Environmental Technology

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Environmental Technology

• Excessive Noise
• Noise Generators

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Obj 7.05 Excessive Noise?

• Physical Damage
• Temporary hearing loss
• Below 80 dBA usually OK
• Permanent hearing loss
• 150 dBA or more can shatter eardrum
• Can increase blood pressure and pulse rate

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Obj 7.05 Excessive Noise?

• Emotional Psychological Damage
• High anxiety, stress and irritability
• Lack of sleep
• Mental fatigue
• Lack of concentration

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Obj 7.06 Noise Generators

• Roadway traffic
• Railway traffic
• Air traffic
• Industrial, manufacturing (including
  construction), and other production noise

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How much is too much?

• The various ministries at the Federal, Provincial
  levels (e.g. Ministry of the Environment)
  establish requirements for noise assessment and
  control
• Municipalities will establish by-laws on noise

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Roadway Traffic

• Distance from roadway to receiver
• Obstacles between roadway and receiver
• Elevation of roadway and receiver

• Traffic volume
• Operating speed
• Vehicle type and mix
• Road grade
• Pavement type

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Railway Traffic

• Volume of trains
• Operating speed
• Number of engines
• Length of train
• Rail grade
• Rail condition and maintenance
• Freight vs passenger

• Distance from railway to receiver
• Obstacles between railway and receiver
• Elevation of railway and receiver
• Crossing protection and whistles

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Air Traffic

• Number of runways
• Runway orientation
• Number of planes
• Scheduling and hours of operation
• Type of aircraft

• Distance from runway to receiver
• Restrictions on power for takeoff
• Restrictions on landing paths, heights of approach

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Industry Noise

• Type of industry and machinery
• Hours of operation
• Inside vs outside noise production
• Heavy vehicle transportation needs
• Distance from noise source to receiver

• Obstacles and barriers between source and
  receiver
• Elevation of source and receiver

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Obj 7.07 Maximum Noise Levels

• MOEE Ontario is responsible for guidelines and
  noise requirements
• MOEE has software (STAMSON) capable of predicting
  noise levels from road rail traffic
• estimated noise levels are then compared to the
  maximums set by MOEE

MOEE
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Obj 7.07 EXAMPLE

• for a Single Family Home
• Outdoor
• noise limit is 55dBA for an outdoor living area
  56m2, centred 3m from the back of the house
  (other sizes for other housing types)

• this means that the maximum tolerable noise in a
  backyard is 55dBA (conversational speech)
• when these limits cannot be met due to occasional
  air or rail traffic, a Noise Warning Clause is
  registered on the title of property to warn
  prospective buyers, as with easements

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Obj 7.07 EXAMPLE

• indoor
• noise limits are much lower
• they depend on the room type and the time of day
• noise levels in a bedroom between 11 pm and 7 am
  must not exceed 40dBA (library)

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Obj 7.08 Noise Control

• Apart from zoning by-laws that can restrict
  what activities can be carried out on particular
  parcels of land and at what times of the year,
  week or day, what strategies can be used to abate
  the effects of noise?

• Reduce Noise Level at its Source
• an ongoing objective of vehicle and machinery
  manufacturers
• isolation of machinery using acoustical
  enclosures and absorbent mounts
• regular and thorough maintenance

• Increase Source-to-Recipient Distance
• high demand for transporation and accessiblity
• space economics in modern urban areas makes
  this a non-viable approach after the fact
• Site Planning can address this

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Obj 7.08 Noise Control

• Protect Recipient
• ear protection such as ear plugs or ear muffs
• only an option in certain working environments
• cannot apply this approach to everyone (analogous
  to fitting everyone with breathing apparati or
  bubble suits)

• Intercept Noise
• Site Planning Techniques
• noise barriers
• special building components and materials

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Obj 7.09 Site Planning Techniques
vegetation

• easiest and most cost-effective way to abate
  noise is during development when site plans are
  being produced
• Figure 6 in Course Notes shows a site plan for an
  office building, adjacent to a noise source (road
  or rail)

• sacrificial townhouse units are placed next to
  expressways or railways to insulate the rest of
  the subdivision from the noise
• townhouse wall facing noise source is constructed
  as a noise barrier

use building itself to block noise
use topography
coniferous trees, hedges, bushes
hills, berms,
landscaping
parking lots in front
(noise insensitive)
several simple noise abatement techniques used