What are the Causes of Noise Pollution?

Introduction

The major types of noise pollution are:

Noise pollution due to Traffic and transport
Noise Pollution due to Industries and Factories
Domestic and neighborhood sources
Causes of Noise Pollution

1. Noise pollution due to Traffic and transport

Traffic and transport may be mainly of three types:

Surface transport by road,
Air transport, and
Rail transport.
Due to the ever increasing number of motor vehicles in the cities, the problem of noise pollution is becoming more and more acute particularly in the cities. Generally the heavy diesel operated vehicles create noise of greater intensity. In the cities, the level of noise becomes maximum generally at the peak hours of the day when the number of the running vehicles becomes maximum.

The noise arising out of air transport is not continuous, but the intensity of such a noise is much higher than that of noise generated from surface transport. The intensity of such noise becomes maximum at the time of takeoff and landing of aircrafts.

Noise pollution resulting from rail transport is usually not very severe (except in major railway junctions), because rail transport arrangement is generally made in such a way that the transport system remains outside the residential locality. But due to the tremendous pressure of population, the residential areas are not being developed near railway stations. Hence the residents of such localities are suffering from noise pollution arising out of rail transport. Besides noise pollution the house situated, near the railway lines may also be damaged due to vibration.

2. Noise Pollution due to Industries and Factories

The noise of various machines being operated in different industries and various processes operating within these industries create the problem of noise pollution. The workers of these industries and the people of nearby areas are the victims of such pollution. Noise of almost continuously operating mechanical saws, drilling, cutting, crushing and grinding machines running at a stretch and the noise of operation of rice mills, wheat mills etc, within the locality are sources of considerable irritation and annoyance and psychologically highly disturbing.

3. Domestic and neighborhood sources

The sound generated from different machines and gadgets used in our houses may create noise and noise pollution. The continuous sound from generators, water pumps, washing machine, and high level noise generated due to operation of television, radio, tape-recorder, etc., the sound of vacuum cleaners, defective electric fans are all causes of noise pollution. The noise generated due to people participating in meetings, processions (including funeral procession of certain communities), the loud voice coming from loudspeakers microphones used in nearby places of worship or sin social functions, the peculiar noise generated from markets, sound generated from sporadic violent activities of people in the neighborhood etc. create noise pollution.