How loud does something have to be to be considered 'noise pollution'?

Question

Does it purely weigh on the "loudness factor" or also the problem itself (ie. hoons in cars)?

Answer 1

To Filipina: So true

And I agree with another commenter: different places have different laws. Well here, its the same law but it depends on what area you're in on whether they'll really enforce it or not. See in NY, if your making "too much noise" and people start complaining about it, you'll get a ticket right away however if you're in, lets say a bad part of Brooklyn, and you complain about a certain "noise polluter", they won't pay you any mind until next month.

It all depends on whether you pay your taxes or not.

Answer 2

Noise pollution is just a term describing unwanted noise.

There's no specific decibal level to categorize as 'noise pollution'.

We say there's noise pollution whenever there's enough noise to become distracting, annoying or physically harmful.

Answer 3

When other people start complaining about the same noise.

Answer 4

Different laws in different places.

Answer 5

Any sound *you* get no information from is noise - to you.  Pollution is something *you* don't want.  So "noise pollution" is  strictly subjective term.  If you think it is, it is - to you.

There are local laws about how loud a sound can be for a given duration at a certain time, but they vary by jurisdiction.  The noise of a hay baler is perfectly okay on a farm at 5AM on a Sunday morning, but not in suburbia on any morning.

Answer 6

Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the activity or happiness of human or animal life. A common form of noise pollution is from transportation, principally motor vehicles.[1] The word "noise" comes from the Latin word nausea meaning "seasickness", or from a derivative (perhaps Latin noxia) of Latin noceō = "I do harm", referring originally to nuisance noise.

Governments up until the 1970s viewed noise as a "nuisance" rather than an environmental problem. In the United States there are federal standards for highway and aircraft noise; states and local governments typically have very specific statutes on building codes, urban planning and roadway development. In Canada and the EU there are few national, provincial, or state laws that protect against noise.

Noise laws and ordinances vary widely among municipalities and indeed do not even exist in some cities. An ordinance may contain a general prohibition against making noise that is a nuisance, or it may set out specific guidelines for the level of noise allowable at certain times of the day and for certain activities.

Most city ordinances prohibit sound above a threshold intensity from trespassing over property line at night, typically between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and during the day restricts it to a higher sound level; however, enforcement is uneven. Many municipalities do not follow up on complaints. Even where a municipality has an enforcement office, it may only be willing to issue warnings, since taking offenders to court is expensive.

Many conflicts over noise pollution are handled by negotiation between the emitter and the receiver. Escalation procedures vary by country, and may include action in conjunction with local authorities, in particular the police. Noise pollution often persists because only five to ten percent of people affected by noise will lodge a formal complaint. Many people are not aware of their legal right to quiet and do not know how to register a complaint.

Noise can have a detrimental effect on animals by causing stress, increasing risk of mortality by changing the delicate balance in predator/prey detection and avoidance, and by interfering with their use of sounds in communication especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing.[10]

An impact of noise on animal life is the reduction of usable habitat that noisy areas may cause, which in the case of endangered species may be part of the path to extinction. One of the best known cases of damage caused by noise pollution is the death of certain species of beached whales, brought on by the loud sound of military sonar.[11]

Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called Lombard vocal response.[12] Scientists and researchers have conducted experiments that show whales' song length is longer when submarine-detectors are on.[13] If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice will be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder.

Zebra finches become less faithful to their partners when exposed to traffic noise. This could alter a population's evolutionary trajectory by selecting "s**y" traits, sapping resources normally devoted to other activities and thus lead to profound genetic and evolutionary consequences.