Sustainability is important in today’s world as it helps mitigate the negative impacts of human activities on the environment and also ensures the health of people for the present and future. Noise pollution refers to unwanted or harmful sound that negatively affects human well-being and disrupts the environment. Sound pollution is a growing concern for people living along major transportation routes and urbanized areas. While noise pollution is a less tangible issue compared to water and air pollution, its impact is significant and you need to work towards creating sustainable living environments.
Understanding Noise Pollution and its Impacts
As per the Central Pollution Control Board, sound levels above 50 decibels and 40 decibels during day and night are considered noise pollution. All human activities contribute to noise pollution which includes using electronic appliances like mixers/grinders, vacuum cleaners, and using professional tools that emanate noise. Vehicles also contribute to noise pollution significantly especially on national highways and crowded roads in cities. The noise pollution in cities or highways is mainly due to the higher concentration of industries, population, and activities like transportation.
Effects of Noise Pollution
Unlike air or water pollution, there is little awareness of noise pollution and its long-term detrimental effects on your physical and mental health. Noise pollution is a menace that people have learned to live with. This ignorance or behavior is mainly due to a lack of knowledge of the harmful effects of noise pollution and the technological solutions available to deal with it.
According to medical experts, people exposed to sound levels above 110 decibels may experience hypertension, insomnia, deafness, physical fatigue, and mental trauma. Also prolonged exposure to noise for a day alone can lead to violent behavior in some cases or mental disorientation. If you do not take steps to control noise exposure, it may lead to permanent loss of hearing, coronary heart diseases, and miscarriages in pregnant ladies. The World Health Organization classifies noise pollution as a significant health risk and causes hundreds of premature deaths worldwide. As per the European Environment Agency, sound pollution contributes to approximately 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease and 12.000 premature deaths each year in Europe. The report highlights the significant link between mortality rates and sound pollution.
Noise Control as a Sustainability Issue
Noise control is considered an integral part of sustainability as it affects both the quality of human life and communities and the environment as well. We humans have already taken steps to reduce our carbon emissions to reduce damage to the environment and the time has come to take similar steps to curb noise pollution and reduce its detrimental effects on our physical and mental health. Sustainable noise control aims to minimize sound pollution through regulations, engineering, design, and urban planning.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Traffic noise is one of the main sources of sound pollution in urbanized areas and areas adjacent to national highways. To tackle traffic noise, CPCB has issued guidelines about noise limits for every type of vehicle plying on the road as well as noise levels applicable to the manufacturing of such vehicles. Additionally, the installation of noise barriers along railway lines and highways in urbanized areas can shield communities from excessive noise exposure. Furthermore, buildings constructed near railway lines or heavy transportation routes should incorporate noise-dampening measures like acoustic panels and insulation to mitigate sound penetration.
Factories and Sustainable Noise Control
Though located far away from cities, factories also contribute to significant noise pollution in areas where they are located. The people living and working in these areas are mostly affected by the high noise levels emanated by the operation of heavy machinery, transportation, and manufacturing processes. Creating a sustainable workplace should be a priority of factory owners and they should adopt noise control measures to comply with CPCB regulations and align with environmental and social sustainability goals.
Technological Solutions to Your Rescue
While it is hard to manage or control the number of vehicles plying on the road or noise generated by large machines, you can certainly employ technological solutions like acoustic enclosures, noise barriers, and acoustic appurtenant to mitigate the effects of sound pollution.
The Acoustic enclosures are perfect for factories with large machinery which emit high levels of noise which affects worker’s health negatively. An acoustic enclosure can prevent high levels of noise from reaching the worker’s eardrum thereby creating a comfortable work environment.
Noise barriers are ideal for building compounds near railways lines or heavy transportation routes. These barriers can reduce the sound mitigation in the designated area and prevent occupants of the building from exposure of high level noise.
Wrapping Up:
As we strive forward to create sustainable communities, we should recognize noise control as an important element of the equation. Managing sound pollution will not only promote human well-being and health but also protect the environment and wildlife systems. Through a combination of thoughtful planning of cities, and factories, and adopting technological solutions like noise barriers, and acoustic chambers for noise control, we can create environments that are quieter, healthier, and more sustainable. Noise control is not only an environment or health concern; it is the cornerstone of creating communities and living spaces where nature and humans thrive together peacefully.
