About the EPA document collection held by the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.
Keyword Index: A H L M O P R S W
Title Index: A B C D E L M N P R S U
Large list of titles (no abstracts).
Most useful EPA documents.
Measures of Noise Level: Their Relative Accuracy in Predicting Objective and Subjective Responses to Noise During Sleep
Jerome S. Lukas
PDF
A review of domestic and foreign scientific literature on the effects of noise on human sleep indicates that no sleep disruption can be predicted with good accuracy (correlation coefficients of about 0.80) if the noise descriptor accounts for the frequency-weighted spectrum and the duration of the noise. Units such as EdBA, EPNdB, and SENEL are better predictors than a unit such as maximum dBA. Furthermore, no sleep disruption can be predicted more accurately than arousal or behavioral awakening responses. Some evidence suggests that questionnaires about subjective sleep quality should contain items dealing with the subject's (a) sense of well being on arising, (b) sense of the general quality of his sleep, and (c)estimates on how long it took to fall asleep. Scores on these items can be summed to develop a Composite Sleep Quality measure. Although the amount of evidence is limited, such Composite Sleep Quality is correlated highly (about 0.90) with Composite Noise Rating (CNR) when units of EPNdB or EdBA are used to calculate CNR. Other techniques for calculating the total nighttime noise environment, such as Leq and NNI, have some shortcomings with respect to their ability to predict Composite Sleep Quality.
The Urban Noise Survey
Sanford Fidell
PDF
Most of the existing social survey data base on community annoyance has been in character and has been concerned primarily with airport and highway related noise. An essential element in assessing the impact of noise in urban areas away from airports and highways is the evaluation of the attitudes of people concerning the noise in the residential environment. A social survey was conducted to sample opinion over the entire range of noise exposure and population density characteristics of non-rural America.The objective of the Urban Noise Survey was to develop a first order relationship between noise exposure and human response as a function of situational and attitudinal variables associated with the life styles of people in various urban environments. This survey differed from prior surveys in the general area of noise pollution in several important aspects: (1) it was specifically designed to study noise exposure not directly related to airport and highway sources; (2) the social survey was made in conjunction with simultaneous physical measurements of noise exposure at sites with widely different noise environments; (3) it was national rather than local in character and was addressed to a broad rather than narrow range of noise exposures and respondents' life styles. Some of the major conclusions are that: (a) exposure to noise typical of many urban (non-aircraft and non-highway) environments produces widespread annoyance, speech interference, and sleep disturbance; (b) a strong relationship was demonstrated between exposure level and the proportion of a community highly annoyed by noise; (c) the prevalence of speech interference is an especially good predictor of annoyance; (d) the number of complaints about noise is a poor predictor of the prevalence of annoyance; (e) demographic factors alone are relatively poor predictors of noise annoyance; (f) freedom from noise exposure is a component of a neighborhood satisfaction, and quiet is highly valued; (g) noises associated with automotive sources are the most pervasive sources of annoying noise in urban areas; (h) annoyance associated with intrusive noise sources may be related to measurable noise exposure from such sources, even when their magnitudes are not as great as the level of overall exposure in a community; (i) there is some evidence that human response to noise exposure at Ldn values in excess of 70 dB is more acute than at lower levels.
Control of Snowmobile Noise Volume 1 Technology and Cost Information
Bruce A. Davy, Ben H. Sharp
PDF
This document contains information useful for the development of noise emission standards for snowmobiles. Topics covered include information on snowmobile construction, noise characteristics of models currently on the market, and noise reduction techniques and costs necessary to achieve specified noise levels,
The Ability of Mildly Hearing-Impaired Individuals to Discriminate Speech in Noise
Alice H. Suter
PDF
The investigation explores 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-decibel 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: 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. Forty-eight subjects were tested with two types of speech materials: the University of Maryland Test #1 which employs simple, "everyday" sentences, and the Modified Rhyme Test, a closed-set test of rhyming monosyllables. Speech stimuli were presented at 60 dBA measured at the listener's ear. The noise stimulus, a babble of twelve voices, was presented at levels of 60 to 65 dBA. Subjects were divided into three groups according to their hearing levels at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. One group had normal hearing at all tested audiometric frequencies and the other two had mild hearing losses in the mid-frequencies and considerable amounts of loss in the high frequencies, which is typical of noise-hearing loss. Subjects listened to both speech materials in a quiet condition and in three levels of background noise. Group scores were compared in a three-factor analysis of variance and correlations between audiometric frequencies and individual discrimination scores were performed. Conclusions are drawn about the differences between the three groups, the effect of increasing noise on the discrimination of speech by hearing-impaired individuals, the equivalence of two kinds of speech materials, and the importance of certain audiometric frequencies to the discrimination of speech. Recommendations are made for computing hearing handicap in terms of the height of the fence and the inclusion of frequencies above 2000 Hz.
The Urban Noise Survey
Sanford Fidell
PDF
Most of the existing social survey data base on community annoyance has been in character and has been concerned primarily with airport and highway related noise. An essential element in assessing the impact of noise in urban areas away from airports and highways is the evaluation of the attitudes of people concerning the noise in the residential environment. A social survey was conducted to sample opinion over the entire range of noise exposure and population density characteristics of non-rural America.The objective of the Urban Noise Survey was to develop a first order relationship between noise exposure and human response as a function of situational and attitudinal variables associated with the life styles of people in various urban environments. This survey differed from prior surveys in the general area of noise pollution in several important aspects: (1) it was specifically designed to study noise exposure not directly related to airport and highway sources; (2) the social survey was made in conjunction with simultaneous physical measurements of noise exposure at sites with widely different noise environments; (3) it was national rather than local in character and was addressed to a broad rather than narrow range of noise exposures and respondents' life styles. Some of the major conclusions are that: (a) exposure to noise typical of many urban (non-aircraft and non-highway) environments produces widespread annoyance, speech interference, and sleep disturbance; (b) a strong relationship was demonstrated between exposure level and the proportion of a community highly annoyed by noise; (c) the prevalence of speech interference is an especially good predictor of annoyance; (d) the number of complaints about noise is a poor predictor of the prevalence of annoyance; (e) demographic factors alone are relatively poor predictors of noise annoyance; (f) freedom from noise exposure is a component of a neighborhood satisfaction, and quiet is highly valued; (g) noises associated with automotive sources are the most pervasive sources of annoying noise in urban areas; (h) annoyance associated with intrusive noise sources may be related to measurable noise exposure from such sources, even when their magnitudes are not as great as the level of overall exposure in a community; (i) there is some evidence that human response to noise exposure at Ldn values in excess of 70 dB is more acute than at lower levels.
Noise Source Regulation in State and Local Noise Ordinances
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Noise Abatement and Control Staff
PDF
This document has been prepared as a planning and reference guide for public administrators of environmental noise control programs. It presents a summary of noise source regulations encompassed in current state laws and local ordinances. Data have been extracted from only those laws and ordinances stipulating specific decibel levels. For the states, the laws summarized are grouped under the headings: motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, land use, and general. For localities, the headings are: motor vehicles, recreational vehicles, intrusive noise sources, stationary noise sources, construction noise, and miscellaneous noise regulations. Because of the many variations among local jurisdictional regulations, no attempt was made to list the specific noise level requirements for recreational vehicles, construction equipment, or land use.