NOISE POLLUTION STATUS IN A METRO CITY

Abstract

Noise as an environmental pollutant has recently become an object of serious social concern. However, it cannot be isolated form other social concerns, and is inextricably linked with the many facts of contemporary civilization-accompanying man's essential, as well as nonessential, activities and his way of life. Noise differs significantly from air pollution also from thermal pollution, in the sense that it decays almost instantaneously and leaves no residue. Yet noise is a persistent pollutant in the many practical situations where noise sources cannot be suppressed, and it degrades the quality of life. Continued exposure to high levels of noise can, of course, result in permanent hearing loss, and there is increasing evidence that noise may have other physiological and psychological effects. Even low levels of noise can create an environment that is unsatisfactory for human communication, work sleep, and recreation, furthermore, if one accepts the definition of health adopted by t...