NOISE POLLUTION

Name – Sonali Singh

College Name-Surendranath College
Semester – 2
CU Registration No. – 115-1211-0529-20
CU Roll No. – 203115-11-0076
Subject – Environmental Studies

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of
gratitude to the honourable Principal Dr.
Indranil Kar, our Physics HOD teacher Mr.
Ranjit Maity and our Environmental Studies
teacher to give me the golden opportunity to
do this wonderful project of ENVS on ‘Noise
Pollution’ and also helping me in completing
my project. I would also like to thank my
parents and friends who helped me a lot .in
finalizing this project within the limited time
frame.

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 INDEX
Topic Page no.
1.Introduction 4-6
2.Types of Noise Pollution 7-8
3.Sources of Noise Pollution 8-13
4.Effects of Noise Pollution 13-18
5.Prevention of Noise Pollution 19-24
6.Noise Pollution in Urban India 24-25
7.Governmental Laws on Noise Pollution 25-26
in India
8.Green Muffler Scheme 27-28
9.Effect of Covid-19 on Noise Pollution 29-32
10.Conclusion 32-33
11.Bibliography 33-34

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 INTRODUCTION
What is noise?
Sound, a normal feature of our life, is the means of
communication and entertainment in most animals,
including human beings. It is also a very effective alarm
system. A low sound is pleasant whereas a loud sound
is unpleasant and is commonly referred to as ‘noise’.
Noise can be defined as an unpleasant and unwanted
sound that is loud and disruptive to hearing.
There are 4 different types of noise: continuous,
intermittent, impulsive and low frequency. Continuous
noise refers to noise that is produced continuously by
machinery that does not stop working while
intermittent noise refers to the quick rise or drop in
the noise volume. Additionally, impulsive noise is
characterised by its sudden and fast nature. Low
frequency noise refers to the background noise that we
hear in our surroundings.
These 4 types of noise contribute to the noise pollution
that we experience daily, especially in our highly
urbanised world today.

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What is noise pollution?

Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or

sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with
ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life,
most of them harmful to a degree. Florence
Nightingale recognized noise as a health hazard in
1859 when she wrote,

“Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can

be inflicted on either the sick or the well.”

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Noise pollution, an urban territorial phenomenon is
assuming serious proportions in every city. The
frequency and intensity of pollution has been
increasing day by day. Noise pollution is an annoyance
to human beings. The noise is usually machine-created
sound that disrupts activity or balance of human’s way
of life. It is a growing environmental problem that is
increasingly becoming an omnipresent, yet unnoticed
form of pollution not only in developed countries but
also in the developing countries. The word noise is
derived from Latin word ‘‘Nausea’’ implying
‘‘unwanted sound’’ or sound that is loud, unpleasant or
unexpected. It can be defined as wrong sound, in the
wrong place and at the wrong time.
The noise problems of the past pale in significance
When compared with those experienced by modern
city dwellers; noise pollution continues to grow in
extent, frequency, and severity as a result of
population growth, urbanization, and technological
developments. Due to exposure of noise people are
suffering from difference kinds of diseases like hearing
impairment, interference with spoken communication,
Sleep disturbances, cardiovascular disturbances,
annoyance etc.

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 Types of Noise Pollution:
The types of noise pollution are categorized into three
broadly.
1. Industrial Noise
Industrial noise is caused by some high intensity
decibels that is the result of industry machines and
other such appliances. The noise comes from the use
of mills, heavy industrial machines and even the small
exhaust fans that run for a long period. Noise from
mechanical saws and pneumatic drills is unbearable
and the ultimate form of pollution to the public and
neighbourhood. This is one cause of noise pollution.
2. Transport Noise: Transport noise is simply
inevitable. The traffic jams cause considerable amount

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of vehicle noise and the honking of the many vehicles
in the crowd are nothing but a pure nuisance. Whether
road, rail or aircraft, their noise is a considerable
contributor to noise pollution. Tractors and other
heavy vehicle sounds are difficult to control for their
sound.

3. Neighbourhood Noise
Gadgets, electrical appliances like the grinder and
mixer are the prime contributors to noise pollution.
Loud loudspeakers in the name of wedding, political
parties and other such events call for a significant
amount of noise pollution. In the long run, they
become difficult to bear posing problems to the health
of humans.

