Noise regulation
Encyclopedia
Noise regulation includes statute
s or guidelines relating to sound transmission established by national, state or provincial and municipal levels of government. After the watershed passage of the United States Noise Control Act of 1972
, other local and state governments passed further regulations. Although the UK and Japan
enacted national laws in 1960 and 1967 respectively, these laws were not at all comprehensive or fully enforceable as to address generally rising ambient noise, enforceable numerical source limits on aircraft and motor vehicles or comprehensive directives to local government.
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lawsuit
would arise. Things in the United States changed rapidly with passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) in 1969 and the Noise Pollution and Abatement Act, more commonly called the Noise Control Act (NCA), in 1972. Passage of the NCA was remarkable considering the lack of historic organized citizen concern. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) had testified before Congress
that 30 million Americans are exposed to non-occupational noise high enough to cause hearing loss and 44 million Americans live in homes impacted by aircraft or highway noise. NEPA requires all federally funded major actions to be analyzed for all physical environmental impacts including noise pollution
, and the NCA directed the EPA to promulgate regulations for a host of noise emissions. Many 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. A notable exception to this rule is the City of Portland, Oregon
, which has instituted an aggressive protection for its citizens with fines reaching as high at $5000 per infraction, with the ability to cite a responsible noise violator multiple times in a single day.
actually passed the first national noise control act, but its scope was much more limited than the U.S. law, addressing mainly workplace and construction noise.
programs in the United States. They also gave states
and cities an impetus to consider environmental noise in their planning
and zoning
decisions, and led to a host of statutes below the federal level. Awareness of the need for noise control was rising. In fact, by 1973 a national poll of 60,000 U.S. residents found that sixty percent of people considered street noise to have a "disturbing, harmful or dangerous" impact. This trend continued strongly throughout the 1970s in the U.S., with about half of the states and hundreds of cities passing substantive noise control laws. Noise regulation subsided sharply in 1981, when Congress ended funding for the NCA. EPA had pre-empted lower levels of government from regulating sources, so states could not legislate standards such as for truck noise emissions. Thus, in areas where the federal government had failed to promulgate clear standards (such as aircraft noise), no further progress could be made except by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), which has an inherent conflict of interest regarding noise regulation.
Nevertheless some states continued to act. California carried out an ambitious plan to require its cities to establish a "Noise Element of the General Plan," which provides guidance for land planning decisions to minimize noise impacts on the public. Many cities throughout the U.S. also have noise ordinances, which specifies the allowable sound level that can cross property lines. These ordinances can be enforced with local police power
s.
Beyond the U.S. activities the European countries generally lag by 10 to 20 years. For example, Britain’s National Environmental Protection Act of 1990 is stimulating research in the year 2006 aimed at setting certain definitive noise standards. Russia, China and undeveloped countries lag even further behind.
and aircraft noise
account for the lion’s share of noise emissions, and the EPA standards for those vehicles pre-empted states from further regulating. In the case of aircraft noise, FAA had veto power over EPA recommendations, so those standards never pushed the envelope.
In the case of motor vehicles, states could not exact a greater standard for enforcement against an individual vehicle, and interstate commerce priorities meant that guidelines for total noise exposure along federally funded highways remained guidelines rather than strict standards. Despite these drawbacks, states and the public at large had a superb weapon in the review of proposed major transportation systems in the form of NEPA and the NCA. In many cases courts were able to enforce the intent of those laws to secure the redesign of roadways and transit systems to provide more noise mitigation
or to select an alternative of lesser impact than the original project; in many other cases, the highway agencies simply listened to public input and acoustical
scientists before finalizing highway and transit designs.
In the case of airport expansions, courts consistently upheld the sovereignty of the FAA over the EPA, in allowing air traffic needs to be met over environmental concerns. Thus airports were required to study impacts of air traffic and facilities expansions and provide detailed noise contour maps, but in the final analysis the EPA exposure guidelines only advisory in nature. To respond to the shortcomings of the voluntary guidelines, FAA created a well funded program to insulate thousands of homes in the vicinity of major airports. The program was based upon computer modeling of alternative insulation strategies, calculated on a house-by- house basis. While this program did nothing to mitigate exterior sound levels, it benefited residential interiors significantly.
maps to illustrate where varying sound levels fall relative to land use categories. The Noise Element further states goals for each land use class and even numerical planning standards in order to evaluate future development proposals with regard to noise pollution
. Technical analysis of urban highway noise had advanced by the early 1970s to allow intricate analysis of urban planning decisions in order to plan and design urban highways and support associated noise regulations.
