EPA Document Collection

Subject Index

About the EPA document collection held by the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.

Subject Index: A B C E G H I L M O P R S T U W
Title Index: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W #

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Most useful EPA documents

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Health Effects
Hearing Loss

Health Effects

Noise, General Stress Responses and Cardiovascular Disease Processes: Review and Reassessment of Hypothesized Relationships
Dale Hattis; Barbara Richardson; Nicholas A. Ashford
June 1980
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This report contains a limited survey on the existing literature indicating cardiovascular effects of high noise exposure and places that literature in perspective based on the available knowledge of general cardiovascular effects of stressful stimuli. The authors also discuss conceptual obstacles to progress in cardiovascular disease research, key technical or measurement system obstacle, for research, and findings related to noise and suggestions for further research.

Federal Noise Research in Health Effects, 1978-80
Carl Modig; John Moore; Jack Shampan
December 1980
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This review of federally sponsored research on the effects of noise on health updates a previous survey, and compares present trends in research in each research category and by federal agency. The following categories of research are covered: Nonauditory Physiologic Responses; Noise Effects on Sleep; Individual and Community Response; Behavioral, Social, and Performance Effects; Communication Interference; Noise Environment Determination and Exposure Characterization; and Human Response to Noise Concomitant with Vibration. Over 250 research projects were sponsored by twenty Departments, Institutes, and Agencies during the 1978-80 period. The following information is provided for each project: title; objective; description; summary of findings; where findings are published; period of performance; name and address of investigator; name, address and telephone number of agency contact person; fiscal year funding data. In comparing present research with previous recommendations made by an Interagency Panel, it was determined that overall expenditures had increased by about 15 percent (compared with the previous period) instead of the recommended 40 percent; and that in general, the Panel's recommendations have not been implemented in the priority areas.

Non-Auditory Effects of Noise
Karl D. Kryter
June 1971
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This report is a summary and evaluation of research findings that relate to any effects of noise other than to the ear and related structures. For example, included herein are research efforts concerned with physiological effects of noise, effects on task performance, effects on the cardio-vascular system, and on general health. This report also presents areas and types of research studies that may help to provide full answers to wquestions on the degree of noise control desirable with respect to the non-auditory effects of noise normally present in living and working environments.

Final Report - Assessment of the Applicability of Existing Health and Welfare Criteria to General Aviation Aircraft Noise and to General Aviation Airport Communities
Larry A. Ronk
March 1980
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Existing metrics of environmental noise and its impact on people are reviewed for their suitability in assessing the impact of general aviation (GA) noise on people in airport communities. GA aircraft consist of noncommercial aircraft in propellor-driven, jet, and helicopter categories. In a recent year over 124 million GA operations were performed at approximately 6,000 public-use airports. Available criteria (dose response relationships) are discussed in detail for various health effects of noise, focussing on individual and community annoyance responses, but also including noise-induced hearing loss, communication interference, sleep disturbance, and nonauditory physiological effects. It is concluded that there are only marginal differences in the way several noise metrics predict individual response; therefore, the simplest measurement (A-weighting without a duration correction) is recommended. For community response, no existing annoyance criteria may be entirely appliable to GA airport communities, based on results of several studies. For the time being the criteria developed by Schultz should be used. Information in appendices include a bibliography of health effects of aircraft noise; statistics on the mix of GA aircraft types, distribution of daily GA operations by airport types, and population density around GA airports; and GA flight procedures.

Assessment or the Applicability of Existing Health & Welfare Criteria to General Aviation Aircraft Noise and to General Aviation Airport Communities
Larry A. Ronk
March 1980
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Existing metrics of environmental noise and its impact on people are reviewed for their suitability in assessing the impact of general aviation (GA) noise on people in airport communities. GA aircraft consist of noncommercial aircraft in propellor-driven, jet, and helicopter categories. In a recent year over 124 million GA operations were performed at approximately 6,000 public-use airports. Available criteria (dose response relationships) are discussed in detail for various health effects of noise, focusing on individual and community annoyance responses, but also including noise-induced hearing loss, communication interference, sleep disturbance, and nonauditory physiological effects. It is concluded that there are only marginal differences in the way several noise metrics predict individual response; therefore, the simplest measurement (A-weighting without a duration correction) is recommended. For community response, no existing annoyance criteria may be entirely applicable to GA airport communities, based on results of several studies. For the time being the criteria developed by Schultz should be used. Information in appendices include a bibliography of health effects of aircraft noise; statistics on the mix of GA aircraft types, distribution of daily GA operations by airport types, and populations density around GA airports; and GA flight procedures.

Sound and Hearing
Martin E. Rosenberg
June 1905
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Scientific enquiry into the sense of hearing is as deeply rooted in engineering and physics as in anatomy, physiology and psychology. Each approach has brought its own terminology and concepts and it is sometimes difficult for the non-specialist to obtain a clear picture of the subject. This book is a survey of several of the avenues of interest concerned with the sense of hearing and is intended to clarify some of the established principles. The book is directed to students of medicine and biology, but I think it will be of interest to engineers and possibly those involved in the creative applications of sound.

Five-Year Plan for Effects of Noise on Health
December 1981
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This Plan, a revision of an earlier unpublished "EPA Five-Year Noise Effects Research Plan," is intended to serve as a blueprint for future research by other organizations. In addition to introducing categories of health effects of noise and setting priorities for new research, it includes detailed plans for the following categories: nonauditory physiologic effects, particularly, cardiovascular effects; sleep disturbance; individual and community response; noise-induced hearing loss behavioral, social, and performance effects; and communication interference. Each plan proceeds from what is known, the research priorities, and results of recent research to arrive at a detailed plan including Multi-Component Research Initiatives.

