A procedure for the assessment of low frequency noise complaints

Abstract

The development and application of a procedure for the assessment of low frequency noise (LFN) complaints are described. The development of the assessment method included laboratory tests addressing low frequency hearing threshold and the effect on acceptability of fluctuation, and field measurements complemented with interview-based questionnaires. Environmental health departments then conducted a series of six trials with genuine "live" LFN complaints to test the workability and usefulness of the procedure. The procedure includes guidance notes and a pro-forma report with step-by-step instructions. It does not provide a prescriptive indicator of nuisance but rather gives a systematic procedure to help environmental health practitioners to form their own opinion. Examples of field measurements and application of the procedure are presented. The procedure and examples are likely to be of particular interest to environmental health practitioners involved in the assessment of LFN complaints.

The Influence of Low-Frequency Noise Pollution on the Quality of Life and Place in Sustainable Cities: A Case Study from Northern Portugal

“…Due to the influence of the equipment, an analysis was made for 20 min using shutdown equipment. According to [11], this is the frequency band in which refrigerators operate, which could account for the reference values being exceeded in the 50 Hz frequency band (Figure 11). This deduction can be confirmed with the results obtained after shutdown equipment (Figure 12), where the criterion curve was exceeded in this band (50 Hz).…”

“…The measuring points were selected based on the methodology used by [11] concerning the exposure to electromagnetic fields in Serzedelo. This included houses near the source (e.g., within 50 m), and houses away from the source (e.g., at a distance equal to or greater than 250 m).…”

“…In the second approach, a more in-depth analysis was carried out. which consisted of taking measurements for 72 h. All the measurement values were compared with the values of the criterion curve proposed by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [11] to evaluate whether the measured values cause annoying conditions. This study followed the sequence of an exploratory one, using surveys undertaken in 2010 in the village of Serzedelo using the same two groups: the "near the source" group (118 individuals were interviewed) and the "away from the source" group (55 individuals were interviewed) [12].…”

Contribution of Small Wind Turbine Structural Vibration to Noise Emission

“…This can be seen around 20 Hz at the bottom the figure, as was expected. Figure 11c shows human threshold criteria taken from [36]. These values indicate that only the frequency of 48 Hz can reach the hearing threshold, and the rest are below the threshold.…”

Method for generating realistic sound stimuli with given characteristics by controlled combination of audio recordings

“…For instance, Moorhouse et al 1 assess the influence of the spectrum on the threshold of acceptability of low frequency noise, Vos and Houben 2 assess the influence of the occurrence frequency of impulse events (i.e., short duration) on awakening probability, and Hong and Jeon 3 assess the influence on preference and environmental quality of the semantic category of events conforming the soundscape.…”