Cities and counties in the U.S., who either fell under state mandates or who voluntarily chose to control noise through land use
decisions, were active in categorizing sound levels and seeking development strategies that would minimize the number of persons exposed to harmful levels of (primarily) motor vehicle
noise. Portland, Oregon
continues to innovate through its almost 35 year old Noise Control Office at the City's Bureau of Development Services. Today its code is still one of the only comprehensive codes in the U.S. that not only regulates based on a given decibel level, but also includes sound limitations based on the specific pitch or frequency of the given noise.
s are principally aimed at construction noise, power equipment operated by individuals and unmuffled industrial noise
penetrating residential areas. Thousands of U.S. cities have prepared noise ordinances that give noise control
officers and police the power to investigate noise complaints and enforcement power to abate the offending noise source, through shutdowns and fines. In the 1970s and early 1980s there was even a professional association for noise enforcement officers called NANCO, "National Association of Noise Control Officials." Today only a handful of properly trained Noise Control Officers remain in the United States. A typical noise ordinance sets forth clear definitions of acoustic nomenclature and defines categories of noise generation; then numerical standards are established, so that enforcement personnel can take the necessary steps of warnings, fines or other municipal police power to rectify unacceptable noise generation. Ordinances have achieved certain successes but they can be thorny to implement. Many European cities are still treating noise as the U.S. did in the 1960s, as a nuisance and not as a numerical standard to be achieved.
s with requirements of acoustical analysis, in order to protect building occupants from exterior noise sources and sound generated within the building itself.. With regard to exterior noise, the codes usually require measurement of the exterior acoustic environment in order to determine the performance standard required for exterior building skin design. The architect can work with the acoustical scientist to arrive at the best cost-effective means of creating a quiet interior (normally 45 dBA
). The most important elements of design of the building skin are usually: glazing
(glass thickness, double pane design, etc.), roof material, caulking standards, chimney baffles, exterior door design, mail slots, attic ventilation ports and mounting of through the wall air conditioners. A special case of building skin design arises in the case of aircraft noise
, where the FAA has funded extensive work in residential retrofit.
Regarding sound generated inside the building, there are two principal types of transmission. First, airborne sound travels through walls or floor/ceiling assemblies and can emanate from either human activities in adjacent living spaces or from mechanical noise within the building systems. Human activities might include voice, amplified sound systems or animal noise. Mechanical systems are elevator systems, boiler
s, refrigeration
or air conditioning
systems, generator
s and trash compactors. Since many of these sounds are inherently loud, the principle of regulation is to require the wall or ceiling assembly to meet certain performance standards (typically Sound Transmission Class of 50), which allows considerable attenuation of the sound level reaching occupants.
The second type of interior sound is called Impact Insulation Class
(IIC) transmission. This effect arises not from airborne transmission, but rather from transmission of sound through the building itself. The most common perception of IIC noise is from footfall of occupants in living spaces above. This type of noise is somewhat more difficult to abate, but consideration must be given to isolating the floor assembly above or hanging the lower ceiling on resilient channel. Commonly a performance standard of IIC equal to 50 is specified in building codes. California has generally led the U.S. in widespread application of building code requirements for sound transmission; accordingly, the level of protection for building occupants has increased markedly in the last several decades.
has established maximum noise levels for occupational exposure, beyond which mitigation measures or personal protective equipment
is required.
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
s or guidelines relating to sound transmission established by national, state or provincial and municipal levels of government. After the watershed passage of the United States Noise Control Act of 1972
Noise Control Act
The Noise Pollution and Abatement Act of 1972 is a statute of the United States initiating a federal program of regulating noise pollution with the intent of protecting human health and minimizing annoyance of noise to the general public....
, other local and state governments passed further regulations. Although the UK and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
enacted national laws in 1960 and 1967 respectively, these laws were not at all comprehensive or fully enforceable as to address generally rising ambient noise, enforceable numerical source limits on aircraft and motor vehicles or comprehensive directives to local government.