Final Regulatory Analysis of the Hearing Conservation Amendment
January 1981
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The effects of occupational noise can be divided into two principal categories: auditory effects and extra-auditory effects. There is a wealth of information on the relationship between noise exposure and hearing loss. Dose-response relationships have been well established. Numerous studies are available which describe the effects of noise on hearing as a function of level and duration. The effects are stated in terms of the audiometric frequencies at which the loss occurs, the degeree of hearing loss, the anatomical changes (in animal experiments), and the differential changes in hearing as variables such as age and sex interact with noise exposure. The extra-auditory effects of noise involve complex physiological reactions, which are much more difficult to document. Although stress-related illnesses have been associated with noise exposure, the multitude of factors which contribute to stress confounds efforts to provide a direct "cause and effect" relationship between noise and such stress-related conditions as hypertension or ulcers. Although precise dose-response relationships are lacking at this time, information on the extra-auditory effects is included in this discussion because the data are highly suggestive or adverse effects, and therefore provide added incentive for protecting noise exposed workers.

Effects of Noise on Wildlife and Other Animals - Review of Research Since 1971
Patricia A. Dufour
July 1980
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This report represents a survey of the most significant studies since EPA issued its first report concerning noise effects on wildlife in 1971. The report has been divided into three main sections: laboratory animals, domestic animals, and wildlife. Studies within each of the three sections are further arranged by taxonomic groups and/or individual species, depending on the amount of material available. Reports on each species or taxonomic group are presented in four major categories of noise effects: auditory physiological, masking, nonauditory physiological, and behavioral.

Foreign Noise Research in Health Effects
Frederick Dick Barber; Carl Modig
May 1981
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Research from 19 countries, including 168 research projects, is described on the following topics: nonauditory physiologic response to noise; noise effects on sleep; industrial and community response to noise; noise-induced hearing loss and hearing conservation; behavioral, social and performance effects on noise; communication interference, noise environment determination and impact characterization, and effects of noise concomitant with vibration. For each project, an abstract, the name and address of the principle investigation, funding and sponsor data if available, and citations for available publications are given. It is concluded that foreign research efforts in this area have remained fairly constant over the last six years.

Noise, General Stress Responses and Cardiovascular Disease Processes: Review and Reassessment of Hypothesized Relationships
Dale Hattis; Barbara Richardson; Nicholas A. Ashford
June 1980
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This report contains a limited survey on the existing literature indicating cardiovascular effects of high noise exposure and places that literature and in perspective based on the available knowledge of general cardiovascular effects of stressful stimuli. The authors also discuss conceptual abstacles to prgress in cardiovascular disease research, key technical or measurement system obstacle, for research, and findings related to noise and suggestions for further research.

Proceedings of the International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem
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In 1968, a Conference on Noise as a Public Health Hazard was organized by the American Speech and Hearing Association. At this conference, an attempt was made to bring together a group of speakers who could present summaries of the current state of knowledge ell all aspects of the "noise problem", ranging all tile way from fairly technical treatises to completely non-technical statements of personal opinion. Such a wide-ranging representation was judged to be necessary for the purpose of that conference, which was to present a broad overview of what "noise pollution" was all about, to government personnel and other intelligent laymen who saw that it was probably going to become a hot issue, and give at least a few examples of the scientific evidence underlying arguments about just what effects noise does have. At this time it was realized that as the environmentalist movement gathered momentum, a rapid development of public concern could be expected, and so a permanent Committee of ASHA was established, one of whose charges was to plan another conference when it was judged appropriate. The burgeoning of interest in noise in the intervening 5 years has clearly met, if not surpassed, our expectations at that time. In the developed areas of the world, millions of dollars or their equivalent are being spent on surveys of noise levels and exposures, and increasingly stringent noise regulations are being imposed by all levels of government. And, although the measurement of the effects of noise is nowhere near as simple as the measurement of the noises themselves, many laboratories, mostly with federal support, are engaged in full-time research on the hearing losses, sleep disturbance, speech interference, alteration of physiological state, and annoyance caused by noise. Accordingly, in 1971 we began looking for a sponsor for a second conference-one who would agree, we hoped, to fund attendance by a substantial number of researchers from abroad, so that certain areas of knowledge less intensively studied in the USA could be included in the subject matter. Fortunately, the head of the newly-created Office of Noise Abatement end Control (ONAC) of the Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Alvin F. Meyer, had need of just such a conference, as a source material for a document summarizing all known criteria that might be used to establish national standards for noise control-that is, provided that the Congress passed the bill, then being duly debated and amended, that would make such a document necessary. Furthermore, certain PL 480 funds (money that must be spent in other countries) were available, which meant that the degree of participation by foreign scientists might be even greater than we had hoped. Not only that, but the particular PL 480 funds in this case were in Jugoslavia, the country that includes one of the garden spots of the world, Dubrovnik. On the assumption that our Congress would pass some form of the bill in question (which it did on October 27, 1972), we forged ahead with plans for our meeting, now upgraded to an International Congress. With the help of Dr. Grujica Zarkovic, the energetic President of tile Jugoslavian Medical Association, and Dr. Mario Levi of the University of Sarajevo, a planning meeting was held to which we invited a representative from most of the countries in which noise research was being done (I say "most" because we could not quite afford to pay for attendees from Japan, Australia, and South Africa because of the distance involved, even though considerable research is being done there). At this meeting the formal agenda was decided on, and the list of invited participants prepared. It was agreed that we would try to limit the Congress content strictly to the effects of noise on health, thereby excluding discussions of engineering aspects of noise reduction and control, descriptions of methods for legal control, and presentation of viewpoints of special-interest groups. There was some debate about how much time to allot to public opinion surveys of annoyance, some of as contending that annoyance, as measured in that manner, is not a health hazard at all in the ordinary sense of the term. However, proponents of the WHO definition of "health", in which any deviation from "optimum well-being" is regarded as undesirable, carried the field, and the final day of the Congress was therefore given over to the sociologists. Despite a series of crises precipitated by governmental red tape originating both in Washington and Belgrade, the Congress was held on May 13-18, 1973 at the Libertas Hotel in Dubrovnik. We had two major disappointments: one was the failure of our Russian invitees to appear due to the fact that our official invitations had not been sent early enough. The other was that the Xerox machine at the Libertas was out of commission. However, the general success of the Congress can be gauged by the fact that the audience was as large on the final afternoon as at any other time. A side benefit of the Congress (or so we hope) was the formation of an international organization consisting of 5 "teams" who will try to accumulate and coordinate knowledge about the effects of noise on (1) temporary and permanent bearing loss; (2) extra auditory function; (3) speech; (4) sleep; and (5) community reaction. The parent group, or "basic" team, will attempt to consolidate this knowledge for use by governmental agencies, and will make plans for the next Congress. Although the organization is now alive, its name is still in question. At the moment it is still the "'International Scientific Noise Teams", but the resulting acronym has a negative connotation that pleases few of us. Other names are being considered. I regret that the length of the invited papers made it impracticable to publish at this time any of the short contributed papers that were presented at the Congress, many of which were excellent, or the often-lively discussions that followed each session. It is hoped that these can be included if another printing of the Proceedings is to be made. An enterprise of this scope cannot be a success without hard work on the part of many people. Without doubt the most effort of all wax put forth by Dr. Levi, who managed all the mechanical details of the Congress, with the help of his and Dr. Zarkovic's staff, particularly, Felih Vesna. Official thanks are extended to our sponsoring organizations: The Jugoslavian Medical Association, The American Speech and Hearing Association, the World Health Organization, and of course most of all the Office of Noise Abatement and Control.

