Analysis of Noise Nuisance on Residents of the Malaysian Condominiums: Heritage Condominium Case Study

Transcription

1 Analysis of Noise Nuisance on Residents of the Malaysian Condominiums: Heritage Condominium Case Study MARJAN JILARDI DAMAVANDI 1, MAJID NOWROUZI 2 * 1 Faculty of Environmental Studies, University Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Department of Landscape, Faculty of Design and Architecture, University Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia *Corresponding author: eng_majidnoroozi@yahoo.com Abstract: - Noise pollution is a problem of new and modern societies. The aim of this study is to probe the sound environment of residential location in Malaysian Condominiums. Acoustic measurements are made near respondent residence. Measurement processes were directed in 30 points, and noise levels were measured over seven sequential days, in the same time the sums of 80 people were interviewed in the five different blocks of the Heritage condominium. The findings confirm the robust influence of traffic noise on the residence. Noise levels were high in all measured zones, evaluation of 100 of the points displays sound levels above 55dB (A) during the days and 45dB (A) during nights. Evaluation of sleep annoyance by noise also appeared significant. Key-Words: Residential area, noise nuisance, sleep disturbance. Introduction Many of people s diseases stem from poor quality of their environment[1]. Quality of life and environmental concerns are important challenges of the millenniums [2, 3, 4]. A clamorous environmental predicament for many inhabitants in urban areas is Noise [5, 6]. Many noise surveys in large urban areas throughout the world have divulged that road traffic is habitually the widest contributor to urban noise [5, 7, 8]. Not only Noise disturbance is dependent upon the exposure level but also on the personal viewpoints towards noise and its point of supply specifically associated with the disruption [9, 10]. Noise exasperation could be also appraised through some alternative approaches based on the interference of various activities by noise (sleep, listening to television or radio, talking, etc.). Sleep agitation by noise is also an imperative hardship in the clamorous sites [11]. An awesome amount of exploration noise pollution in urban areas is related to sleeping disorder given that this specific noise impact may cause health problems to those individuals exposed over a long length of time. Predominantly, there are no conspicuous boundaries between inhabitant, leisure, and industrial zones. The current paper summarizes the results of using a set questionnaire to guesstimate the noise annoyance in a sample of 80 residents in the Heritage condominium located in Sedang, Selangor, Malaysia. These inhabitants live in five different blocks of this condominium, selected for specific environmental noise conditions. ISBN:

2 The aim of our study is to evaluate the subjective responses to noise of the inhabitants in all side of this site. It also aims to evaluate their association with parameters such as outdoor noise levels, general interference with the neighborhood, general nuisance, noise contentment with sleep, major sources of noise in this zones, and demographic characteristics of the interviewees. More strikingly, noise affects bodily health by causing loss of hearing. It has been found that continued exposure to noise causes gradual hearing loss which, may develop to more serious hearing deterioration and eventual total deafness [12, 13]. Measurement of the air vibration that makes up sound is sound pressure level [13, 14]. Environmental noises can be characterized by sound pressure levels, the alteration of these levels with time and the frequency of the sound [15]. A standard pressure that correscponds roughly to the threshold of hearing at 1000 Hzare reffered by all measured source pressure levels. Hence, the source pressure level illustrates how much greater the measured sound is than this threshould of hearing. The human s audition power can ascertain large spectrum of sound pressure levels (10-20 Pascal), they are measured on a logarithmic scale with units of decibels(db). The discernible frequency range is normally considered to range from Hz. The main source of environmental noise pollution is transportation noise, including road traffic, rail traffic and air traffic [16]. The most source of noise of road traffic resulted from the engine and from frictional contact between the vehicles and the ground and air [17]. Traffic flow rate causes sound pressure level of traffic, the speed of the vehicles, and the nature of the road surface. In residential areas, noise may arise from mechanical devices (heat pumps, ventilation system and traffic) as well as voices, music and other kinds of sounds initiated by neighbors (lawn movers, vacuum cleaners and other household equipment, music reproduction and noisy parties). Building construction and excavation works can cause eminent noise emission [18]. Street services, street cleaning can also cause considerable disturbance if carried out at sensitive times of a day [19]. 2. Materials and Methods Heritage condominium, located at Serdang, Selangor, south of Kuala Lumpur, with 600 inhabitants, is selected as our case study. In this study, 80 residents are interviewed at five different blocks (A, B, C, D, E) in order to investigate the subjective response to environmental noise in dwelling-leisure areas. All the five locations have a noise pollution hardship for the presence of many leisure places (swimming pools, restaurants, boat riding, etc). Water sports and restaurants are the most annoying environmental causes in this area. Data in this study are collected through questionnaire and noise field measurement Acoustical and spatial data To measure continuing sounds such as road traffic noise, and to assess ongoing noises that may be composed of individual events with randomly altering sound pressure levels LAeq,T is used. Measurers such as the equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq,T) sum up the total energy over some time period T and give a level commensurate to the average sound energy over that period. Such average levels are commonly based on integration of A- weighted levels. Thus, LAeq,T is the average energy equivalent level of the A- weighted sound over a period T. The immense amount of sound energy in a particular event is assessed by the SEL. LAmax is measured utilizing the Fast ISBN:

3 response time. A-weighted SEL measurements is insufficient for assessing the (perceived) loudness of complex impulsive sounds whereas C-weighted SEL value is useful for rating impulsive sounds. In this work the ambient noise levels were measured during 7 consecutive days in two weeks (18 th to 24 th April, 2012) both on business and non-business days in six altering residential locations inside the blocks A, B, C, D, and E of the heritage condominium. A-weighted noise levels in these areas were ceaselessly measured over 1hour period in the rush hours so that the measurement could be carried out in a single day within the stipulated time frame. Likewise, a total of 30 points were assessed (see Table 1). Block A, B and C has a common characteristic, they are surrounded by urban Jalan Dagang Street which has many restaurants and shops. This region is signed by Jalan Orkid, a main road in 300m away from the Heritage condominium. Block D has two parts of their frontiers sided by Sungai Besi highway of heavy traffic flow. Block C and E are characterized by high concentration of the leisure establishments like restaurants, water sport activities beside the lake (e.g. boat riding) and all of the blocks are included with open area swimming pool. Table 1 Maximum permissible sound level (LAeq) by receiving land use for planning and new development Areas Day Time 7.00 am pm Night Time pm am Noise Sensitive Areas,Low Density Residential,Institutional (School, Hospital), Worship Areas 50 dba 40 dba Suburban Residential,(Medium Density) Areas,Public Spaces, Parks, Recreational Areas. 55 dba 45 dba Urban Residential (HighDensity) Areas, Designated, Mixed Development Areas,(Residential - Commercial). 60 dba 50 dba Commercial Business Zones 65 dba 55 dba Designated Industrial Zones 70 dba 60 dba All measurement were executed out in a good meteorological condition without strong wind or rain, with using a ½ inch condenser microphone, a noise level meter (B&K, 2238), which had A-weighting and 0.1 db resolutions and consent to the necessities of the IEC. To measure the noise levels, the sound level meter was placed at a distance of at least 1m away from walls and 1.5m above the ground level, and about 1.5 meter away from the windows or other acoustically reflecting surfaces (other than the ground), and mounting the microphone in the most exposed façade of the dwelling in the zone. The traffic compactness was monitored in each location. Four different rush hours of the day were chosen, including: 7 to 9 AM, 12 to 2 PM, 5 to 8 PM and 10 to 1 AM. In restaurants, the music and conversation of the people were measured during the night time from 11 to 1 a.m. It was also decided to take only one sampling of acoustic data for duration of 3hours from 10 to 1 a.m. 2.2 Interviews With particular reference to problems of noise, which is the concern of this paper, an attempt was made to know how people perceived the noise in and around their houses. This analysis was executed in each of the five residential blocks, in order to probe the individual s attitude and viewpoints to different facet of the environmental noise problems. ISBN:

4 The respondents were of both sexes with varying levels of educational background and mixed occupational groupings. Twelve people from each dwelling were chosen who were close to the points where the noise level measurements were carried out. The questionnaire was comprised of 20 items. It includes demographic data of the interviewee (8 items), environmental quality (1 items), satisfaction or dissatisfaction with noise (7 items), health disturbances (3 items). All questions were closed-ended (multiple choice) with a number of possible fixed answers to be chosen by the interviewed subject. Most of the questions consisted of scales, with four "yes" or "no" or five (from "slightly ", "moderately ", "very ", "extremely ", and "extremely quiet") categories to rate the overall response of subjects related to noise levels. For validity purposes, the survey was not introduced to the interviewees as a noise survey, and none of these questions involved the word noise which is a negative connotation. Noise was replaced by sound. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Acoustic data The main sources of outdoor noise levels were beside a busy roads and a lake including road traffic, motor vehicles, restaurant, water sport activities, and loud music systems of restaurants. Numerous studies have showed that the annoyance effect of a specific noise would lean on how much that noise exceeded the level of ambient noise. This has been shown to be true for noises that are relatively constant in level [20]. The noise levels values are vigorously contingent upon the specific location of each block, for instance, the values of equivalent sound levels range from 65.1 db (A) measured at location 4 (Fig.1), to 62.8 db. It is observed that in some districts the measured noise level on working days and weekends (Sundays) exhibit high level at all sites. Tables 2 to 6 show the hourly equivalent continuous sound level LAeq and its corresponding values. That is the maximum A-weighted level LAFmax, and the background A-weighted noise level LAF90during day/night time in weekends and week days. Table 4 and 5 shows the measured ambient noise levels of swimming pools and restaurants located inside the residential blocks. It indicates that all of the evaluated points are above the limit. By and large, the variation on diurnal noise levels at the noisiest sites was significant and the measured noise levels were high. Data in the following tables show that all of the measured noise levels for selected locations are higher than the Department Of Environment standards set for maximum permissible sound emissions level. It is LAeq=55 db (A) during days time and LAeq=45 db (A) during nights time. Individual noise events should not exceed LAFmax = 45 db (A) in bedrooms during a nights. Differences between noisy and quiet locations were especially important during nights. The lowest values of equivalent sound level ranged from db (A) at the quietest location up to Db (A) at the noisiest one. Table 2 Sound level measured for road traffic noise during the weekend Measured points Day time Night time LAeq LAFmax LAF90 LAeq LAFmax LAF ISBN:

5 Table 3 Sound level measured for road traffic nose emission during the week days Measured points Day time Night time LAeq LAFmax LAF90 LAeq LAFmax LAF Table 4 Sound level measured for swimming pool noise Measured Day time points LAeq LAFmax LAF Table 5 Sound level measured for restaurant during the night time Measured Night time points LAeq LAFmax LAF Interviews The respondent s gender variations included male (55) and female (45). The ages of interviewees exhibited years (63.8) years (22.5) 40-50years (11.3) over 50years (2.5). The results of interviews can be seen in Table 6. The largest percentage of the respondents (36.3) reported that the noise of motor vehicle was intolerable during the day. Likewise, 46.3 declared it intolerable during the night. Only a proportion of 27.5 and 38.8 during the night and day respectively appeared to be indifferent to the noise situation of their city life. Others reported the situation as tolerable. Table 6 Responses to the question how would you consider the sound that reaches your home? ISBN:

6 Irksomeness Frequency Percentage During the day During the night intolerable tolerable Indifferent intolerable tolerable Indifferent The subjective evaluation of noise levels showed that there was not a significant correlation between the annoyance scores and sex of the interviewees on road traffic noise. However, there was a significant relationship by their age (pearson chisquare=24.994, Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) = 0.050, Cramer s V = 0.323) and the percentage of annoyance by motor vehicle nuisance. Worth to mention, from the interview residents declared that the most unpleasant aspect of road traffic is motorcycle noise. Nevertheless, 66.7 of the respondents of years old, 83 of years old, 88.8 of years old and 100 of above 50 years old declared to be slightly, moderately, very and extremely respectively (see Table 7). Table 7 The correlation of age of the residents and percentage of annoyance Age Slightly Moderately Very Extremely Extremely quiet Ignore to answer n χ2 Sig- χ2 Cramer s V Over average Nigh time noise can induce disturbances of sleep in terms of difficulty to fall asleep, shift from deeper lighter sleep and awakenings. Other negative effects are increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, change in respiration, body movements, etc. This study found that the responses to the question Are you awoken at night on account of the noise? differ from demographic characteristics of residence. It increased with the age of the respondents. The analysis of the results on this table shows that there is a relationship between sleep disturbance and age. In particular, the occurrence of shift from deeper to lighter sleep during the night ranked the first among other alternative patterns (pearson chisquare = , df=9, asympx 2 = 0.031, cramer s V = 0.276). Some 37.5 of respondents living close to street has disturbance with the sleep during the midnight, 22 during the morning and 16.7 during the night. Table 8 Relationship between the age of residence and effect of noise on their sleep ISBN:

7 Age Difficult to fall asleep Shift from deeper to lighter sleep Awakening Once awaken difficult to return to sleep ver n χ2 Sig- χ2 Cramer s V In general, the responses in the case of closing the window follow the same trends illustrated in Table 9. The study revealed that 16.7 and 37.5 of the interviewees whose accommodation face the street force to wake up due to motor vehicle noises at nights and midnights. However, the nuisance produced in a given community depends also on a number of other factors (personal attitudes to noise problem, evaluation of the need of a vehicle or service, etc.). Table 9 correlation of residence location and their sleep disturbance by sound Group in the Morning during the noon during the Afternoon at night at Midnight Ignored to answer Facing the lake Facing the street n χ2 Sigχ2 Cramer s V a χ2(5, n=80) = a Moreover, the most cited factor causing distress was the presence of annoyance with crowded swimming pool which is located in the 7 th floor (see Table 10). Some residents mentioned that their accommodation is located nearby the swimming pools and are disturbed by people screaming while swimming, or by their loud conversation. That was the main reason that has them close the window during days even in high temperature of summers. This result indicates the negative aspect of leisure establishments. On the other hand, most of the interviewees (88.9) stated that they found no unpleasant aspect in their environment, indicating that they are not aware, or indifferent to noise. Table 10 percentage of people by swimming pool visitors causing them to close the window Slightly Moderately Very Extremely Extremely quiet No answer n χ2 Sigχ2 Cramer s V Yes No Conclusion ISBN:

8 Environmental noise measurements were undertaken to characterize and quantify the existing ambient and background noise level at six points inside the Heritage condominium within 7 consecutive days. The selected area of this study is located nearby of the busy street and high way with intensive traffic so the main sources of noise is road traffic noise. However, existence of restaurants and swimming pool inside the condominium are negative factors which causes residents to close their windows. The results obtained in this survey conclude that at all of the points equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq,T) exceeded the 55 db(a) limit for day time and 45 db (A) for the night time. The best correlation between general noise annoyance and sleep interference corresponds to the night-day equivalent sound level LAeq measured on working and non-working days. The results conclude that environmental noise is an important problem in the residential areas. At the same time a survey carried out in five blocks of the Heritage building, proved that noise annoyance is a serious problem for many residents. In particular, residence of this site have sleep disturbance due to environmental noise. This level of noise pollution may result hearing loss of residents in a long term. Ten times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the time-mean-square instantaneous sound pressure, during a stated time interval (T), to the square of the standard reference sound pressure (ANSI 1994). Impulsive sound It means sound of short duration, usually less than one second, with an abrupt onset and rapid decay. Without prejudice to the foregoing, examples of sources of impulsive sound shall include but not limited to pile drivers, drop hammer or driven impacts and explosions. Sound pressure It means the instantaneous difference between the actual pressure and the average or barometric pressure at a given point in space, as produced by sound energy. Sound pressure level It means 20 times the logarithm to the base 10 of the ratio of the RMS sound pressure to the reference pressure of 20 micropascals. The sound pressure level is denoted Lp or SPL, and is expressed in decibels. Sound source It means the machine, equipment, installation including its subcomponents, sound reinforcement systems including loudspeakers, and other sources from which sound originates. Glossary Background noise It means any noise recorded at the measuring points which are not generated by the sound source. Equivalent A-weighted sound level (LAeq) It means the constant sound level that, in a given situation and time period, conveys the same sound energy as the actual timevarying A-weighted sound. Equivalent continuous sound pressure level ISBN:

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