History of noise regulation
United States initial legislation
In the 1960s and earlier, few people recognized that citizens might be entitled to be protected from adverse sound level exposure. Most concerted actions consisted of citizens groups organized to oppose a specific highway or airport, and occasionally a nuisanceNuisance
Nuisance is a common law tort. It means that which causes offence, annoyance, trouble or injury. A nuisance can be either public or private. A public nuisance was defined by English scholar Sir J. F...
lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
would arise. Things in the United States changed rapidly with passage of the National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
(NEPA) in 1969 and the Noise Pollution and Abatement Act, more commonly called the Noise Control Act (NCA), in 1972. Passage of the NCA was remarkable considering the lack of historic organized citizen concern. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) had testified before Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
that 30 million Americans are exposed to non-occupational noise high enough to cause hearing loss and 44 million Americans live in homes impacted by aircraft or highway noise. NEPA requires all federally funded major actions to be analyzed for all physical environmental impacts including noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
, and the NCA directed the EPA to promulgate regulations for a host of noise emissions. Many city ordinances
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
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. A notable exception to this rule is the City of Portland, Oregon
Government of Portland, Oregon
The Government of Portland, Oregon, a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include a Mayor, a City Council, and a City Auditor. The mayor and commissioners are responsible legislative policy and oversee the various bureaus that...
, which has instituted an aggressive protection for its citizens with fines reaching as high at $5000 per infraction, with the ability to cite a responsible noise violator multiple times in a single day.
Japan
JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
actually passed the first national noise control act, but its scope was much more limited than the U.S. law, addressing mainly workplace and construction noise.
Follow-up on initial U.S. laws
Initially these laws had a significant effect on thoughtful study of transportation programs and also federally-funded housingHouse
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
programs in the United States. They also gave states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and cities an impetus to consider environmental noise in their planning
Land use planning
Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...
and zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
decisions, and led to a host of statutes below the federal level. Awareness of the need for noise control was rising. In fact, by 1973 a national poll of 60,000 U.S. residents found that sixty percent of people considered street noise to have a "disturbing, harmful or dangerous" impact. This trend continued strongly throughout the 1970s in the U.S., with about half of the states and hundreds of cities passing substantive noise control laws. Noise regulation subsided sharply in 1981, when Congress ended funding for the NCA. EPA had pre-empted lower levels of government from regulating sources, so states could not legislate standards such as for truck noise emissions. Thus, in areas where the federal government had failed to promulgate clear standards (such as aircraft noise), no further progress could be made except by the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA), which has an inherent conflict of interest regarding noise regulation.
Nevertheless some states continued to act. California carried out an ambitious plan to require its cities to establish a "Noise Element of the General Plan," which provides guidance for land planning decisions to minimize noise impacts on the public. Many cities throughout the U.S. also have noise ordinances, which specifies the allowable sound level that can cross property lines. These ordinances can be enforced with local police power
Police power
In United States constitutional law, police power is the capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the general welfare, morals, health, and safety of their inhabitants...
s.
Europe and Asia
Several European countries emulated the U.S. national noise control law: Netherlands (1979), France (1985), Spain (1993), and Denmark (1994). In some cases unlegislated innovations have led to quieter products exceeding legal mandates (for example, hybrid vehicles or best available technology in washing machines). In any case, the legacy of the NCA has transformed irreversibly the way people think about noise and the intrinsic right to be protected from adverse sound levels.Beyond the U.S. activities the European countries generally lag by 10 to 20 years. For example, Britain’s National Environmental Protection Act of 1990 is stimulating research in the year 2006 aimed at setting certain definitive noise standards. Russia, China and undeveloped countries lag even further behind.
National controls in the U.S. program
After the passage of the NCA, EPA promulgated regulations setting maximum noise limits on a gamut of motor vehicles, industrial machinery and household appliances. The Agency conducted extensive testing and consulted with industry on the practicality of manufacturing quieter devices. EPA's efforts had an influence on the future of a quieter generation of machines. However, roadway noiseRoadway noise
Roadway noise is the collective sound energy emanating from motor vehicles. In the USA it contributes more to environmental noise exposure than any other noise source, and is constituted chiefly of engine, tire, aerodynamic and braking elements...
and aircraft noise
Aircraft noise
Aircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...
account for the lion’s share of noise emissions, and the EPA standards for those vehicles pre-empted states from further regulating. In the case of aircraft noise, FAA had veto power over EPA recommendations, so those standards never pushed the envelope.
