NOISE POLLUTION

1
 INTRODUCTION

What is noise?
Sound, a normal feature of our life, is the means of
communication and entertainment in most animals,
including human beings. It is also a very effective alarm
system. A low sound is pleasant whereas a loud sound
is unpleasant and is commonly referred to as ‘noise’.
Noise can be defined as an unpleasant and unwanted
sound that is loud and disruptive to hearing.
There are 4 different types of noise: continuous,
intermittent, impulsive and low frequency. Continuous
noise refers to noise that is produced continuously by
machinery that does not stop working while
intermittent noise refers to the quick rise or drop in the
noise volume.
These 4 types of noise contribute to the noise pollution
that we experience daily, especially in our highly
urbanised world today.

2
What is noise pollution?

Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or

sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with
ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life,
most of them harmful to a degree. Florence
Nightingale recognized noise as a health hazard in
1859 when she wrote,

“Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can

be inflicted on either the sick or the well.”

Noise pollution, an urban territorial phenomenon is

assuming serious proportions in every city. The
frequency and intensity of pollution has been

3
increasing day by day. Noise pollution is an annoyance
to human beings. The noise is usually machine-created
sound that disrupts activity or balance of human’s way
of life. It is a growing environmental problem that is
increasingly becoming an omnipresent, yet unnoticed
form of pollution not only in developed countries but
also in the developing countries. The word noise is
derived from Latin word ‘‘Nausea’’ implying
‘‘unwanted sound’’ or sound that is loud, unpleasant or
unexpected. It can be defined as wrong sound, in the
wrong place and at the wrong time.
The noise problems of the past pale in significance
When compared with those experienced by modern
city dwellers; noise pollution continues to grow in
extent, frequency, and severity as a result of population
growth, urbanization, and technological developments.
Due to exposure of noise people are suffering from
difference kinds of diseases like hearing impairment,
interference with spoken communication, Sleep
disturbances, cardiovascular disturbances, annoyance
etc.

Types of Noise Pollution:

The types of noise pollution are categorized into three
broadly.
4
1. Industrial Noise
Industrial noise is caused by some high intensity
decibels that is the result of industry machines and
other such appliances. The noise comes from the use
of mills, heavy industrial machines and even the small
exhaust fans that run for a long period. Noise from
mechanical saws and pneumatic drills is unbearable
and the ultimate form of pollution to the public and
neighbourhood. This is one cause of noise pollution.
2. Transport Noise: Transport noise is simply inevitable.
The traffic jams cause considerable amount

of vehicle noise and the honking of the many vehicles

in the crowd are nothing but a pure nuisance. Whether
road, rail or aircraft, their noise is a considerable
contributor to noise pollution. Tractors and other heavy
vehicle sounds are difficult to control for their sound.
5
3. Neighbourhood Noise
Gadgets, electrical appliances like the grinder and
mixer are the prime contributors to noise pollution.
Loud loudspeakers in the name of wedding, political
parties and other such events call for a significant
amount of noise pollution. In the long run, they
become difficult to bear posing problems to the health
of humans.

Sources of Noise Pollution

Noise contamination is an undesirable or hostile
sounds that irrationally interfere into our day by day
exercises. It has numerous sources, the majority of
which are related with urban improvement like street,
air ,rail transport, modern noise , neighbourhood and
recreational commotion. Various components add to
issues of high noise levels, including expanding
population and expanding commotion levels in a
vehicle.

6
Major causes / sources of noise pollution are:

1. Industrial Sources

Progress in technology (industrialization) has resulted

in creating noise pollution. Textile mills, printing
presses, engineering establishments and metal works
etc. contribute heavily towards noise pollution. In
industrial cities like Kolkata, Ludhiana, Kanpur etc.,
often the industrial zones are not separated from the
residential zones of the city especially in the case of
small scale industries.

7
These operate from workshops located on the ground
floors of the residential areas and cause annoyance,
discomfort and irri-tation to the residents exposed to
the noise that is inevitably produced. The situation is
much better in modern planned cities like Chandigarh
where the industrial area is kept away from the
residential areas and both are sepa-rated from each
other by a sufficiently wide green belt.
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.
Noise from airplanes constitutes an increasing serious
problem in big cities like Delhi & Mumbai. Airport

8
situated in the vicinity of population centres and the air
planes pass over residential areas. Heavy trucks, buses
trains, jet-planes, motor-cycles, scooters, mopeds,
jeeps—the list of vehicles is endless but the outcome is
same — noise pollution.
3. Household
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.
Besides these are the entertainment equipment in the
house, namely the radio, record-players and television
sets. Domestic gadgets like the mixer-grinders, pressure
cookers, desert coolers, air- conditioners, exhaust fans,
vacuum cleaners, sewing and washing machines are all
indoor sources of noise pollution
4.Public Address System
In India people need only the slightest of an excuse for
using loud speakers. The reason may be a religious
function, birth, death, marriage, elections, dem-
onstration, or just commercial advertising. Public
system, therefore, contributes in its own way towards
noise pollution.

9
 5. 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.
6. Defence Equipment
A lot of noise pollution is added to the atmosphere by
artillery, tanks, launching of rockets, explosions,
exercising of military airplanes and shooting practices.
Screams of jet engines and sonic booms have a

10
deafening impact on the ears and in extreme cases
have been known to shatter the window panes and old
dilapidated buildings.
7. Miscellaneous Sources
The automobile repair shops, construction-works,
blasting, bulldozing, stone crushing etc. are other
sources of noise pollution.

