards in relation to Noise
British Standards are not legally binding documents per se. They simply aim at
providing a common vocabulary and common measuring practices so as to ensure that
people really talk about the same thing. They become legal documents when an Act of
Parliament specifically requires that such and such noise level (e.g. produced by a
constructing site) be measured according to the relevant British Standard.
17
Most of the British standards related to noise are in fact ISO documents published as
British Standards.
Two important ones are
- BSI 4142:1997 Method for rating industrial noise affecting mixed residential
and industrial areas
- BS 5228 Part 1-4 1992/97 Noise and Vibration Control on Construction and
open sites.
Their title is fairly self-explanatory.
E. Noise Calculations
If a new road is being planned, it is not possible to assess experimentally the impact of
the new road on existing neighbouring areas. In this case, noise calculations taking into
account the most common effects have been standardised to predict pressure levels at
some distance.
See for example: http://www.npl.co.uk/acoustics/techguides/crtn/
Such calculations exist for Road, Rail and Air traffic. They are published by the
Department of Transport in the form of booklets. They are used for planning purposes,
when noise contour maps are necessary (the actual measurements to get so many data
would take too long), when measurements are difficult (because of access, or
background noise) or when various alternative control solutions need to be tested.
III. Noise Control Strategies
Any noise pollution problem can be viewed at three different levels:
Example 1: Your neighbour mows his/her lawn. The source is the lawn mower. The
transmissions paths are direct from the source and various reflections from surrounding
building and grounds. You are the receptor
Example 2: You live in a very large city above a fairly shallow underground train line.
The source of noise/vibration is the rail/wheel interaction. The main transmission path
is through the ground to the foundations of your building. You are the receptor.
Source or
Noise Emission
Paths or
Noise Transmission
Receptor
18
This classification scheme is very useful when one tries to reduce a noise/vibration
problem because remedial actions can focus on each level separately.
Strategies tackling the source:
- Reducing the noise emitted by the motor car engines, jet engines
- Stopping the source at the most annoying time (e.g. no planes at Heathrow at
night)
Tackling the source is usually the most effective way to resolve a noise problem.
However it is usually not easy to do (involve redesigning a whole engine) and may
not be cost-effective.
Strategies tacking the transmission
- Putting up sound barriers (roads)
- Moving the source away from flat panels and corner (e.g. fans in ducts)
- Putting the source in insulating enclosure (e.g. a noisy machine in a workshop)
- Double glazing of all windows
- Muffling of duct outlets
- Cutting low frequency vibration/noise path with rubber pads (eg for building
foundations next to underground or for mounting a vibrating machine)
Cutting a transmission path is most effective when the source is not too large in which
case in can be enclosed. It is usually not cheap
Some important formulae to predict noise transmission:
- Reduction of noise level due to geometrical decay:
L
p
(r) = L
w
- 20Log(r) - 8dB
r
Source
Receiver
19
Where L
p
is the pressure level at some distance r measured in metre from a
source of acoustic power L
w
- Effect of barrier = reduce noise level by 5dB, ie. if the noise level due to a
source is 70 dB without barrier, then adding a barrier will reduce the noise
level to 65 dB on the other side of the barrier from the source.
This is very simplified. In practice this reduction depends on the frequency
Strategies protecting the receptor:
- Earplugs
- Ear defenders
- Active Control
- Removing the receptor (by automating her role)
The first two are cheap and easy in principle, they are not always ideal for comfort and
for other aspects of safety (like being able to hear a safety warning shouted by a
colleague). Also not easy to enforce (people can just forget to wear them) and if this is
the only remedial action taken against a dangerous noise level, the recipient bears the
full brunt of a noise when s/he does not wear the protection. Active control is expensive
and only work in specific spatial locations (some cars have the drivers seat actively
controlled to reduce the sound from the car at that location).
More specific strategies exist for more specific noises (tonal, impulsive, etc)
Important note on measurements: If you measure a noise close to a flat (acoustically)
reflecting surface (e.g. a hard wall) then you measure the resultant from the incident
and the reflected noise so the sound pressure measure is twice as much as the initial
incident one. Adding two identical pressure levels is the same as adding 3 dB to
either of them.
Source Receiver
Lp
Lp - 5 dB
Source Receiver
20
IV. Case Study on the Noise at Work Regulations 1989
The main parts of the regulations are given in appendix. Read through them and try and
answer the following questions:
1) What is the noise measure used in the regulation? What is the consequence of using
the dB(A) scale?
2) Suppose a factory buys a new machine which is noisy enough that it is suspected that
the first level will be reached for the workers located the closest to it. What are the legal
duties of the employer in this case? Summarise the actions to be taken by the employer
at each of the defined levels.
3) If the assessment shows that some workers will be exposed to the second level, what
remedial actions do you suggest should be implemented to reduce the noise level to
which the worker are exposed?
