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NOISE POLLUTION
Vijayalakshmi,
Dr. (Miss) K.S. “Noise Pollution” in Martin J. Bunch,
V. Madha Suresh and T. Vasantha Kumaran, eds., Proceedings
of the Third International Conference on Environment and Health,
Chennai, India, 15-17 December, 2003. Chennai: Department
of Geography, University of Madras and Faculty of Environmental
Studies, York University. Pages 597 – 603.
Abstract:
Urbanization,
ie., growth of urban population, has awful1y accelerated during
this century and has been faster in developing countries than
in the advanced ones. The problems associated with the rapid change
in human environment have intensified in the cities. It is here
that physical environment is becoming increasingly polluted, the
man-made environment of slums, restricted living space and noise
are at their worst and the changes in the social environments
have aggravated many problems
Not very for
back, in the past, this very environment was pure, virgin and
un-contaminated, and basically quite hospitable for mankind. It
is all due to thoughtless over-exploitation of our various natural
resources, by our own activities, perhaps due to our unending
greed, in the garb of ‘development’, and the egoistic
attitude towards "Nature"
The pollutants reach us through the air we breath. the water we
drink, the food we eat and the sound we hear. Morris K.Uddal rightly
said "The more we exploit, the more our options are reduced,
until we have only one to fight for survival. We are destroying
the environment and the biosphere, where we live”
This paper
deals with sequence of various acoustical disturbances caused
in the wake of noise pollution in the segments of industrial,
commercial and traffic activities; how it would be harmful to
the society atlarge explaining its insidious effects and the measures
to be adopted to contain its adverse and ill-effects against deterioration
of environment.
Noise is an
important environmental pollutant like noxious gases that befoul
our air, water and soil. It destroys bridges and produces cracks
in buildings. The noise can cause skin and mental diseases.
According to Robert Koch a Nobel Prize Winner German bacteriologist.
| “A
day will come man will have to fight merciless noise as the
worst enemy of health” |
According
to him “ Noise Like Smog is a Slow Agent of Death.”
Broadly speaking, Intensity is the energy of sound waves and Frequency
is the number of times per second the sound waves hit the ear
of man. On the basis of the above definition, the loudness which
is more commonly understood source of noise, is in fact Combination
of Intensity and Frequency can be measured in DECIBELS.
A decibel can be defined as an abstract unit. It is to be remembered
that the threshold at the normal hearing is 20-25 decibels and
of normal conversation is 60 decibels. It has also been noticed
that speech interference occurs at 75 decibels and definite annoyance
begins at 80 decibels. The motor- activities disturbed at 90 decibels
and physiological disturbance occurs beyond 120 decibels Definite
pain occurs at 140 decibels
It is awareness,
reason and rational action that offer a visible alternative to
the continued misuse of the environment. It is only an aware citizenry
that can play a vital role in environmental preservation.
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