In the case of motor vehicles, states could not exact a greater standard for enforcement against an individual vehicle, and interstate commerce priorities meant that guidelines for total noise exposure along federally funded highways remained guidelines rather than strict standards. Despite these drawbacks, states and the public at large had a superb weapon in the review of proposed major transportation systems in the form of NEPA and the NCA. In many cases courts were able to enforce the intent of those laws to secure the redesign of roadways and transit systems to provide more noise mitigation
Noise mitigation
Noise mitigation is a set of strategies to reduce noise pollution. The main areas of noise mitigation or abatement are: transportation noise control, architectural design, and occupational noise control...
or to select an alternative of lesser impact than the original project; in many other cases, the highway agencies simply listened to public input and acoustical
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
scientists before finalizing highway and transit designs.
In the case of airport expansions, courts consistently upheld the sovereignty of the FAA over the EPA, in allowing air traffic needs to be met over environmental concerns. Thus airports were required to study impacts of air traffic and facilities expansions and provide detailed noise contour maps, but in the final analysis the EPA exposure guidelines only advisory in nature. To respond to the shortcomings of the voluntary guidelines, FAA created a well funded program to insulate thousands of homes in the vicinity of major airports. The program was based upon computer modeling of alternative insulation strategies, calculated on a house-by- house basis. While this program did nothing to mitigate exterior sound levels, it benefited residential interiors significantly.
U.S. State and local planning
States passed two different types of legislation starting in the 1970s, echoing the federal lead in noise control. First, many states, with California in the vanguard on a state level, began requiring each municipality and county to have a Noise Element of the General Plan, a substantial noise data base and blueprint for making land use decisions in that jurisdiction. The Noise Element became an integral part of the municipal or county General Plan, especially in California. This document compiled a comprehensive set of measurements setting forth existing sound levels, frequently in the form of sound level contourContour line
A contour line of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value. In cartography, a contour line joins points of equal elevation above a given level, such as mean sea level...
maps to illustrate where varying sound levels fall relative to land use categories. The Noise Element further states goals for each land use class and even numerical planning standards in order to evaluate future development proposals with regard to noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
. Technical analysis of urban highway noise had advanced by the early 1970s to allow intricate analysis of urban planning decisions in order to plan and design urban highways and support associated noise regulations.
Cities and counties in the U.S., who either fell under state mandates or who voluntarily chose to control noise through land use
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
decisions, were active in categorizing sound levels and seeking development strategies that would minimize the number of persons exposed to harmful levels of (primarily) motor vehicle
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
noise. Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
continues to innovate through its almost 35 year old Noise Control Office at the City's Bureau of Development Services. Today its code is still one of the only comprehensive codes in the U.S. that not only regulates based on a given decibel level, but also includes sound limitations based on the specific pitch or frequency of the given noise.
Local noise ordinances in U.S. and Europe
Local ordinanceLocal ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
s are principally aimed at construction noise, power equipment operated by individuals and unmuffled industrial noise
Industrial noise
Industrial noise is usually considered mainly from the point of view of environmental health and safety, rather than nuisance, as sustained exposure can cause permanent hearing damage. Traditionally, occupational noise has been a hazard linked to heavy industries such as ship-building and...
penetrating residential areas. Thousands of U.S. cities have prepared noise ordinances that give noise control
Noise control
Noise control is an active or passive means of reducing sound emissions, often incentivised by personal comfort, environmental considerations or legal compliance. Practical and efficient noise control is wholly reliant on an accurate diagnosis of what is causing the noise, which first involves...
officers and police the power to investigate noise complaints and enforcement power to abate the offending noise source, through shutdowns and fines. In the 1970s and early 1980s there was even a professional association for noise enforcement officers called NANCO, "National Association of Noise Control Officials." Today only a handful of properly trained Noise Control Officers remain in the United States. A typical noise ordinance sets forth clear definitions of acoustic nomenclature and defines categories of noise generation; then numerical standards are established, so that enforcement personnel can take the necessary steps of warnings, fines or other municipal police power to rectify unacceptable noise generation. Ordinances have achieved certain successes but they can be thorny to implement. Many European cities are still treating noise as the U.S. did in the 1960s, as a nuisance and not as a numerical standard to be achieved.