For answers see ppt file of the Lecture 2.
21
Appendix A: Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 1790
The Noise at Work Regulations 1989 - continued
back to previous page
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section
15(1), (2), (3)(a) and (b) and (5)(b) of, and paragraphs 1(1)(a) and (2), 6, 7, 8(1),
9, 11, 13(2) and (3), 15(1) and 16 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at
Work etc. Act 1974
[1]
("the 1974 Act") and of all other powers enabling him in
that behalf and for the purpose of giving effect without modifications to
proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section
11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the said Commission of
consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, hereby makes the
following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Noise at Work Regulations 1989
and shall come into force on 1st January 1990.
Interpretation
2.(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires-
"daily personal noise exposure" means the level of daily personal noise
exposure of an employee ascertained in accordance with Part I of the
Schedule to these Regulations, but taking no account of the effect of any
personal ear protector used;
"exposed" means exposed whilst at work, and "exposure" shall be
construed accordingly;
"the first action level" means a daily personal noise exposure of 85
dB(A);
"the peak action level" means a level of peak sound pressure of 200
pascals;
"the second action level" means a daily personal noise exposure of 90
dB(A).
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference
to-
(a) an employer includes a reference to a self-employed person and any
duty imposed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his
employees shall extend to a self-employed person in respect of himself;
(b) an employee includes a reference to a self-employed person;
and where any duty is placed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of
his employees, that employer shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be under
22
a like duty in respect of any other person at work who may be affected by the
work carried on by him.
(3) Duties under these Regulations imposed upon an employer shall also be
imposed upon the manager of a mine or a quarry (within in either case the
meaning of section 180 of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954
[2]
) in so far as those
duties relate to the mine or quarry or part of the quarry of which he is the
manager and to matters under his control.
(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations
to-
(a) a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation in these
Regulations so numbered; and
(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered
in the regulation in which the reference appears.
Assessment of exposure
4.(1) Every employer shall, when any of his employees is likely to be
exposed to the first action level or above or to the peak action level or above,
ensure that a competent person makes a noise assessment which is adequate for
the purposes-
(a) of identifying which of his employees are so exposed; and
(b) of providing him with such information with regard to the noise to
which those employees may be exposed as will facilitate compliance
with his duties under regulations 7, 8, 9 and 11.
(2) The noise assessment required by paragraph (1) shall be reviewed when-
(a) there is reason to suspect that the assessment is no longer valid; or
(b) there has been a significant change in the work to which the
assessment relates;
and, where as a result of the review changes in the assessment are required,
those changes shall be made.
Assessment records
5. Following any noise assessment made pursuant to regulation 4(1), the
employer shall ensure that an adequate record of that assessment, and of any
review thereof carried out pursuant to regulation 4(2), is kept until a further
noise assessment is made pursuant to regulation 4(1).
Reduction of risk of hearing damage
6. Every employer shall reduce the risk of damage to the hearing of his
employees from exposure to noise to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
Reduction of noise exposure
7. Every employer shall, when any of his employees is likely to be exposed
to the second action level or above or to the peak action level or above, reduce,
23
so far as is reasonably practicable (other than by the provision of personal ear
protectors), the exposure to noise of that employee.
Ear protection
8.(1) Every employer shall ensure, so far as is practicable, that when any
of his employees is likely to be exposed to the first action level or above in
circumstances where the daily personal noise exposure of that employee is
likely to be less than 90 dB(A), that employee is provided, at his request, with
suitable and efficient personal ear protectors.
(2) Every employer shall ensure, so far as is practicable, that when any of his
employees is likely to be exposed to the second action level or above or to the
peak action level or above, that employee is provided with suitable personal ear
protectors which, when properly worn, can reasonably be expected to keep the
risk of damage to that employee's hearing to below that arising from exposure to
the second action level or, as the case may be, to the peak action level.
Ear protection zones
9.(1) Every employer shall, in respect of any premises under his control,
ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that-
(a) each ear protection zone is demarcated and identified by means of
the sign specified in paragraph A.3.3 of Appendix A to Part 1 of BS
5378, which sign shall include such text as indicates-
(i) that it is an ear protection zone, and
(ii) the need for his employees to wear personal ear protectors
whilst in any such zone; and
(b) none of his employees enters any such zone unless that employee is
wearing personal ear protectors.
(2) In this regulation, "ear protection zone" means any part of the premises
referred to in paragraph (1) where any employee is likely to be exposed to the
second action level or above or to the peak action level or above, and "Part 1 of
BS 5378" has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Safety Signs
Regulations 1980
[3]
.