Recent Literature on the Non-Auditory Effects of Noise: The Primary Emphasis on the Cardiovascular System
Patricia A. Dufour
October 1977
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This compilation is the result of a literature search for recent articles (primarily 1975-1977) on the non-auditory physiological effects of noise. The main area of interest in this project was the effects of noise on the cardiovascular system. A list of the investigators in the field of noise effects who provided additional information for this project and analyzed will be used in future work by the Environmental Protection Agency on the non-auditory effects of noise. Informative abstracts have been completed for the 21 most relevant studies concerning the cardiovascular effects of noise. In addition to the abstract, a form summarizing the experimental design and results, including evaluations and comments, has been provided for each abstract. The form was designed to provide an easy means for comparing and analyzing the studies. The abstracts, forms, and accompanying articles are arranged alphabetically by author in sections 1-21 of this volume. A summary form only was completed for each of 13 additional articles that cover areas other than the cardiovascular effects of noise. These studies deal with other significant non-auditory effects, especially on the endocrine system, including catecholamine excretion and plasma cortisol levels. The forms and copies of the original articles are included in sections 22-34. Both time and money limitations prevented such processing of the other 78 articles in the bibliography. Copies of the majority of these articles have been acquired by the Environmental Protection Agency. Some of the copies of the original articles accompanying the abstracts and summary forms are of poor quality, although they are legible. They were the best copies available at the time of printing.

Detailed Research Plan: Cardiovascular Effects of Noise
December 1981
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The effects of long-term (acoustical) noise exposure on the cardiovascular system are the best-documented of the nonauditory physiological effects of noise and represent the greatest potential public health issue. As part of its modest research effort in the noise effects area, EPA has developed the plan contained in this report to organize research in this area, which has been identified by numerous experts as the number one noise effects research priority. This plan includes (1) a summary of what is known from short-term and long-term studies; (2) detailed multicomponent plans for animal experimental studies, human epidemiologic studies, and human experimental studies (3) discussion of recent research, including EPA-sponsored research at University of Miami and John Hopkins University, and (4) analysis of five options. It is estimated that if research proceeds according to this plan, decision points will occur in year 3, year 6 and year 8. On the other hand, a "rush program" could be created by simultaneously implementing Options 1-3. Estimates of yearly funding requirements for various options are provided.

Epidemiology Feasibility Study: Effects of Noise on the Cardiovascular System - Appendix C - Review of Non-Noise Related Research of the Cardiovascular System
Julian E. Kail; David M. Propert; Shirley J. Thompson
July 1981
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This review will present introductory information about the pathology, pathogenesis, and epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases. The primary focus will be a discussion of the key cardiovascular diseases, their manifestations, risk factors, etiology of the risk factors and origin of the precipitants of the diseases. Specifically, the purpose of this "state-of-the-art" review is to provide an empirical foundation for subsequent noise-related research by: (1) summarizing the current knowledge of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the cardiovascular diseases; (2) denoting key confounding and interactive factors which must be considered in the design of future studies; and (3) identifying pathways in the pathogenic process and specifying potential entry points for investigation of noise as one environmental influence on the cardiovascular system. Thus, we will present a review of the literature describing the various physiological and biochemical factors associated with cardiovascular disease pathogenesis together with epidemiologic rationale for and against the risk agents. The authors have examined review articles and other selected papers published in the last three years, but in addition, have included information from classic papers of earlier years from their extensive reprint files. First, the pathophysiology of each major cardiovascular disease or physiologic state is addressed. This is followed by a succint discussion of the epidemiology including incidence, prevalence, and secular trends as well as the major risk factors for the emergence of cardiovascular diseases in human populations.