Building codes
In the case of construction of new (or remodeled) apartments, condominiums, hospitals and hotels, many U.S. states and cities have stringent building codeBuilding code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
s with requirements of acoustical analysis, in order to protect building occupants from exterior noise sources and sound generated within the building itself.. With regard to exterior noise, the codes usually require measurement of the exterior acoustic environment in order to determine the performance standard required for exterior building skin design. The architect can work with the acoustical scientist to arrive at the best cost-effective means of creating a quiet interior (normally 45 dBA
Decibel
The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...
). The most important elements of design of the building skin are usually: glazing
Insulated glazing
Insulated glazing also known as double glazing are double or triple glass window panes separated by an air or other gas filled space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope....
(glass thickness, double pane design, etc.), roof material, caulking standards, chimney baffles, exterior door design, mail slots, attic ventilation ports and mounting of through the wall air conditioners. A special case of building skin design arises in the case of aircraft noise
Aircraft noise
Aircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...
, where the FAA has funded extensive work in residential retrofit.
Regarding sound generated inside the building, there are two principal types of transmission. First, airborne sound travels through walls or floor/ceiling assemblies and can emanate from either human activities in adjacent living spaces or from mechanical noise within the building systems. Human activities might include voice, amplified sound systems or animal noise. Mechanical systems are elevator systems, boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
s, refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
or air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
systems, generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
s and trash compactors. Since many of these sounds are inherently loud, the principle of regulation is to require the wall or ceiling assembly to meet certain performance standards (typically Sound Transmission Class of 50), which allows considerable attenuation of the sound level reaching occupants.
The second type of interior sound is called Impact Insulation Class
Impact insulation class
Impact Insulation Class is an integer-number rating of how well a building floor attenuates impact sounds, such as footsteps. A larger number means more attenuation. The scale, like the decibel scale for sound, is logarithmic...
(IIC) transmission. This effect arises not from airborne transmission, but rather from transmission of sound through the building itself. The most common perception of IIC noise is from footfall of occupants in living spaces above. This type of noise is somewhat more difficult to abate, but consideration must be given to isolating the floor assembly above or hanging the lower ceiling on resilient channel. Commonly a performance standard of IIC equal to 50 is specified in building codes. California has generally led the U.S. in widespread application of building code requirements for sound transmission; accordingly, the level of protection for building occupants has increased markedly in the last several decades.
U.S. occupational safety regulations
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationOccupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
has established maximum noise levels for occupational exposure, beyond which mitigation measures or personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garment or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury by blunt impacts, electrical hazards, heat, chemicals, and infection, for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, and in...
is required.
See also
- A-weightingA-weightingA Weighting curve is a graph of a set of factors, that are used to 'weight' measured values of a variable according to their importance in relation to some outcome. The most commonly known example is frequency weighting in sound level measurement where a specific set of weighting curves known as A,...
scale regarding the unit normally used in noise regulation - Aircraft noiseAircraft noiseAircraft noise is noise pollution produced by any aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units, while taxiing, on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust, during take off, underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths,...
for a broader discussion of aircraft noise regulation - Noise health effectsNoise health effectsNoise health effects are the health consequences of elevated sound levels. Elevated workplace or other noise can cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance and sleep disturbance. Changes in the immune system and birth defects have been attributed to noise exposure...
for an exposition of human health and annoyance implications - Noise pollutionNoise pollutionNoise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
for a more full explanation of the underlying issues of environmental noise - Timeline of environmental eventsTimeline of environmental eventsThe timeline lists geological, astronomical, and climatological events in relation to events in human history which they influenced. For the history of humanity's perspective on these events, see timeline of the history of environmentalism...
shows relationship to other federal laws - Loud musicLoud musicThe term loud music is often used to refer to music that is played at a volume that disturbs others, such as neighbors or bystanders, who do not wish to hear the music, or that is otherwise viewed as a nuisance to the public...
External links
- U.S. EPA - Noise Pollution - General information and resources
- Airport Noise Law - U.S.
- British noise laws
- Addressing Wind Turbine Noise A primer for understanding noise control ordinances
- Noise Pollution Clearing House - U.S.
- Acoustical Society of America
- American Institute of Architects
- National Council of Acoustical Consultants
- Business & Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association
- Cambridge Sound Management
- Rutgers Noise Technical Assistance Center
- Got Noise? Working towards limiting traffic noise from I-95 in SW Connecticut.