Noise pollution
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Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since August 2007 | Noise pollution | Audiology | Acoustics | Health risks | Pollution
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Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the activity or happiness of human or animal life. A common form of noise pollution is from transportation, principally motor vehicles.[1] The word "noise" comes from the Latin word nausea meaning "seasickness", or from a derivative (perhaps Latin noxia) of Latin noceō = "I do harm", referring originally to nuisance noise.[2]
Sources of noiseThe source of most noise worldwide is transportation systems, motor vehicle noise, but also including aircraft noise and rail noise.[3][1] Poor urban planning may give rise to noise pollution, since side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential area. Other sources are office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, appliances, power tools, lighting hum and audio entertainment systems. Noise from recreational vehicles has become a problem.[citation needed] ATVs, also known as quads, have increased in popularity and are joining the two wheeled dirt motorcycles for off-road riding. The noise produced by these vehicles is particularly disturbing due to the wide variations in frequency and volume. Human healthNoise health effects are both health and behavioral in nature. The unwanted sound is called noise pollution. This unwanted sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, and other harmful effects.[4][5] Furthermore, stress and hypertension are the leading causes to health problems, whereas tinnitus can lead to forgetfulness, severe depression and at times panic attacks.[5][6] HearingThe mechanism for chronic exposure to noise leading to hearing loss is well established. The elevated sound levels cause trauma to the cochlear structure in the inner ear, which gives rise to irreversible hearing loss.[4] A very loud sound in a particular frequency range can damage the cochlea's hair cells that respond to that range thereby reducing the ear's ability to hear those frequencies in the future.[7] However, loud noise in any frequency range has deleterious effects across the entire range of human hearing.[8] The outer ear (visible portion of the human ear) combined with the middle ear amplifies sound levels by a factor of 20 when sound reaches the inner ear.[9] In Rosen's work on health effects and hearing loss, one of his findings derived from tracking Maaban tribesmen, who were insignificantly exposed to transportation or industrial noise. This population was systematically compared by cohort group to a typical U.S. population. The findings proved that aging is an almost insignificant cause of hearing loss, which instead is associated with chronic exposure to moderately high levels of environmental noise.[4] Image:Qantas b747 over houses arp.jpg
A landing Qantas Boeing 747-400 passes close to houses on the boundary of London Heathrow Airport, England
Cardiovascular healthHigh noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects and exposure to moderately high levels during a single eight hour period causes a statistical rise in blood pressure of five to ten points and an increase in stress[10] and vasoconstriction leading to the increased blood pressure noted above as well as to increased incidence of coronary artery disease. AnnoyanceNoise pollution is a cause of annoyance:
A 2005 study by Spanish researchers found that in urban areas households are willing to pay approximately four Euros per decibel per year for noise reduction.[11] EnvironmentNoise can have a detrimental effect on animals by causing stress, increasing risk of mortality by changing the delicate balance in predator/prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.[12] Habitat reductionAn impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction. One of the best known cases of damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species of beached whales, brought on by the loud sound of military sonar.[13] Lombard vocal responseNoise also makes species communicate louder, which is called Lombard vocal response.[14] Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarine-detectors are on.[15] If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice will be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder. Other habit changesZebra finches become less faithful to their partners when exposed to traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by selecting "sexy" traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other activities and thus lead to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.[16] Mitigation and control of noise
Technology to mitigate or remove noise can be applied as follows:
Legal statusGovernments up until the 1970s viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather than an environmental problem. In the United States there are federal standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments typically have very specific statutes on building codes, urban planning and roadway development. In Canada and the EU there are few national, provincial, or state laws that protect against noise. Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of the day and for certain activities. Most city ordinances prohibit sound above a threshold intensity from trespassing over property line at night, typically between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and during the day restricts it to a higher sound level; however, enforcement is uneven. Many municipalities do not follow up on complaints. Even where a municipality has an enforcement office, it may only be willing to issue warnings, since taking offenders to court is expensive. Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in particular the police. Noise pollution often persists because only five to ten percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. Many people are not aware of their legal right to quiet and do not know how to register a complaint. See also
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Geographical links
de:Lärmbelastung es:Contaminación acústica fr:Pollution sonore gl:Contaminación acústica nl:Geluidshinder id:Polusi suara ja:騒音 no:Støy pt:Poluição sonora fi:Melusaaste sv:Buller th:มลพิษทางเสียง |