Maintenance and use of equipment
10.(1) Every employer shall-
(a) ensure, so far as is practicable, that anything provided by him to or
for the benefit of an employee in compliance with his duties under these
Regulations (other than personal ear protectors provided pursuant to
regulation 8(1)) is fully and properly used; and
(b) ensure, so far as is practicable, that anything provided by him in
compliance with his duties under these Regulations is maintained in an
efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
(2) Every employee shall, so far as is practicable, fully and properly use
personal ear protectors when they are provided by his employer pursuant to
24
regulation 8(2) and any other protective measures provided by his employer in
compliance with his duties under these Regulations; and, if the employee
discovers any defect therein, he shall report it forthwith to his employer.
Provision of information to employees
11. Every employer shall, in respect of any premises under his control,
provide each of his employees who is likely to be exposed to the first action
level or above or to the peak action level or above with adequate information,
instruction and training on-
(a) the risk of damage to that employee's hearing that such exposure
may cause;
(b) what steps that employee can take to minimise that risk;
(c) the steps that that employee must take in order to obtain the personal
ear protectors referred to in regulation 8(1); and
(d) that employee's obligations under these Regulations.
Signed by order of the Secretary of State.
Patrick Nicholls
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Employment
THE SCHEDULE
Regulation 2(1)
PART I
DAILY PERSONAL NOISE EXPOSURE OF EMPLOYEES
The daily personal noise exposure of an employee (L
EP
,
d
) is expressed in dB(A) and is
ascertained using the formula:
PART II
WEEKLY AVERAGE OF DAILY PERSONAL NOISE EXPOSURE OF
EMPLOYEES
The weekly average of an employee's daily personal noise exposure (L
EP
,
w
) is
expressed in dB(A) and is ascerrtained using the formula:
25
Appendix B: list of Acts relevant to Noise Pollutions
Legislation on Statutory Nuisance and Noise Abatement
1. Noise Abatement Act 1960
2. Control of Pollution Act 1974 (COPA)
3. Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA)
4. Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 (NSNA)
5. Noise Act 1996
6. Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
7. Noise at Work Regulations 1989
Legislation on Planning and Compensation
8. The Town and Country Planning Act 1947
9. The Town and Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 - SI 1987:764 (as amended)
10. The Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 - SI 1988:1813 (as
amended)
11. The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales)
Regulations 1988 and 1999 - Statutory Instruments 1999 No. 293 (as amended)
12. EC Directive 85/337/EEC on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Public and Private
Projects on the Environment.
13. DOE Circular 2/76 (Welsh Office Circular 3/76) "Control of Pollution Act 1974 -
Implementation of Part III - Noise"
14. Planning and Compensation Act 1991
15. The Land Compensation Act 1973
16. The Noise Insulation Regulations 1975/1988/1996: SI 1975:1763 (as amended)
17. Noise Insulation Grant Scheme - MOD
18. The Local Government Miscellaneous Provision Act 1982
19. The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 - SI 1998:2 (as amended)
20. The Environmental Information Regulations 1992 - SI 1992:3240
21. EC Directive 96/61 on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control extends integrated pollution
control to include noise, effectively treating noise with the same status of other pollutants.
Legislation on Air Traffic Noise
22. Civil Aviation Act 1982
23. Aeroplane Noise (Limitation On Operation Of Aeroplanes) Regulations 1993
24. Air Navigation (Noise Certification) Order 1990
25. Noise Insulation Grant Schemes at Heathrow and Gatwick
26. International Standards and Recommended Practices - Aircraft Noise, Annex 16 to the
Convention on International Civil Aviation 3
rd
Edition, ICAO, 1993
27. EC Directive 80/51/EEC established limits on noise emissions from subsonic aeroplanes based
on standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
28. EC Directive 89/629/EEC tightened up the rules limiting noise emissions from certain civil
subsonic jet aeroplanes previously covered under the above Directive.
29. EC Directive 92/14/EEC on the limitation of the operation of aeroplanes.
Legislation on Road Traffic Noise
30. Road Traffic Acts
31. The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (and amendments)
32. BS 3525 Method for the Measurement of Noise Emitted by Motor Vehicles (1966)
26
33. EC Directive 70/157/EEC The permissible sound level and the exhaust system of motor vehicles
.1970. (Amended by Directives 73/350/EEC, 77/212/EEC, 81/334/EEC, 84/424/EEC,
84/372/EEC, 92/97/EEC, and 96/267/EEC.)
34. Motor Cycle Noise Act 1987
35. The Motor Cycle Silencer and Exhaust Systems Regulations 1995
36. EC Directive 78/1015/EEC (and its amendments) set limits on sound levels from motorcycles,
laid down requirements for exhaust silencers systems and established a harmonised testing
procedure for implementation in Member States.
