A Comprehensive Study on Road Traffi c Noise of an Industrial Town of Odisha, India
Noise is a disturbance to the human environment and will become a major threat to the quality of human lives. In last few decades, noise in urban areas have been increasing rapidly. Noise pollution was analysed in 10 different squares (road sections) during four different specifi ed times (7-10 a.m., 11a.m.-2 p.m., 3-6 p.m., 7-10 p.m.) to assess the level of noise pollution of the Rayagada township. The sources of noise at the studied sites were predominantly attributable to motor vehicular traffi c. Noise descriptors such as L10, L50, L90, Leq, TNI (Traffi c Noise Index), NPL (Noise Pollution Level) and NC (Noise climate) were analysed to reveal the extent of noise pollution of this town. L10, L50, L90, Leq, TNI, NPL, and NC values of all 10 monitored sites ranged from 85.4 to 99.3 dB, from 72.6 to 86.5 dB, from 64.6 to 76.7 dB, from 80.4 to 99 dB, from 95.2 to 128.2 dB, from 95.1 to 159.2 dB, and from 13.3 to 30.3 dB, respectively. The present noise assessment depicted that even the minimum values of Leq (80.4 dB), NPL (95.1 dB), TNI (95.2 dB) during day time were more than the permissible limit (70 dB). The number of vehicles passing through a fi xed point on the studied road are counted to assess the traffi c volume (Q) and the percentage of heavy trucks and buses to total traffi c was also calculated to work out truck traffi c mix ratio (P). Moreover, individual contribution to environmental noise by the air horn of different motor vehicles has also been assessed during day time. The episodic and impulsive noise levels of different types of vehicles were more than the traffi c noise-limit i.e. 70 dB (A). A survey adopting questionnaire method amongst 241 local inhabitants had also been carried out to gather information regarding the effect of noise on human health.
Agarwal, S. and B.L. Swami (2009). Noise annoyance under interrupted traffic flow condition for Jaipur City. Int. J. App. Sci. Engg., 7(2): 159-168.
Goswami, S. (2009). Road traffic noise: A case study of Balasore town, Orissa, India. International Journal of Environment Research, 3(2): 309-316.
Goswami, S. (2011). Soundscape of Bhadrak Town, India: An Analysis from Road Traffic Noise Perspective. Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, 8(4): 85-91.
Goswami, S., Nayak, S., Pradhan, A. and S.K. Dey (2011). A study of traffic noise of two campuses of University, Balasore, India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 32: 105-109.
Goswami, S. and B.K. Swain (2011). Soundscape of Balasore City, India: A Study on Urban Noise and Community Response. Journal of Acoustical Society of India, 38(2): 59-71.
Goswami, S. and B.K. Swain (2012). Preliminary information on noise pollution in commercial banks of Balasore, India. Journal of Environtal Biology, 33: 999-1002.
Krishna Murthy, V., Majumdar, A.K., Khanal, S.N. and D.P. Subedi (2007). Assessment of Traffic Noise Pollution in Banepa, a semi urban town on Nepal, Kathmandu Univ. Journal of Science Engineering and. Technology, 1(4): 1-9.
Mohapatra, H., Goswami, S. and D.G. Dey (2010). Coalmine dust concentration and rate of tuberculosis infection around Ib valley coalfield, Orissa, India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 31(6): 953-956.
Mohapatra, H. and S. Goswami (2012a). Assessment and analysis of noise levels in and around Ib River coalfield, Orissa, India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 33(3): 649-655.
Mohapatra, H. and S. Goswami (2012b). Assessment of noise levels in various residential, commercial and industrial places in and around Belpahar and Brajrajnagar, Orissa, India. Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, 9(3): 73-78.
Patel, R., Tiwari, T.N. and T. Patel (2006). Noise Pollution in Residential Areas of Jharsuguda Town, Orissa (India) and its Impact. Journal of Environ. Science & Engg., 48(3): 209-212.
Patil, C.R., Modak, J.P., Vaishali Choudhari, P. and D.S. Dhote (2011). Subjective analysis of road traffic noise annoyance around major arterials in intermediate city. Europ. J. App. Sci., 3(2): 58-61.
Robinson, D.W. (1971). Towards a unified system of noise assessment. J. Sound Vib., 14(3): 279-298.
Swain, B.K. and S. Goswami (2012). Road Traffic Noise Assessment and Modeling in Bhubaneswar, Capital of Odisha State, India: A Comparative and Comprehensive Monitoring Study. International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, 5(5): 377-386.
Swain, B.K., Panda, S. and S. Goswami (2012). Dynamics of road traffic noise in Bhadrak city, India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 33(6): 1087-1092.
Swain, B.K., Goswami, S. and J.K. Tripathy (2011). Stone Crushers Induced Noise at and around Mitrapur, Balasore, India. Anwesa, 6: 12-16.