KOCHI: In the movie 'Million Dollar Arm', the lead actor while driving the Indian players to their hotel in Los Angeles introduces the city by saying "see no horns, no noise". Well, it is something that our cities and even rural areas are not known for. Hence, as part of observing 'No Horn Day' on April 26, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), in association with the National Initiative for Safe Sound (NISS), has come up with a series of programmes to turn Kochi into a honk-free city.
One of the initiatives was to record the sound level in various places in the city. As part of the initiative, IMA-NISS teamed up with SCMS Group of Institutions and IOA. The team of 20, which conducted the study, was led by Radha Thavanoor. According to V P Pradeep, convener of 'No Horn Day' programme and an ENT surgeon, the study revealed a dismal picture on the noise pollution in the city.
Of the nine places in the city where the study was conducted, High Court Junction breached the sound limits at 105.3 decibels. "The volunteers armed with the state-of-the-art equipment measured the noise level at the High Court Junction, Vyttila, Kaloor, Pallimukku, Palarivattom, Edappally, Kundanoor, Maharaja's College and Seematti. It was found the noise on the road was the highest during the peak hours from 9 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 6 pm," he said.
As per the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control)(Amendment) Rules, 2000, the permissible sound levels are: 75 dB in industrial area, 65 dB in commercial area, 55 dB in residential area and 50 dB in the silence zone.
"But the study shows that the noise levels in the city are beyond the permissible levels. At 103 dB, Palarivattom emerged the second noisiest place in the city and Pallimukku (102 dB) came third. The remaining places were not far behind and measured between the 94-98 dB range," he said. The entire road noise was measured during the study.
Pradeep said the sound levels were measured with help of a mobile application developed by Bosch. "The volunteers downloaded the app on their smartphones. The app uses inbuilt microphone and accelerometer in the smartphones to measure noise and vibration. The data was then calibrated and compiled by the team at SCMS. The team will be presenting it as a study report backed by charts and graphs," he said.
According to him, the high noise levels are a cause for worry. "Constant exposure to high decibels can lead to permanent hearing loss," he said. Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a lawn mower lets out about 90 dB, and a rock concert 120 dB. In general, sounds above 85 dB are harmful, depending on how long and how often you are exposed to them and whether you wear earplugs or earmuffs. "Besides causing hearing loss, loud noise affects general health too. Hypertension, increase in the blood sugar level, anxiety and palpitation are some of the ailments linked with noise pollution," he said, adding the IMA-NISS will be testing the hearing capacity of the private bus crew and autorickshaw drivers on Monday and Tuesday. "We are concentrating in on those operating at the Kaloor private bus stand," he said.
Decibel-level sounds that one may encounter in modern life are as follows:
Quiet library or soft whisper—30 dB
Normal conversation—50-60 dB
Busy traffic or noisy restaurant—70 dB
Subways, heavy city traffic, alarm clock at 2 ft (61 cm), or Factory noise—80 dB
Noise in industrial plants, or call centres—90 dB
Train travelling 45 mi (28 km) per hour—93 dB
Chain saw, stereo headphones, night club or pneumatic drill—100 dB
Loudest sound that can be tolerated by the human ear—about 120 dB
Sound at a rock concert in front of speakers, sandblasting, or thunderclap—120 dB
Gunshot blast or jet plane—140 dB
Automobile drag race—171 dB
Sound at a rocket launching pad—180 dB
* Prolonged exposure to sound level at or above 85 dB will damage hearing