Epidemiology Feasibility Study: Effects of Noise on the Cardiovascular System - Appendix B - Annotated Bibliography - Literature: The Effects of Noise on the Cardiovascular System
Shirley Thompson
July 1981
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This bibliography is based on a comprehensive search of the world literature on the epidemiologic studies of the effect of noise on the cardiovascular system in man. It is composed of a critical analysis of thirty0five studies published in the English literature and fourty-four studies from foreign journals translated for this evaluation. Four tasks were involved in the evaluation process. (1) Development of methodologic criteria for evaluating: the adequacy of the noise parameters; the quality of the cardiovascular response measures; the overall validity of the study. (2) Critical review of each article by an expert review team composed of an audiologist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist. (3) Summarization of the three independent evaluations of the review team by the project director. (4) Assignment of a numerical score to each component of the study evaluated resulting in three scores for each study: a noise exposure rating; a health effects score; an epidemiologic-methodology score. The assignment of numerical scores and ratings are discussed in the narrative report accompanying this bibliography. The assessment criteria employed, the assessment forms devised for standardization of the critiques and summarizations of the evaluations follow.

The Public Health Effects of Community Noise
Carol Scheibner Pennenga
May 1987
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Noise is "any loud, discordant or disagreeable sound" according to Webster's Dictionary (15, p.1). Another definition would be "unwanted sound". Nearly everyone is exposed to noise at some time in their lives, yet the control of noise is not a top priority for most environmental control programs. Community noise is a very widespread problem that can cause serious public health problems. It is well-established that noise can cause hearing loss in the workplace, but what are the other effects of noise outside the workplace? The World Health Organization defines health as a state of physical, mental, and social well being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This paper will examine the evidence for the effects of noise on the cardiovascular system, the performance of tasks, the unborn and children, social behavior and mental health, sleep, speech communication and hearing. The majority of the analysis will be spent on the cardiovascular effects because they are both the most controversial and the most potentially health threatening. It is hoped that this examination of the public health effects of community noise will serve as justification for increased priority and effort in noise control at the community, state and federal levels. In addition to noise control programs, this review should also be used to educate the public on the hazards of community noise exposure and how to protect themselves from it.

A Basis for Limiting Noise Exposure for Hearing Conservation
J.C. Guignard
July 1973
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A compilation of data is provided, with references to published work, which represents the present state of knowledge concerning the effects of continuous and impulsive noise on hearing. The danger to the ear of both occupational and non-occupational human exposure to noise is considered. Data are included or cited which enable quantitative predictions to be made of the risk to hearing in the American population due to noise exposure in any working or living context. Recommendations are made concerning the need to obtain more definitive data. Relevant aspects of noise measurement, the physiology of hearing, and theories explaining the effects of noise on the ear are discussed in appendices to the main report. This report deals solely with the effects of noise on hearing; other physiological or psychological effects of noise are not considered in the present document.

Behavioral and Physiological Correlates of Varying Noise Environments
Lawrence F. Sharp; John F. Swiney; Mickey R. Dansby; Stephen C. Hyatt; Dale E. Schimmel
June 1977
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Eighty male college juniors and seniors were dichotomized into either High or Low Anxiety groups. Each subject experienced a household noise profile under a quiet (50 dBA), intermittent (84 dBA) and continuous (84 dBA) noise condition, while performing either an easy or difficult pursuit tracking task. Heart rate, electromyographic potentials, and tracking error responses were evaluated. Results indicated significant (P<.01) main effects for task difficulty and noise condition and significant (P<.01) interaction effects for task difficulty, noise condition and anxiety level (as measured by the IPAT Self Analysis Form) of subjects. The significant noise effect occurred for the difficult task condition during the second tracking period (which includes transfer of training effects) indicating that factors such as task difficulty, direction of task transfer effects, duration of noise exposure as well as anxiety level of subjects appear to be important variables affecting human psychometer performance in noise environments below 85 dBA. These findings appear to be consistent with previous research which suggests that task difficulty is the variable determining the direction of stress (noise) effects on psychometer performances and the nature of the interaction between stress and anxiety level. The present findings are therefore seen as supporting the concepts of the response interference hypothesis and the inverted-U function between stress and performance.

Epidemiology Feasibility Study: Effects of Noise on the Cardiovascular System
Shirley Thompson
September 1981
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This report contains a review of all world literature to date and a critical analysis of existing foreign and domestic epidemiological research on the nonauditory physiological effects of noise. In addition, the scientific literature on hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and general stress are analyzed for its applicability to noise effects epidemiology. Information and recommendations pertinent to a number of substantive and methodological issues related to the design and conduct of future noise effects epidemiology is also provided.

Hearing Loss

A Basis for Limiting Noise Exposure for Hearing Conservation
J.C. Guignard
July 1973
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Aviation Noise Effects
J. Steven Newman; Kristy R. Beattie
March 1985
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This report summarizes the effects of aviation noise in many areas, ranging from human annoyance to impact on real estate values. It also synthesizes the findings of literature on several topics. Included in the literature were many original studies carried out under FAA and other Federal funding over the past two decades. Efforts have been made to present the critical findings and conclusions of pertinent research, providing, when possible, a "bottom line" conclusion, criterion or perspective for the reader. Issues related to aviation noise are highlighted, and current policy is presented. Specific areas addresses in the report include the following: Annoyance, Hearing and Hearing Loss, Noise Metrics, Human Response to Noise, Speech Interference, Sleep Interference, Non-Auditory Health Effects of Noise, Effects of Noise on Wild and Domesticated Animals, Low Frequency Acoustical Energy, Impulsive Noise, Time of Day Weightings, Noise Contours, Land Use Compatibility, Real Estate Values. This document is designed for a variety of users, from the individual completely unfamiliar with aviation noise to experts in the field. Summaries are provided at the beginning of each section; references are also included.