Sources of Noise Pollution

Noise contamination is an undesirable or hostile
sounds that irrationally interfere into our day by day
exercises. It has numerous sources, the majority of
which are related with urban improvement like street,
air ,rail transport, modern noise , neighbourhood and
recreational commotion. Various components add to

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issues of high noise levels, including expanding
population and expanding commotion levels in a
vehicle.
Major causes / sources of noise pollution are:
1. Industrial Sources

Progress in technology (industrialization) has resulted

in creating noise pollution. Textile mills, printing
presses, engineering establishments and metal works
etc. contribute heavily towards noise pollution. In
industrial cities like Kolkata, Ludhiana, Kanpur etc.,
often the industrial zones are not separated from the

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residential zones of the city especially in the case of
small scale industries.
These operate from workshops located on the ground
floors of the residential areas and cause annoyance,
discomfort and irri-tation to the residents exposed to
the noise that is inevitably produced. The situation is
much better in modern planned cities like Chandigarh
where the industrial area is kept away from the
residential areas and both are sepa-rated from each
other by a sufficiently wide green belt.
2. Transport Vehicles

Automobile revolution in urban centres has proved to

be a big source of noise pollution. Increasing traffic has
given rise to traffic jams in congested areas where the
repeated hooting of horns by impatient drivers pierce
the ears of all road users.

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Noise from airplanes constitutes an increasing serious
problem in big cities like Delhi & Mumbai. Airport
situated in the vicinity of population centres and the
air planes pass over residential areas. Heavy trucks,
buses trains, jet-planes, motor-cycles, scooters,
mopeds, jeeps—the list of vehicles is endless but the
outcome is same — noise pollution.
3. Household
The household is an industry in itself and is a source of
many indoor noises such as the banging of doors, noise
of playing children, crying of infants, moving of
furniture, loud conversation of the inhabitants etc.
Besides these are the entertainment equipment in the
house, namely the radio, record-players and television
sets. Domestic gadgets like the mixer-grinders,
pressure cookers, desert coolers, air- conditioners,
exhaust fans, vacuum cleaners, sewing and washing
machines are all indoor sources of noise pollution
4.Public Address System
In India people need only the slightest of an excuse for
using loud speakers. The reason may be a religious
function, birth, death, marriage, elections,
dem-onstration, or just commercial advertising. Public
system, therefore, contributes in its own way towards
noise pollution.

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 5. Agricultural Machines
Tractors, thrashers, harvesters, tube wells, powered
tillers etc. have all made agriculture highly mechanical
but at the same time highly noisy. Noise level 90 dB to
98 dB due to running of farm machines have been
recorded in the state of Punjab.
6. Defence Equipment
A lot of noise pollution is added to the atmosphere by
artillery, tanks, launching of rockets, explosions,
exercising of military airplanes and shooting practices.
Screams of jet engines and sonic booms have a
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deafening impact on the ears and in extreme cases
have been known to shatter the window panes and old
dilapidated buildings.
7. Miscellaneous Sources
The automobile repair shops, construction-works,
blasting, bulldozing, stone crushing etc. are other
sources of noise pollution.

Effects of Noise Pollution

The effects of noise pollution has a ill effects not only
on the human beings but also on other living and non-
living things, which will be discussed below:
1.Repeated Interference with sleep: In a social survey
carried out amongst people living in the vicinity of
London Airport, some 22 per cent said that they
sometimes found difficulty in getting to sleep because
of airport noises. In areas where the noise level was
particularly high, up to 50 per cent complained about
the noise. An even higher percentage said they were
awakened by high intensity noises, usually early at
night when sleep was not yet deep. After people have
been asleep for some hours, they do not readily wake
up, even when subjected to very loud noises. Different

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people have different depths of sleep and they can
adjust to nocturnal sounds. Undoubtedly, however,
noisy conditions near residential areas at night must be
avoided lack of continuous sleep has as counteract it.
Many techniques for sound insulation are available
today and can be applied at relatively modest expense.
2. Effect on hearing or deafness: These effects only
become of real importance if the sounds are
exceptionally loud. Continuous exposure to noise levels
much above 100 dB has an adverse effect on hearing
ability within a fairly short time. Many workers who are
exposed to the noise of jet aircraft or very noisy
workshops for even moderate periods soon develop
detectable hearing defects. Today it has become the
practice for workers in these situations to the

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equipped with ear protectors and provided these are

worn all the time hearing ability is not affected.

