Environmental Pollution Control

(ET ZC362)
by
Dr. Raman Sharma
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Lecture 17
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Contents
Noise pollution & its control
Environmental impact assessment

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Noise Pollution and Its Control

Noise is unwanted sound and sound is a form of energy. The
frequency limits of audibility are from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

A noise problem generally consists of three inter-related

elements- the source, the receiver and the transmission path
Noise may be continuous or intermittent. Noise may be of high
frequency or of low frequency which is undesired for a normal
hearing
The discrimination and differentiation between sound and noise
also depends upon the habit and interest of the person/species
receiving it, the ambient conditions and impact of the sound
generated during that particular duration of time
Sounds of frequencies less than 20 Hz are called infrasonics and
greater than 20,000 Hz are called ultrasonics
3

How it is computed?
The intensity of sound is measured in sound pressure levels (SPL)
and common unit of measurement is decibel, dB.

The community (ambient) noise levels are measured in the

A - weighted SPL, abbreviated dB(A). This scale resembles the
audible response of human ear. Sounds of frequencies from 800 to
3000 HZ are covered by the A - weighted scale.
If the sound pressure level, L1 in dB is measured at r1 meters, then the
sound pressure level, L2 in dB at r2 meters is given by,
L2 = L1 - 20 log10 (r2/r1)

If the sound levels are measured in terms of pressure, then, sound

pressure level, LP is given by,
LP = 20 Log10 (P/Po) dB(A)

The Lp is measured against a standard reference pressure, Po = 2 x4 10-5

N/m2 which is equivalent to zero decibels

Addition of sound levels

The effective sound levels from two or more sources cannot be simply
added algebraically. For example, the effective sound level from two
air conditioners 60 dB(A) each, say is not 60 + 60 = 120 dB (A) but 60
+ 3 = 63 dB(A). (table 1-Study materila). Similarly, the effective
sound level of 57 dB, 63 dB, 63 dB, 66 dB and 69 dB is 72 dB
Frequency analysis
The simplest periodic sound is a pure tone i.e., a pressure
disturbance that fluctuates sinusoidally at a particular frequency
The noise produced by most sources of community noise, such as
automobiles or aircraft engines, are examples of aperiodic sounds
An octave band is a frequency band with upper and lower cutoff
frequencies having a ratio of 2
Frequency analyzers can be divided into two groups viz. constant
band width analyzer and constant percentage bandwidth analyzer.
In the constant bandwidth analyzer the filter bandwidth is kept
constant throughout the frequency range while in the constant
percentage
bandwidth analyzer, the bandwidth is proportional
to
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the center frequencies

Noise measurement instruments

The objective of noise measurement is to make accurate measurement
which give us a purposeful act of comparing noises under different
conditions for assessment of adverse impacts of noise and adopting
suitable control techniques for noise reduction

A sound level meter consists basically of a microphone and an

electronic circuit including an attenuator, amplifier, weighting
networks or filters and a display unit.
The microphone converts the sound signal to an equivalent electrical
signal.
The signal is passed through a weighting network which provides a
conversion and gives the sound pressure level in dB

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Noise Sampling
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published several code books
for sampling and analysis of noise pollution and guidelines for control
of noise pollution from domestic and industrial sources
For sampling of noise levels from industrial sources, noise levels in
the different octave bands are measured by a sound level meter in
conjunction with octave - band filters at the workers ear level or at
about a distance of one meter from the source of noise
BIS Code

Description

IS-4954-1968

Noise abatement in town planning recommendations

IS-3098-1980

Noise emitted by moving road vehicles, measurement

IS-10399-1982

Noise emitted by stationary road vehicles, methods of measurement of

IS-6098-1971

Air borne noise emitted by rotating electrical machinery, method of

measurement of

IS-4758-1968

Noise emitted by machines, methods of measurements of

IS-3483-1965

Noise reduction in industrial buildings, code of practice for

IS-1950-1962

Sound insulation of non-industrial buildings, code of practice for

IS-9167-1979

Ear protectors

Sources of noise

Where does it generate from?

according to daily activities.

