By Nirupam Bhattacharjee
Noise can be defined as an unpleasant and unwanted sound. Elevated workplace or environmental noise can cause hearing, impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, and sleep disturbance.
The levels of noise exposure associated with these health effects varies among individuals in different work sectors. Progress in technology (industrialization) is growing fast but is indeed creating noise pollution too.
Textile mills, printing presses, engineering establishments and metal works etc. contribute heavily towards noise pollution, affecting the health of the workers and also of others living or working nearby. People working in construction sites, blasting, bulldozing, stone crushing are at a higher risk from the health impacts of noise they are exposed to.
Traffic police and automobile drivers are partially affected due to the chronic exposure to traffic noise. Increasing traffic has given rise to traffic congestion, honking and causing noise pollution.
Too often, it is seen that people use loud speakers, public address system, power amplifiers for big as well as small events. The occasions may be a religious function, marriage, elections, demonstration, or just commercial advertising. Public address systems, therefore, contributes in its own way towards noise pollution. As agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy, farmers play an important role in our country’s progress. The use of advanced agricultural technology such as tractors, thrashers, harvesters, tube wells, powered tillers etc., have all made agriculture highly mechanical but at the same time highly noisy thereby affecting the health of farmers.
Defense Personnel are exposed to noise while using heavy artillery, tanks, rocket launchers, explosives, military airplanes and firearms apart from industrial noise. Screams of jet engines and sonic booms have a bad impact on their hearing.
Prevention and protection from noise exposure
The prevention and protection from noise exposure should work on three areas:
1) Eliminate and minimize the sources of noise –
Use of modern technology in heavy industries and sound proofing for noisy equipment. This is also important for residential building that noisy machines can be installed far from sleeping and living rooms, like in a basement or garage. Honking regulations should be strictly followed in residential and silent areas and motorbikes with damaged exhaust pipes, noisy vehicles should be banned.
The community law enforcers should strictly check for the misuse of loudspeakers in outdoor parties and discos, as well as public announcements systems. There should be strict implementation of community laws for silence zones near schools /colleges, hospitals etc.
2) Protection against noise – Protection against noise can be done by providing ear plugs and ear muffs to the workers working in the heavy industrial setup and also to defense personnel. Adequate vegetation (trees) along roads and in residential areas should be planted to reduce noise pollution as they absorb sound.
Occupational noise exposure should be maintained upto 90dB, 8hrs a day 5 days a week as it is the maximum safe limit recommended by the Ministry of Labour, Govt. Of India. Sound above 140dB should not be permissible.
3) Compensation to workers for occupational hazards to noise- Insurance schemes can be introduced by the employer for the workers. In India, NIHL has been a compensable disease since 1948 under the Employees State Insurance Act (1948) and the Workmen’s Compensation Act (1923).