3. Effect on Communication or Speech Interference:
External sounds can interfere with conversation and
use of the telephone, and well as the enjoyment of
radio and television programmes and like pastimes. It
can thus affect the efficiency of offices, schools and
other places where communication is of vital
importance. The maximum accepted level of noise
under such conditions in 55 dB. 70 dB is considered
very noisy and serious interference with verbal
communications is inevitable.

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4. Mental or Physiological Effects: Many people
complain that noise makes them mentally ill.
Experiments have been performed to attempt to
confirm or disprove these claims. According to the
H.M. Stationary Office report Noise; noise certainly
does not contribute in the least to mental illness.
Doctors and scientist have now medically confirmed
that noise disturbs the biological organisms and their
respective functions of the humans. Fire crackers and
other excessive and continuous explosives become
physically painful giving rise to neurosis, mental illness,
cardiovascular diseases, stomach ulcers and respiratory
disorders reducing human life. Recent researches have
concluded that short exposures to noise (in excess of
about 100 dB) leads to adverse effects on foetus,
headache and, dizziness, dilatoriness in intestines,
stomach problems and effects on eye sights to the
extent that these at times become incurable.
5. Effects on Physical Health and working efficiency or
Psychological problems: Noise has little physical effect
on the biological performance provided that the noise
level is below about 90 dB. Damage to the inner ear
may result if continuous noise levels exceed about 100
dB as has been observed by the Doctors leading to
physical illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists have in
recent researches have made observations that noise

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has certain relation with physical health causing
tension resulting in problems such as speech
interference, annoyance, fatigue, sleep interference
and emotional distress. Noise levels in industries
causes interference in efficiency and communication
and raises possibilities of accidents. World Health
Organisation has estimated remarkable loss in the
industries annually.

6. Effects on other animals and other living things:

The effect caused by industries, railways, crackers,
explosions and commotion in the cities, aircrafts etc.,

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can be felt on animals, birds, mice, fishes and domestic
animals for they are susceptible to various effects of
due to exposure noise levels change their places. Birds
avoid migrating to places where noise level is above
100 dB. The noise emissions caused by supersonic
aircraft, railway noise emissions etc., may cause
miscarriage in mammals and fishes as well as birds are
observed to have stopped laying eggs. Thus to sum up
animals and other living things become upset more
than human beings and in the direct cause of
ecological in balance.
7.Effect on non-living things: Intense noise levels
affects non-living things too. The noise booms cause
cracks in national and archaeological monuments as
well as very high. Levels of noise are the cause of
cracks in hills. High intensity explosions can break glass
panes and vibrations in the buildings. Research work at
India and abroad is being done so as to access its
gravity on non-living things so that precautions could
be taken forehand to reduce impact thereof.

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Prevention of Noise Pollution
We can reduce noise Pollution by following the below
mentioned Tips:
1. Turn of Appliances at Homes and Offices:

We can turn off home and office appliances when not

in use such as TV, games, computers etc. it can create
unnecessary stress on ears. We can save electricity also
when we turn them off.
2. Shut the door when using noisy machines:
We can shut the door after we turn on dishwashers or
washing machines for rooms where it is kept or we can
turn them on before leaving the house so that
overlapping of exposure to loud noises can be reduced

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 3. Use Earplugs:

Use of earplugs or earmuffs can bring down loud

noises to a manageable level. Earplugs are small
inserts that fit into our ear canal. And earmuffs fit
over the entire outer ear to form an air seal
keeping ears safe from loud noises.
4. Lower the volume:
We can listen to songs, radios, TVs in lower volume
when listening from headphones or speakers.
Stay away from Noisy area: Noise producing industries,
airports, vehicles should be far from residential areas
as it is very dangerous for infants and senior citizens.