The sources of noise may vary

They sources may be

domestic (movement of utensils, cutting and peeling of

fruits/vegetables etc.)
natural (shores, birds/animal shouts, wind movement, sea tide
movement, water falls etc.),
commercial (vendor shouts, automobiles, aero-planes, marriages,
laboratory, machinery etc.)
industrial (generator sets, boilers, plant operations, trolley
movement, transport vehicles, pumps, motors etc.)
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Impacts of noise
Why bother about noise? Often neglected, noise induces a severe
impact on humans and on living organisms. Some of the adverse
effects are summarized below.
Annoyance

Physiological effects
Loss of hearing
Human performance

Nervous system
Sleeplessness
Damage to material

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Control of Noise Pollution

Noise generation is associated with most of our daily activities

The technique or the combination of techniques to be employed for
noise control depend upon the extent of the noise reduction
required, nature of the equipment used and the economy aspects of
the available techniques
The techniques employed for noise control can be broadly classified as
Control at source
Control in the transmission path
Using protective equipment.

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Noise Control at Source

The noise pollution can be controlled at the source of generation itself
by employing techniques like
Reducing the noise levels from domestic sectors
Maintenance of automobiles
Control over vibrations
Low voice speaking
Prohibition on usage of loud speakers
Selection of machinery
Maintenance of machines

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Control in the transmission path

The change in the transmission path will increase the length of travel
for the wave and get absorbed/refracted/radiated in the surrounding
environment
Installation of barriers
Installation of barriers between noise source and receiver can
attenuate the noise levels

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Design of building
The design of the building incorporating the use of suitable noise
absorbing material for wall/door/window/ceiling will reduce the
noise levels
Installation of panels or enclosures
Green belt development
Using protection equipment
Protective equipment usage is the ultimate step in noise control
technology, i.e. after noise reduction at source and/or after the
diversion or engineered control of transmission path of noise

The first step in the technique of using protective equipment is to

gauge the intensity of the problem, identification of the sufferer
and his exposure to the noise levels
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The usage of protective equipment and the worker's exposure to the

high noise levels can be minimized by
Job rotation
Exposure reduction

Hearing protection
Indian Standards for ambient noise levels
Area

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Noise Limits, Leq, dB (A)

Day Time

Night Time

Silence zone

50

45

Residential area

55

45

Commercial area

65

55

Industrial area

75

65

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Environmental Impact Analysis

Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) is a tool used for
decision-making regarding projects, developments and
programmes.
EIA is intended to identify the environmental, social
and economic impacts of a proposed development prior
to decision-making.

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Environmental Impact Analysis

It aims to predict environmental impacts at an early
stage in
project planning and design,
find ways and means to reduce adverse impacts,
shape projects to suit the local environment
and present the predictions and options to
decision-makers.

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Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA)

Environmental impacts may be primary or direct
and secondary or indirect.
Primary impacts are in fact the first round impacts
associated with projects, programmes and other
activities of man such as air pollution, water pollution,
noise, employment, generation, displacement of people
and businesses, etc
Secondary impacts are caused by project outputs. Most
of the socioeconomic environmental changes fall in the
category of secondary,
i.e. induced effects or impacts
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Control

Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA)

Environmental impacts can also be classified as short
term and long term impacts.
Impacts which are felt in the shorter period of time
such as during construction period of a project and its
early phases of operation are short-term in nature
The impacts which are felt in the longer period of the
time are defined as long-term impacts.
For example the green revolution
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Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA)

Method to assess significant environmental impacts.

This method should be general enough to be applicable

in a large number of environmental impacts and should
at the same time look into an impact in required details.
Moreover, since all impacts cannot be classified as
negative, such as method should also take into
consideration, the positive side of human activity.

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Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA)

Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) is a general
methodology to assess and quantify significant
environmental impacts resulting due to human activity.
It is usually applied prior to the activity proper but can
also be used effectively to assess environmental
impacts of an ongoing activity
Environmental impact statement (EIS) is a document
for the compilation of all the matters related to
environmental concerns
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What is the need EIA

From viewpoint of economics
Stricter environmental rules
Growing awareness in public has resulted need for
more careful planning of projects and systematic
evaluation to avoid future problems/lawsuits/financial
losses.
Also highlight positive effects on environment.

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BASICS OF EIA
Environmental impact assessment can be thought of as
a sum total of three different terms:
Assessment
Impact
Environmental Impact

Assessment can be defined as mean examination and

quantification of environmental impacts

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THANK YOU
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