37. The Noise Insulation Regulations 1975 (and its amendments)
Legislation on Railway Noise
38. Railways Acts 1993
39. Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996
40. Channel Tunnel Rail Link Regulations
41. BS 6472 Guide to evaluation of human exposure to vibration in buildings (1Hz to 80Hz) 1992
42. The Noise Insulation (Railway and Other Guided Transport System) Regulations 1996 (and its
amendments).
43. The Noise Insulation (Railway and Other Guided Transport System)(Amendment) Regulations
1998
Legislation on Noise From Other Sources
44. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
45. The Construction Plant and Equipment Regulations
46. The Lawnmowers Regulations
47. EC Directive 79/113/EEC, a framework Directive, introduced a test procedure to determine the
noise emissions of construction plant and equipment to cover compressors, cranes, welding
generators, excavators, power generators, concrete-brakers, loaders, dozers and picks. Lifting
appliances were included under EC Directive 81/1051/EEC.
48. EC Directive 84/553/EEC sets noise limits and requirements for the issue of an EC type-
examination certificate for compressors.
examination certificate for tower cranes.
examination certificate for welding generators.
examination certificate for power generators.
52. EC Directive 84/537/EEC sets noise limits and requirements for the issue of an EU type-
examination certificate for hand-held concrete-breakers and picks.
examination certificate for lawnmowers. Amended by EC Directive 88/180/EEC.
examination certificate for earthmoving machines used on engineering and construction sites.
55. EC Directive 86/594/EEC governed the provision of information on the airborne noise levels of
household appliances.
56. EC Directive 74/151/EEC as amended by 93/38/EC permissible sound levels for Agricultural
and forestry tractors.
57. EC Directive 77/311/EEC as amended by 96/262/EC - Agricultural and forestry tractors driver
perceived noise (ie in-cab noise).
58. EC Directive 78/1015/EEC as amended by 89/235 and subsequently superseded by 97/24/EC.
United Nations ECE Regulations
59. ECE Regulation 51 - noise from motor vehicles
60. ECE Regulation 41 - noise from motor cycles
Statutory Codes of Practice
27
61. Code of Practice on Noise from Audible Intruder Alarms, HMSO1982
62. Code of Practice on Noise from Ice Cream Van Chimes Etc., HMSO 1982
63. Code of Practice on Noise from Model Aircraft, HMSO 1982
64. Code of Practice on Noise Control on Construction and Open Sites (BS 5228: Parts 1, 3 and 4),
HMSO 1984 and 1992
Codes of Practice and Guidance (Specific Activities)
65. Code of Practice on Noise from Organised Off-road Motor Cycle Sport, The Noise Council
1994
66. Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at Concerts, The Noise Council 1995
67. Water Skiing and Noise. British Water Ski Federation 1996.
68. Clay Target Shooting - Guidance on the Management and Control of Noise. British Shooting
Sports Council 1997.
69. Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Pop Concerts and Similar Events. HSE 1993
70. Short Oval Circuit Motor Racing. National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection
1996.
71. Bird Scarers. National Farmers Union 1992.
72. BS 5228: 1997 Part 2 Guide to noise and vibration control legislation for construction and
demolition including road construction and demolition
73. Department of the Environment MPG 11 The Control of Noise at Surface Mineral Workings,
HMSO 1993
74. Guidance on Noisy Parties (DOE 1992)
Code's of Practice and Guidance for Planning and Assessment of Noise
75. PPG 24 Planning Policy Guidance: Planning and Noise. Department of the Environment 1994.
In Wales the appropriate guidance is Technical Advice Note (Wales) 11
76. BS4142: 1997 Method for rating industrial noise affecting mixed residential and industrial
areas.
77. BS 7445:1991/ISO 1996 Description and Measurement of Environmental Noise (being revised).
78. Draft Declaration of Sound Power Level and Tonality Values of Wind Turbines 1999. European
Committee For Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC BTTF83-2 Working Group 4)
79. BS EN 61400-11:1999, 'Wind Turbine Generator Systems - Part 11: Acoustic Noise
Measurement Techniques', BSI 1999 (being revised by International Electrotechnical
Commission IEC TC88 Working Group 5)
80. Calculation of Road Traffic Noise 1988, Department of Transport, Welsh Office.
81. Calculation of Railway Noise 1995. Department of Transport.
82. The CAA Aircraft Noise Contour Model: ANCON Version 1. DORA Report 9120, Civil
Aviation Authority 1992
83. ISO 9613-2: 1996 Acoustics - Attenuation of Sound During Propagation Outdoors - Part 2 : A
General Method of Calculation.
84. Department for Education Design Note 17: Guidelines for Environmental Design in Educational
Buildings (to be revised).
85. WHO Environmental Health Criteria 12 - Noise, World Health Organisation 1980
86. Community Noise - Environmental Health Criteria Document (Draft), WHO 1995

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UCL Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

E216 Noise Pollution

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