Hearing Loss - Hope Through Research
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Final Report - Assessment of the Applicability of Existing Health and Welfare Criteria to General Aviation Aircraft Noise and to General Aviation Airport Communities
Larry A. Ronk
March 1980
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Proposed Damage-Risk Criterion for Impulse Noise (Gunfire) (U)
W. Dixon Ward
July 1968
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In 1964, the Committee on Hearing, Bioacoustics and Biomechanics of the National Research Council (CHABA) proposed a set of damage-risk criteria (DRC) for intermittent and continuous steady-state noise (Kryter, Ward, Miller and Eldredge, 1966). These criteria were based on the assumption that the permanent hearing losses (noise-induced permanent threshold shift, or NIPTS) eventually produced by many years of exposure to noise is approximately equal to the auditory fatigue (temporary threshold shift, or TTS) shown by a normal ear after a single day's exposure. A corollary of this assumption is that exposures which produce equal TTSs will produce equal NIPTSs. Therefore, in order to derive DRC for a wide range o exosures, it was merely necessary to select a value of TTS that should not be exceeded, and then determine from a study of the literature what noise exposures (expressed in terms of level, duration, and rate of interruption) produced precisely this TTS. The CHABA curves cited above were based on the assumption that the acceptable values of TTS(2) (TTS measured two minutes after cessation of exposure to the noise) were 10 dB at 1000 Hz and below, 15 dB at 2000 Hz, or 20 dB at 3000 Hz or above. Unfortunately, at that time little information on TTS produced by impulse noise existed, and even this was somewhat ambiguous. It was therefore not judged possible to estimate what pattern of impulse-noise exposure would produce, in the average person, the TTSs cited above. The only specific statement in the CHABA proposal regarding impulse noise was therefore the following: "While exact limits cannot be set, the Working Group did find evidence that repeated exposure to some types of acoustic impulses exceeding 140 dB in the earcanal of the listener can result in significant losses of hearing in some persons." In the intervening period, several studies at laboratories both here and in England have dealt with a fairly large range of exposure to gunfire under controlled conditions. These recently were summarized by Coles, Garinther, Hodge and Rice (1968), who then proceeded to recommend a DRC for impulse noise based on these data, a DRC designed to protect seventy-five percent of the men exposed. The following proposal is patterned closely after the Coles et al criteria; however, the permitted values here are slightly different from theirs, for reasons cited in Section III.

Some Practical Information on Noise and Hearing Protection
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University of Southampton - Institute of Sound and Vibration Research - Auditory Impairment and the Onset of Disability and Handicap in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
D.W. Robinson; P.A. Wilkins; N.J. Thyer; J.F. Lawes
November 1984
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An investigation was carried out on subjects with mild degrees of noise-induced hearing loss, in an endeavor to identify measurable characteristics of hearing that identify the points of onset of hearing disability (defined as difficulty in hearing speech in various circumstances) and of hearing handicap (defined as perceived social disadvantage resulting from the hearing loss), these concepts being understood to refer to average findings in a context of hearing loss prevention in industry. Data were obtained from five listening tests, including simulations of real life, and from self-assessment questionnaires, and compared in ease case with corresponding results for control groups of young and older otologically normal persons who underwent identical tests. The audiological status of subjects was measured by pure-tone audiometry, temporal resolution, frequency selectivity, and off-frequency listening affect. The most sensitive measure, and the one most closely correlated with performance and self-assessment, was the pure-tone audiogram. Percentage errors in different listening situations depend greatly on the kind of test material and the inherent difficulty of the acoustical context, and this applies irrespective of hearing loss. It is shown that the influence of test conditions is largely eliminated by comparing the performance of the impaired persons with the limit of the range of performance among normal persons. In this way an onset point for disability is identified as 30 dB hearing threshold level, average over 1, 2 and 3 kHz. In the case of handicap, there appears to be a continuous trend starting from normal hearing with no definable threshold of onset.

Guidelines for a Training Program for Audiometric Technicians
Aram Glorig
September 1973
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This course is designed to train audiometric technicians who will conduct pure-tone air conduction tests as part of a program of Hearing Conservation in Noise. A minimum of two days is required for the completion of the course, and a minimum requisite time for each of the topics is indicated in the course outline.

Prediction of NIPTS Due to Continuous Noise Exposure
Daniel L. Johnson
July 1973
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In support of the main document, "A Basis for Limiting Noise Exposure for Hearing Conservation," this report compares the relationship of noise exposure to Noise Induced Permanent Threshold Shift (NIPTS) as predicted by the currently available works of Passchier-Vermeer, Robinson, Baughn and Kryter, and the yet unpublished work of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The works of Passchier-Vermeer, Robinson, and Baughn are selected since these are the only works that completely predict the relationship between NIPTS and noise exposure for various audiometric frequencies, sound pressure levels and population percentiles. The predictions of these three methodologies are averaged in order to provide one single relationship between continuous noise exposure and NIPTS. This relationship is presented in various ways so that the effect of noise exposure on hearing can be viewed in more than one way. Discussion concerning the type of frequency weighting, the equal energy rule, and long duration exposures is also provided.

The Ability of Mildly Hearing-Impaired Individuals to Discriminate Speech in Noise
Alice H. Suter
January 1978
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The purpose of the investigation was to explore the relationship between hearing level at various audiometric frequencies and speech discrimination in different noise backgrounds. The study was designed specifically to test the American Academy of Opthamology and Otolaryngology's (AAOO) selection of a 26-dB average of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz, as the point above which hearing handicap occurs. The AAOO method for computing hearing handicap has lately been brought into question for two primary reasons: that the 26-dB fence is too high, and for the exclusion of frequencies above 2000 Hz. The present study, therefore, attempted to see if there were differences among individuals whose hearing was at or better than the low fence, and if so, what factors caused or affected the differences.

