The Social Consequences of Noise

Abstract

The social consequences of noise can be divided roughly into two main categories. First, there is the working environment, in which the noise levels may be sufficiently high to cause long term physical damage to hearing, and secondly there is the community environment, where noise intrudes on the privacy of the individual. There is now growing public awareness of noise, and political pressures to control exposure and annoyance are increasing. For the work of the engineer to be socially acceptable in this new political climate, it is necessary for positive steps to be taken to control noise. This can be done by the design of the machine or system, the method of operation, or planning controls on times and places of operation. In practice a combination of all three methods of control is generally the most efficient solution. If unrealistic restrictions on operation are not to be imposed, it is generally necessary to make sure that the basic design is sufficiently quiet. Noise output should be one of the basic design parameters to be considered in the preliminary stages of design, along with the other factors such as performance, cost, effluent, etc. Examples of designs to reduce noise are given. These include specific reference to transportation systems and process plant. An assessment is given of the improvements likely within our existing technology.