Noise results in increased fatigue, reduced mental activity, impaired vision, neuroses, and cardiovascular disease. From excessive noise, the immune barrier decreases and the frequency of diseases increases dramatically; irritability is increased. Observations show that in noisy urban areas the total incidence of the population is 3 times higher than in the quiet. It is established that noise as an environmental factor leads to 15% of all occupational diseases. And noise pollution is present not only on the street, in public transport, at work, but also at home.
What do you hear?
The natural sounds of nature are usually pleasant to perceive and useful. Having subordinated to itself the nature, the person himself has superseded them far away from the dwellings and has surrounded itself with noises technogenic. Sources of noise in the city are extremely diverse. The main one is transport, which produces 60-80% of all noise. Residents of houses along major urban highways experience not only sound impact. Because of traffic (including the metro), there is a vibration of buildings, dusting of premises. It is interesting that with difficulty getting used to the continuous noise, a person can feel a sense of discomfort, falling into relative silence. Escaping the city, it happens, you can not sleep for a long time. Quiet. Too quiet ... We hear much more than we think. The first sanitary norms of permissible noise load in our country were developed by the Moscow Scientific Research Institute of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman and approved by the Ministry of Health of Russia in 2002. Sanitary norms of the permissible noise level in the territories of microdistricts, in production, as well as in public and residential buildings, are regulated by building norms and rules. In addition, there is a State Standard for vehicles, engineering equipment, household appliances, establishing hygienic requirements for providing acoustic comfort. The noise level is estimated in decibels (dB). The pitch (frequency) is also taken into account. High-frequency noises seem to be louder than low-frequency ones of the same strength.
Independently
About that, to unload own ears, it is possible to take care and itself. From external (street) noise can be fenced off with modern insulating windows with anti-noise double-glazed windows. From the inner noise, carpets are saved on the floor and walls (unless there are allergy sufferers in the house). Possible gypsum plasterboard insulation adjacent to the neighbors wall. You can appeal to special services (district Sanitary and Sanitary Supervision Centers and environmental militia) in cases when living interfere, for example, the neighboring night construction work. Well, if neighbors make noise, make your own decision. But it is better - after preliminary peace negotiations. And, please, do not forget about the health of others.
What is being done
Measures to combat noise pollution, of course, are being taken. To curb noise pollution is limited to cargo traffic (in Moscow - since 2003), freight traffic at night, the tramway is being removed. There are a number of modern urban development measures aimed at limiting noise.
• Removal (if possible) of residential buildings (new buildings) from the carriageway of streets.
• Landscaping and the creation of non-transport or pedestrian zones.
• In the presence of sections of railways within the city, special screens are built to reduce the noise level (garages, warehouses, etc.).
• In conditions of a deficit of areas in urban development, the use of noise-protective screen houses is an effective means of protection against traffic noise. In such houses, the living and sleeping rooms are facing the windows opposite the source of the noise.