Noise pollution
[7][8] In animals, noise can increase the risk of death by altering predator or prey detection and avoidance, interfere with reproduction and navigation, and contribute to permanent hearing loss.
Although sound pressure and intensity differ, both can describe the level of loudness by comparing the current state to the threshold of hearing; this results in decibel units on the logarithmic scale.
In 2014, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study examining the efficacy of 192 sound measurement apps on Apple and Android smartphones.
[28][29] As a result of this study, they created the NIOSH Sound Level Meter App to increase accessibility and decrease costs of monitoring noise using crowdsourcing data with a tested and highly accurate application.
Noise pollution is associated with several health conditions, including cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects.
As such, fast cars or Harley Davidson motorcycles with aftermarket pipes tend to have louder engines not only for safety reasons, but for expressions of power by dominating the soundscape with a particular sound.
[43] People with ASD who experience hyperacusis may have unpleasant emotions, such as fear and anxiety, and uncomfortable physical sensations in noisy environments with loud sounds.
[44] This can cause individuals with ASD to avoid environments with noise pollution, which in turn can result in isolation and negatively affect their quality of life.
[55] Anthropogenic noise created in the marine environment, such as pile driving and shipping, are picked up through particle motion; these activities exemplify near-field stimuli.
[57] In another study that focused on Pagurus bernhardus and the blue mussel, (Mytilus edulis) physical behaviors exhibited a stress response to noise.
The squid was exposed to sounds of construction known as pile driving, which impacts the sea bed directly and produces intense substrate-borne and water-borne vibrations.
The dolphins were exposed to elevated noise levels due to construction in the Pearl River Estuary in China, specifically caused by the world's largest vibration hammer—the OCTA-KONG.
[63] One study discovered that as seismic noises and naval sonar increases in marine ecosystems, cetacean, such as whales and dolphins, diversity decreases.
[66] Anthropogenic noise can have a detrimental effect on animals, increasing the risk of death by changing the delicate balance in predator or prey detection[67] and avoidance, and interfering with the use of the sounds in communication, especially in relation to reproduction, and in navigation and echolocation.
A variation in the complexity of their sensory systems exists, which allows scientists to study a range of characteristics and develop a better understanding of anthropogenic noise impacts on living organisms.
[77] The principal anthropogenic noise sources come from merchant ships, naval sonar operations, underwater explosions (nuclear), and seismic exploration by oil and gas industries.
The use of smaller motorboats, for purposes as fishing or tourism within coral reef areas, and larger vessels, such as cargo ships transporting goods, significantly amplifies disturbances to the natural marine soundscape.
[90] Both temporary and permanent noise pollution has been found to induce changes in the distributional, physiological, and behavioral patterns of coral reef organisms.
Some of the observed changes has been compromised hearing, increased heart rate in coral fish and a reduction in the number of larvae reaching their settlement areas.
[93] In contrast, male grasshoppers exposed to loud traffic noise can create signals with a higher local frequency maximum of 7622 Hz.
There are a variety of natural underwater sounds produced by waves in coastal and shelf habitats, and biotic communication signals that do not negatively impact the ecosystem.
[95] Experiments have examined the behavior and physiology of the clam (Ruditapes philippinarum), the decapod (Nephrops norvegicus), and the brittlestar (Amphiura filiformis) that are affected by sounds resembling shipping and building noises.
[95] Another study found that the valve closures in the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas was a behavioral response to varying degrees of acoustic amplitude levels and noise frequencies.
An important factor in applying these strategies is a computer model for roadway noise, that is capable of addressing local topography, meteorology, traffic operations, and hypothetical mitigation.
[104] Awaaz Foundation is a non-governmental organization in India working to control noise pollution from various sources through advocacy, public interest litigation, awareness, and educational campaigns since 2003.
Figures compiled by rockwool, the mineral wool insulation manufacturer, based on responses from local authorities to a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request reveal in the period April 2008 – 2009 UK councils received 315,838 complaints about noise pollution from private residences.
This resulted in environmental health officers across the UK serving 8,069 noise abatement notices or citations under the terms of the Anti-Social Behavior (Scotland) Act.
[109] The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researches noise exposure in occupational settings and recommends a Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) or work shift of 85 dB(A) and for impulse noise (instant events such as bangs or crashes) of 140 dB(A).
[116] The map aims to assist city planners, elected officials, scholars, and residents to gain access to up-to-date aviation and Interstate highway noise information.
[121] The guidelines provide the most up-to-date evidence from research conducted in Europe and other parts of the world on non-occupational noise exposure and its relationship to physical and mental health outcomes.
