Vehicular Noise Pollution: Its Environmental Implications and Strategic Control

Abstract

Noise pollution has been recognized as one of the major hazard that impacts the quality of life all around the world. Because of the rapid increase in technology, industrialization, urbanization and other communication and transport systems, noise pollution has reached to a disturbing level over the years which needs to be studied and controlled to avoid different health effects like high blood pressure, sleeplessness, nausea, heart attack, depression, dizziness, headache, and induced hearing loss. To address this situation, different countries have different strategies like vehicular noise limits and their regulation, vehicles physical health checkup, different time of operations for noisy traffic like trucks in the evening or night time, and noise pollution fines for noisy vehicles.

A Comprehensive Review of Noise Measurement, Standards, Assessment, Geospatial Mapping and Public Health

“…It has also been reported that noise pollution in colleges results in annoyance, lack of concentration, speech interference, stress, low productivity, increased absenteeism, and other negative effects (Obot & Ibanga, 2013). Students learning outcomes have been significantly impacted by their learning environment; and noise has been observed to be one of the main factors that distracted pupils, impaired their ability to pay attention and concentrate, and caused headaches and anxiety (Farooqi et al, 2020). A noise pollution survey conducted in an educational institute observed that 62% of people had a disturbance in the teaching-learning process, 18% for classroom discussion, and 20% had health problems and mental stress (Debnath et al, 2012), as shown in Fig.…”

Status and noise reduction analysis of robotics lab in an academic institute by using acoustic materials

“…[5][6][7]9,[19][20][21][22] Exposure to high noise levels from workshops/laboratories cause disturbances in teaching-learning process, such as classroom discussion, task performance, problem-serving and mental stress. 14,20,[23][24][25][26] Therefore, it is crucial to utilize efficient acoustic (sound insulation) or sound absorption materials in workshops/ laboratories in educational institutes for noise mitigation.…”

“…5–7,9,19–22 Exposure to high noise levels from workshops/laboratories cause disturbances in teaching-learning process, such as classroom discussion, task performance, problem-serving and mental stress. 14,20,23–26…”

Preparation of Industrial Noise Mapping and Improvement of Environmental Quality

“…Sheikh et al [8] stated that excessive noise affects hearing loss. Farooqi et al [9] pointed out that excessive noise causes high blood pressure, heart disease, and headache. Basner and McGuire [10] examined the effect of noise on sleep and stated that noise decreases sleep continuity, decreases total sleep time, and causes fragmented sleep.…”

“…The results of industrial noise levels in Oran demonstrated that noise levels were ranged from 95 to 115 dBA. Farooqi et al [9] emphasized that different industries such as the textile industry, wood industry, and steel mills have different machines. In summary, it is understood that there can be many different types of noise sources in industrial noise analysis, and all different types of industrial noise sources may need to be considered in noise analysis.…”