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 5. Follow the limits of noise level:

Community law should check the use of loudspeakers,

outdoor parties as well as political public
announcements.
6. Control of Noise level near sensitive areas:
There should be control on noise level (Silent zones)
near schools, hospitals. Place noise limits boards near
sensitive areas.
7. Go green by planting trees:

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We can plant more trees as they are good noise
absorbents. According to studies, it can reduce noise
by 5 to 10 decibels Db around them.
8. Create healthy noise to eliminate unwanted
noise:
If we can’t eliminate unwanted noise coming from
outside then we can create healthier noise such as
music, singing birds or waterfalls in homes or offices.
9. Use Noise Absorbents in Noisy Machineries:
We can check for pieces of machinery which are
creating noise due to vibrations and put some noise
absorbents to reduce noise.

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 10. Use Proper Lubrication and Better
Management:

We can use proper lubrication as well as better

maintenance of machines to reduce noise pollution
and improve efficiency. It reduces friction between
movable parts and helps to reduce noise.
11. Notify authorities about disobedience of
noise rules:
We can notify government agencies if someone is not
following rules and regulation regarding noise levels.
12. Regularly check noise levels:
Regularly checking noise level in an industrial complex
and indoor to keep noise level within the limit. It is

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necessary to control the noises created around us. It is
necessary to aware people around us through various
mediums. We can start from ourselves to spread
awareness about noise pollution and its effects on
human and the environment. Limit for noise at daytime
is 55 dB and in the night it is 30 dB to avoid health
effects.

NOISE POLLUTION IN URBAN

INDIA
The urban areas of India have become highly
populated in past few decades. In the last decade, it
rose by 31.8%. This has led to certain environmental
and health issues that also include environmental
pollution. Some causes are unavoidable and are
required to be followed for the developmental
activities. So, it is not possible to completely avoid
them. But, some preventive measures sure can be
taken to control and minimize the extent of it. As per
the Prevention and Control of Pollution Act
implemented in 1981, the noise is termed as an ‘air-
pollutant’. It is that unpleasant, distracting and
unnecessary sound that ought to be avoided due to its
sleep depriving and concentration-lowering impact.

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The person gets annoyed due to the persistent
uneasiness caused by them. According to the WHO
guidelines, for a sound sleep, the noise in that room
should not be more than 30dBA. For maintaining
concentration in any classroom, it should not exceed
35dBA. The noise levels more than these limits on a
continuous basis, may harm mental as well as physical
health on a short term and long term basis. Sadly
enough, this issue is not taken that seriously infront of
other forms of pollution – air pollution and water
pollution.

Governmental Actions on
Noise Pollution in India

In March 2011, the Central Pollution Control Board

established the first part of noise pollution monitoring
network in 35 major cities in India including all the
metros like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Bengaluru, Lucknow and Chennai. The system is a part
of the National Environmental Policy adopted in 2006.
It is expected that by the establishment of second and
third parts, the number of locations to be monitored

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will be increased160 cities covering various parts of
Indian states.
Under the Environmental Protection Act, the Central
Government came up with Noise Pollution (Regulation
and Control) Rules 2000 which were to be
implemented once they got published in the official
gazette. These rules are meant for the following:
Implementation of noise standards in different zones
or areas. Restrict the use of loud-speakers. Restrict the
over-usage of horns, sound creating equipments for
construction and fire-crackers. Allotting responsibility
to State Pollution Control Boards or Committees and
the Central Pollution Control Board, for collecting,
processing and providing the statistical data about the
noise pollution, so that adequate measures may be
taken to prevent and control it. On violation of these
rules, the person shall be liable for penalty as per the
Act.

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 GREEN MUFFLER SCHEME

Group of Ashoka Trees with new leaves

Green Muffler is a technique of reducing noise
pollution by planting 4-6 rows around the populated
areas or noisy places like along roadsides, industrial
areas, societies near highways, etc. so that dense trees
reduce noise pollution as they filter out the noise and
obstruct it reaching the citizens.
Under this scheme Ashoka and Neem plants are
planted near the house or resident localities to reduce
noise pollution.