Foreign Noise Research in Noise Effects
Niriam Heilman
January 1978
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This volume has been compiled from the results of a survey on foreign noise effects research from 1975-77. The survey was conducted for the second interagency noise effects research panel. Included in the volume are 211 project descriptions, from twenty-two countries. Projects are reported under the following subject areas: noise-induced hearing loss, non-auditory health effects, psychological and performance effects, noise effects on sleep, communication interference, community or collective response, effects of noise on domestic animals and wildlife, noise environment determination, and noise concomitant with vibration.

Pow! - Noise and Hearing Loss
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The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Noise and Hearing Loss brought together biomedical and behavioral scientists, health care providers, and the public to address the characteristics of noise-induced hearing loss, acoustic parameters of hazardous noise exposure, individual and age-specific susceptibility, and prevention strategies. Following a day and a half of presentations by experts and discussion by the audience, a consensus panel weighed the evidence and prepared a consensus statement. Among their findings, the panel concluded that sounds of sufficient intensity and duration will damage the ear and result in temporary or permanent hearing loss at any age. Sound levels of less than 75 dB(A) are unlikely to cause permanent hearing loss, while sound levels above 85 dB(A) with exposures of 8 hours per day will produce permanent hearing loss after many years. Current scientific knowledge is inadequate to predict that any particular individual will be safe when exposed to a hazardous noise. Strategies to prevent damage from sound exposure should include the use of individual hearing protection devices, education programs beginning with school-age children, consumer guidance, increased product noise labeling, and hearing conservation programs for occupational settings. The full text of the consensus panel's statement follows.

Guidelines for Preparing Environmental Impact Statements on Noise
Henning E. von Gierke
June 1977
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Guidelines are proposed for the uniform description and assessment of the various noise environments potentially requiring an Environmental Impact Statement for Noise. In addition to general, audible noise environments, the report covers separately high-energy impulse noise, special noises such as ultrasound and infrasound, and the environmental impact of structure-borne vibration. Whenever feasible and practical, a single-number noise impact characterization is recommended, based on the new concept of level-weighted population; i.e., the summation over the total population of the product of each residential person times a weighting factor that varies with yearly day night average sound level outside the residence of that person. A sound-level weighting function for general impact and environmental degradation analysis is proposed, based on the average annoyance response observed in community response studies; this weighting function is supplemented by an additional weighting function at higher noise environments to quantify the potential of noise-induced hearing loss and general health effects. The evaluation of the environmental impact of vibration is derived from existing or proposed ISO standards. The report explains and justifies the procedures selected and gives examples of their application.

Proceedings of the International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem
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Toward a National Strategy for Noise Control
April 1977
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This document has been developed to continue the dialogue on the overall goals of the noise program, the role of the government, the role of consumers, and the role of industry in noise control, along with the selection of specific abatement and enforcement activities for EPA. It establishes a general framework for making decisions on the best strategy that EPA can employ to combat noise pollution. The primary goal of the Agency in the noise pollution area is to promote an environment for all Americans, free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. In order to reach this legislatively mandated objective five specific operational goals have been formulated. These are: A. To take all practical steps to eliminate hearing loss resulting from noise exposure; B. To reduce environmental noise exposure to an Ldn value of no more than 75 dB immediately; C. To reduce noise exposure levels to Ldn 65 dB by vigorous regulatory and planning actions; D. To strive for an eventual reduction of noise levels to an Ldn of 55 dB; and E. To encourage and assist other Federal, State, and local agencies in the adoption and implementation of long range noise control policies.

Effects of Noise on People
December 1971
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It has not been demonstrated that many people have had their lives shortened by noise. While undoubtedly there have been accidental injuries and deaths when auditory warning signals were misunderstood or not heard because of the effects of noise, the prevalence of these has not been evaluated. Perhaps the stress of continued exposure to high levels of noise can produce disease or make one more susceptible to disease, but the evidence is not convincing. There are only hints of relations between exposure to noise and the incidence of disease. In other words, the effects of noise on people have not been successfully measured in terms of "excess deaths" or "shortened lifespan" or "days of incapacitating illness." The only well-established effects of noise on health is that of noise-induced hearing loss. There is clear evidence to support the following statements about the effects on people of exposure to noise of sufficient intensity and duration. Noise can permanently damage the inner ear with resulting permanent hearing loss that can range from slight impairment to nearly total deafness. Noise can result in temporary hearing losses and repeated exposures to noise can lead to chronic hearing losses. Noise can interfere with speech communication and the perception of other auditory signals. Noise can disturb sleep. Noise can be a source of annoyance. Noise can interfere with the performance of complicated tasks and, of course, can especially disturb performance when speech communication or response to auditory signal is demanded. Noise and other acoustical considerations can reduce the opportunity for privacy. Noise can adversely influence mood and disturb relaxation. In all of these ways noise can affect the essential nature of human life - its quality. It is for these reasons that the recitation of facts and hypotheses that follow may be of some importance.

Occupational Hearing Loss - Workers Compensation Under State and Federal Programs
Richard E. Ginnold
August 1979
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This report represents over a year of discussion and research in the compensation laws and practices of 50 states and the federal government. The report documents severe limitations in the adequacy of workers compensation for noise induced hearing loss. The report also shows that the cost of hearing loss compensation to employers and insurers is minute compared to other worker's compensation costs and that major justified improvements can and should be made if hearing loss compensation is to provide any financial incentive for noise control.

