THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF ACOUSTICS - H. H. Arnold ...

13Criteria and Regulations forNoise Control13.1 IntroductionLoss of hearing constitutes only one of the effects of sustained exposure to excessivenoise levels. Noise can interfere with speech and sleep, and cause annoyanceand other nonauditory effects. Annoyance is quite subjective in nature, rendering itdifficult to quantify. Loud steady noise can be quite unpleasant but impulse noisecan be even more so. Moreover, impulse noise involves a greater risk of hearingdamage. Community response, which can range anywhere from simple telephonecalls to municipal authorities to massive public demonstrations of outrage, can beused as a measure of annoyance to citizens.In this chapter we discuss these effects and describe the criteria and regulationsthat have been implemented over nearly three decades for the purpose of controllingenvironmental noise. In a broader sense, the term environmental noise pertainsto noise in the workplace and in the community. This pertains to noise sources arisingfrom operation and use of industrial machinery, construction activities, surfaceand air transportation. We must also consider recreational noise which arise fromthe use of snowmobiles, drag strip racers, highly amplified stereo systems in thehome and in motor vehicles, and so on. A considerable number of regulations existin a number of nations, for the purpose of protecting hearing from overexposureto loud noise, providing salutary working conditions, shielding communities fromexcessive environmental noise arising from the presence of manufacturing plantsor construction activities and nearby surface and air transportation. The enactmentand enforcement of these regulations motivates the control of noise levelsin the workplace and in the community, not only for the purpose of promoting aproper auditory environment but also to avoid penalties that can be levied for uncorrectedviolations. The principal U.S. laws germane to the issue of noise controlare: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 Noise Pollution and Abatement Act of 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 Noise Control Act of 1972.319