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They control noise pollution. Even urban noises are
muffled by trees just like stone walls.
- An advantage of using plants as noise blockers is that
they absorb sounds best in the high frequencies that
people find it annoying.
- Evergreen shrubs that too with broader leaves
provide year round noise protection so, they are best
to plant. Trees absorb sound waves with
their branches and foliage.
- Plant trees with no space or less space to reduce
noise pollution.
- In fact soft ground is an efficient noise absorber. So,
avoid hard surfaces to plant trees. Also, cultivate the
ground before planting and adding organic matter to
the surface of the soil may also help to reduce noise
when vegetations will be established.

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 EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON
NOISE POLLUTION
Noise Pollution falls as lockdown rings in sound of
silence:
There has been no honking, no whirr of vehicular
engines, no echo of loudspeakers and no clanking of
machinery in factories. For industrial areas, the
standard is 75 dB(A) during the day and 70dB (A) at
night time. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive
director, Research and Policy at the Centre for Science
and Environment (CSE) says the impact is being seen
most across industrial areas and traffic hotspots. “Busy
roads which would constantly get noise pollution from
horns and vehicles driving by are completely quiet
now. Industries too which have shut down during the
lockdown, meaning noise pollution there is extremely
low as well,” said Chowdhury.
A study by Indraprastha Institute of Information
Technology (IIIT) Delhi carried out recently had found
that honking of vehicles is a bigger noise polluter than
firecrackers with decibel levels going up to 100 db(A)
and higher. The study was conducted by Biyani,
assistant professor with Electronic and Communication
(ECE), department of IIIT-D. Noise pollution was

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measured on eight prominent roads and 12
intersections of the city, including Anand Vihar, IP
Extension, Govindpuri metro station, Maharani Bagh,
Dwarka Sector 10 and Connaught Place.
Biyani said the Govindpuri Metro station area, which
had sound decibels of around 100 daily, “has now
reduced to around 50-60 decibels due to the less
number of vehicles on the road.”
Cities chirpier as sound of birds replaces honking:
Dr Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist in-charge at Yamuna
Biodiversity Park (YBP) says noise levels above 20 dB(A)
are known to disturb birds. However, with reduced
human activity and noise, their chirping is being heard
clearly now. The sight and sounds of birds replaced car
horns and many other sources of noise pollution in

Kolkata, amid the nationwide lockdown to curb the

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spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-
19).This was an unprecedented phenomenon,
according to several of the city’s residents.

A yellow-footed green pigeon, known as Hariyal in local

language, spotted during lockdown. Photo by Kalyan
Rudra.
Kolkata’s air and noise pollution were reduced by
50-75 per cent during the lockdown, according to
data released by the West Bengal Pollution
Control Board.

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Coppersmith barbet spotted during lockdown. Photo
by-Kalyan Rudra.
The sighting of bird species like the yellow-footed
green pigeon, purple sunbird, the coppersmith barbet,
common tailorbird, common kingfisher, the
woodpecker and several others were recorded.

CONCLUSION
• Improved traffic management practices such as
one way traffic movement, proper management of
buses in the traffic stream may reduce traffic noise
level to some extent. Proper noise barriers should
be constructed under flyovers to mitigate the
traffic noise level.
• The Factories Act,1948 does not contain a specific
provision of noise control while it has been found
in a number of cases that high intensities, high
frequencies, high intermittency of noise are the
factor of annoyance for the workers.
• The Central and the State Boards now exercise the
powers and functions under Section 16 and 17 of
the Air Act, respectively with regard to the

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 prevention and control of noise pollution including
the laying down of noise standards.
• Noise adversely affects general health and well
being in the same way as does chronic stress. It
adversely affects future generations by degrading
residential, social, and learning environments with
corresponding economic losses.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I have used the following websites to do the

project work:-

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_pollution
• https://www.shutterstock.com/search/noise+poll
ution
• https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia
/noise-pollution/
• https://m.jagranjosh.com/general-
knowledge/amp/what-is-green-muffler-and-how-
it-controls-noise-pollution-1489485937-1
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nois
e-pollution-health-effects

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• https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/what-is-
noise-pollution-causes-effects-solutions
• https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/what-is-
noise-pollution-causes-effects-solutions

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