The Public Health Effects of Community Noise
Carol Scheibner Pennenga
May 1987
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Final Regulatory Analysis of the Hearing Conservation Amendment
January 1981
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First Report on Status and Progress of Noise Research and Control rams in the Federal Government - Volume 1 Report on Status and Progress
June 1975
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Issued in compliance with Section 4(c)(3) of the Noise Control Act of 1972 (PL 92-574), this report describes Federal noise control and research activities and establishes a baseline of agency program information that may be used in subsequent years to assess progress in the Federal Government's noise control efforts. Thirty-nine Federal agencies were requested to submit information on their noise related activities to EPA. Volume I of the report contains a summary and assessment of reported activities which are described both by agency and by the following functional areas: noise standards and regulations, noise abatement, hearing conservation, technical assistance, and research. Volume II consists of four reports describing Federal agency noise research, development, and demonstration programs in the areas of surface vehicle noise, aviation noise, noise effects, and machinery noise. The reports include project descriptions and fiscal data and were prepared jointly by the membership of four interagency research panels, formed in 1974 by EPA.

Occupational Hearing Conservation
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Pow! - Noise and Hearing Loss - NIH Consensus Development Conference
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The National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on Noise and Hearing Loss brought together biomedical and behavioral scientists, health care providers, and the public to address the characteristics of noise-induced hearing loss, acoustic parameters of hazardous noise exposure, individual and age-specific susceptibility, and prevention strategies. Following a day and a half of presentations by experts and discussion by the audience, a consensus panel weighed the evidence and prepared a consensus statement. Among their findings, the panel concluded that sounds of sufficient intensity and duration will damage the ear and result in temporary or permanent hearing loss at any age. Sound levels of less than 75 dB(A) are unlikely to cause permanent hearing loss, while sound levels above 85 dB(A) with exposure of 8 hours per day will produce permanent hearing loss after many years. Current scientific knowledge is inadequate to predict that any particular individual will be safe when exposed to a hazardous noise. Strategies to prevent damage from sound exposure should include the use of individual hearing protection devices, education programs beginning with school-age children, consumer guidance, increased product noise labeling, and hearing conservation programs for occupational settings.

Toward a National Strategy for Noise Control
April 1977
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This document has been developed to continue the dialogue on the overall goals of the noise program, the role of government, the role of consumers, and the role of industry in noise control, along with the selection of specific abatement and enforcement activities for EPA. It establishes a general framework for making decisions on the best strategy that EPA can employ to combat noise pollution. The primary goal of the Agency in the noise pollution area is to promote an environment for all Americans, free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. In order to reach this legislatively mandated objective five specific operational goals have been formulated. These are: (A)To take all practical steps to eliminate hearing loss resulting from noise exposure; (B)To reduce environmental noise exposure to an Ldn value of no more than 75 dB immediately; (C)To reduce noise exposure levels to Ldn 65 dB by vigorous regulatory and planning actions; (D)To strive for an eventual reduction of noise levels to an Ldn of 55 dB; and (E)To encourage and assist other Federal, State and local agencies in the adoption and implementation of long range noise control policies.

Foreign Noise Research in Health Effects
Frederick Dick Barber; Carl Modig
May 1981
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Analysis of Noise-Related Auditory and Associated Health Problems in the U.S. Population (1971-1975) - Volume 2
Judith D. Singer; T.J. Tomberlin; J.M. Smith; A.J. Schrier
March 1982
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The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) was designed to characterize the overall health and nutritional status of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 1-74 years and to permit examination of the prevalence of specific health conditions on a subsample of adults aged 25-74 years. Analyses presented in this report are based on the national probability subsample of 6913 adults aged 25-74 years who were administered an audiometric test as well as detailed questionnaires and physics: examinations dealing with hypertension and a variety of other health conditions. Detailed occupational descriptions were used in the present study to estimate approximate eight-hour noise levels for the sample of 3942 adults aged 25-74 years in the workforce. Among the major findings: 1. Hearing impairment is a widespread health problem in the United States; 2. Occupational noise exposure was identified as a major risk factor associated with the prevalence of hearing impairment among men; 3. Occupational noise exposure was not significantly related to hearing sensitivity among working women; 4. Occupational noise exposure was found to have a weak, but nevertheless significant association with hypertension for both men and women; 5. Among men, occupational noise exposure was associated with overall physical health, whereas among women, it was associated with only overall psychological health; and 6. No conclusive relationships were found between occupational noise exposure and the remaining indicators of specific health conditions.

Analysis of Noise-Related Auditory and Associated Health Problems in the U.S. Population (1971-1975)
Judith D. Singer; T.J. Tomberlin; J.M. Smith; A.J. Schrier
March 1982
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Assessment or the Applicability of Existing Health & Welfare Criteria to General Aviation Aircraft Noise and to General Aviation Airport Communities
Larry A. Ronk
March 1980
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Existing metrics of environmental noise and its impact on people are reviewed for their suitability in assessing the impact of general aviation (GA) noise on people in airport communities. GA aircraft consist of noncommercial aircraft in propellor-driven, jet, and helicopter categories. In a recent year over 124 million GA operations were performed at approximately 6,000 public-use airports. Available criteria (dose response relationships) are discussed in detail for various health effects of noise, focusing on individual and community annoyance responses, but also including noise-induced hearing loss, communication interference, sleep disturbance, and nonauditory physiological effects. It is concluded that there are only marginal differences in the way several noise metrics predict individual response; therefore, the simplest measurement (A-weighting without a duration correction) is recommended. For community response, no existing annoyance criteria may be entirely applicable to GA airport communities, based on results of several studies. For the time being the criteria developed by Schultz should be used. Information in appendices include a bibliography of health effects of aircraft noise; statistics on the mix of GA aircraft types, distribution of daily GA operations by airport types, and populations density around GA airports; and GA flight procedures.

Five-Year Plan for Effects of Noise on Health
December 1981
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Hip Talk - The Hearing Is Priceless (HIP) Program
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A set of multimedia educational materials on noise pollution and hearing protection.