Effects of Noise Pollution

The effects of noise pollution has a ill effects not only
on the human beings but also on other living and non-
living things, which will be discussed below:
1.Repeated Interference with sleep: In a social survey
carried out amongst people living in the vicinity of
London Airport, some 22 per cent said that they
sometimes found difficulty in getting to sleep because
of airport noises. In areas where the noise level was
particularly high, up to 50 per cent complained about
the noise. An even higher percentage said they were
awakened by high intensity noises, usually early at
night when sleep was not yet deep. After people have
been asleep for some hours, they do not readily wake
up, even when subjected to very loud noises. Different

11
people have different depths of sleep and they can
adjust to nocturnal sounds. Undoubtedly, however,
noisy conditions near residential areas at night must be
avoided lack of continuous sleep has as counteract it.
Many techniques for sound insulation are available
today and can be applied at relatively modest expense.
2. Effect on hearing or deafness: These effects only
become of real importance if the sounds are
exceptionally loud. Continuous exposure to noise levels
much above 100 dB has an adverse effect on hearing
ability within a fairly short time. Many workers who are
exposed to the noise of jet aircraft or very noisy
workshops for even moderate periods soon develop
detectable hearing defects. Today it has become the
practice for workers in these situations to the
equipped with ear protectors and provided these are
worn all the time hearing ability is not affected.

12
3. Effect on Communication or Speech Interference:
External sounds can interfere with conversation and
use of the telephone, and well as the enjoyment of
radio and television programmes and like pastimes. It
can thus affect the efficiency of offices, schools and
other places where communication is of vital
importance. The maximum accepted level of noise
under such conditions in 55 dB. 70 dB is considered
very noisy and serious interference with verbal
communications is inevitable.
4. Mental or Physiological Effects: Many people
complain that noise makes them mentally ill.
Experiments have been performed to attempt to
confirm or disprove these claims. According to the
H.M. Stationary Office report Noise; noise certainly
does not contribute in the least to mental illness.
Doctors and scientist have now medically confirmed
that noise disturbs the biological organisms and their
respective functions of the humans. Fire crackers and
other excessive and continuous explosives become
physically painful giving rise to neurosis, mental illness,
cardiovascular diseases, stomach ulcers and respiratory
disorders reducing human life. Recent researches have
concluded that short exposures to noise (in excess of
about 100 dB) leads to adverse effects on foetus,
headache and, dizziness, dilatoriness in intestines,

13
stomach problems and effects on eye sights to the
extent that these at times become incurable.
5. Effects on Physical Health and working efficiency
or Psychological problems: Noise has little physical
effect on the biological performance provided that the
noise level is below about 90 dB. Damage to the inner
ear may result if continuous noise levels exceed about
100 dB as has been observed by the Doctors leading to
physical illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists have in
recent researches have made observations that noise
has certain relation with physical health causing
tension resulting in problems such as speech
interference, annoyance, fatigue, sleep interference
and emotional distress. Noise levels in industries
causes interference in efficiency and communication
and raises possibilities of accidents. World Health
Organisation has estimated remarkable loss in the
industries annually.

14
6. Effects on other animals and other living things:
The effect caused by industries, railways, crackers,
explosions and commotion in the cities, aircrafts etc.,
can be felt on animals, birds, mice, fishes and domestic
animals for they are susceptible to various effects of
due to exposure noise levels change their places. Birds
avoid migrating to places where noise level is above
100 dB. The noise emissions caused by supersonic
aircraft, railway noise emissions etc., may cause
miscarriage in mammals and fishes as well as birds are
observed to have stopped laying eggs. Thus to sum up

15
animals and other living things become upset more
than human beings and in the direct cause of
ecological in balance.
7.Effect on non-living things: Intense noise levels
affects non-living things too. The noise booms cause
cracks in national and archaeological monuments as
well as very high. Levels of noise are the cause of cracks
in hills. High intensity explosions can break glass panes
and vibrations in the buildings. Research work at India
and abroad is being done so as to access its gravity on
non-living things so that precautions could be taken
forehand to reduce impact thereof.

Prevention of Noise Pollution

We can reduce noise Pollution by following the below
mentioned Tips:
1. Turn of Appliances at Homes and Offices:

We can turn off home and office appliances when not

in use such as TV, games, computers etc. it can create

16
unnecessary stress on ears. We can save electricity also
when we turn them off.
2. Follow the limits of noise level:

Community law should check the use of loudspeakers,

outdoor parties as well as political public
announcements.

17
 CONCLUSION
• Improved traffic management practices such as
one way traffic movement, proper management of
buses in the traffic stream may reduce traffic noise
level to some extent. Proper noise barriers should
be constructed under flyovers to mitigate the
traffic noise level.
• The Factories Act,1948 does not contain a specific
provision of noise control while it has been found
in a number of cases that high intensities, high
frequencies, high intermittency of noise are the
factor of annoyance for the workers.
• The Central and the State Boards now exercise the
powers and functions under Section 16 and 17 of
the Air Act, respectively with regard to the
prevention and control of noise pollution including
the laying down of noise standards.

18