Guidelines for Preparing Environmental Impact Statements of Noise
January 1977
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Guidelines are performed for the uniform description and assessment of the various noise environments potentially requiring an Environmental Impact Statement for Noise. In addition to general, audible noise environments, the report covers separately high-energy inpulse noise, special noises such as ultrasound and infrasound, and the environmental impact of structure-borne vibration. Whenever feasible3 and practical, a a single-number noise impact characterization is recommended, based on the new concept of level-weighted population: i.e., the summation over the total population of the product of each residential person times a weighting factor that varies with the yearly day-night average sound level outside the residence of that person. A sound-level weighting function for general impact and environmental degradation analysis is proposed, based in the average annoyance response observed in community response studies; this weighting function is supplemented by an additional weighting funcion at higher noise environments to quantify the potential of noise-induced hearing loss and general health effects. The evaluation of the environmental impact of vibration is derived from existing or proposed ISO standards. The report explains and justifies the procedures selected and gives examples of their application.

Noise - How Much is Too Much?
Henning E. von Gierke
May 1975
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Henning E. von Gierke contends that enough is known about the effects of noise on people to produce guidelines for maximum noise levels. Adopted by the Environmental Protection Ageny, these guidelines are designed to protect the public with an adequate margin of safety against hearing loss from occupational and environmental noise exposures and against interference with speech or other activities indoors or outdoors in residential areas.

Relation Between Daily Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss Based on the Evaluation of 6,835 Industrial Noise Exposure Cases
W.L. Baughn
June 1973
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The present study is designed to display the percent of a population exhibiting greater certain specified audiometric hearing levels as a function of specified exposure levels and duration of exposures to those levels. Audiometric data from 6,835 employees of an industrial plant were taken during the period from 1960 through 1965. The employees were selected only on the criterion that their noise exposures were reasonably well known. Hearing levels for each of three exposure conditions (78, 86 and 92 dBA) were obtained for the speech (0.5, 1, and 2 kHz) and the 4 kHz audiometric frequencies. The data are smoothed and hearing risk tables are presented.

Final Environmental Impact Statement
January 1981
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This amendment to the occupational noise standard imposes requirements for hearing conservation programs. It will beneficially impact the workplace environment by reducing hearing loss and other adverse health effects associated with noise exposure. The environment outside the workplace should not be significantly affected as a result of promulgation of the amendment. Minimal increases in capital costs and an increase in operating costs for some industries may occur. OSHA considered other reasonable alternatives in the development of the amendment: (1) revision of the permissible exposure limits for noise, (2) initiation of hearing conservation programs at higher or lower levels, (3) revision of the monitoring, testing, and training provisions, and (4) "no regulatory action." OSHA may conduct future proceedings concerning these and other alternatives.

Noise Hazard Evaluation - Sound Level Data of Noise Sources
Jeff Goldstein
January 1975
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This technical guide was developed as an aid simplification of the noise hazard assessment element of the installation hearing conservation program. Part I of the technical guide provides the reader with basic information necessary for the conduct of a routine occupational noise hazard evaluation, while part II provides additional information and guidance concerning typical personnel exposures to military noise sources.

Information on Levels of Environmental Noise Requisite to Protect Public Health and Welfare with an Adequate Margin of Safety
March 1974
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This document identifies noise levels consistent with the protection of public health and welfare against hearing loss, annoyance, and activity interference.

Annoyance, Loudness, and Measurement of Repetitive Type Impulsive Noise Sources
L.C. Sutherland; R.E. Burke
November 1979
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This study was undertaken to evaluate subjective and objective aspects of moderate levels of noise from impulsive sources. The study excluded evaluation of hearing damage risk or annoyance from building vibration by high level impulsive noise, which were covered by recent recommendations of the National Research Council, Committee on Hearing Bioacoustics and Bomechanics, Working Group 69. While the study included original investigations into some of the objective aspects of impulsive noise, a detailed review of the literature on the subjective aspects was emphasized. Based on this available literature, the annoyance and loudness from a wide variety of repetitive impulse noises were evaluated. These results were applied to the evaluation of impulsive noise from a number of specific noise sources. Based on the most pertinent literature, it is tentatively concluded that a subjective impulse correction factor of +7 dB applied to the A-weighted equivalent sound levels of these types of repetitive impulsive noise sources would better define their effective level in terms of annoyance reactions. No additional correction is identified at this time for crest level or repetition rate. Research on subjective correction factors for helicopter blade slap is also reviewed and potential reasons for the smaller subjective correction factors (i.e. 0 to 6 dB) for annoyance response to this type of sound are discussed. It is recommended that refinements to this subjective correction factor be based on the use of standard loudness calculation methods (Stevens Mark VII or Zwicker) modified to include provision for a shorter time constant to reflect subjective response to short duration impulsive sounds. The study also included a brief experimental evaluation of the measurement of a wide variety of simulated repetitive impulsive-type signals varying in duty cycle, repetition rate, pulse frequency, and ratio of peak impulse signal level to continuous background noise level. When repetitive impulses are measured using maximum values of A-weighted (slow) readings on an Impulse Sound Level Meter, no objective correction is necessary in order to measure, with an accuracy of +/- 1.5 dB, the equivalent level (Leq) of the wide variety of impulsive signals investigated.

Impact of Noise on People
May 1977
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Aviation noise significantly impacts approximately six million people in urban areas. In an effort to explain the impact of noise on these citizens, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) presents this brochure. Included are aircraft noise indices, information on humna response to noise, and criteria for land use controls. Additionally, hearing damage and occupational health standards for noise are described. FAA presents this information in an effort to enhance public understanding of the impact of noise on people and to answer many questions that typically arise.

First Report on Status and Progress of Noise Research and Control rams in the Federal Government - Volume 2 Research Panel Reports
June 1975
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