In determining whether a noise is unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary, the following factors incident to such noise are to be considered:
(A) The time of day;
(B) The proximity to residential structures, whether the noise is recurrent, intermittent or constant;
(C) The volume and intensity;
(D) Whether the noise has been enhanced in volume or range by any type of electronic or mechanical means;
(E) The character and zoning of the area;
(F) Whether the noise is related to the normal operation of a business or other labor activity; and
(G) Whether the noise is subject to being controlled without unreasonable effort or expense to the creator thereof.
Examples of Noise Sources and Their Effects
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Noise Source | Decibel Level | Comment |
Examples of Noise Sources and Their Effects
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Noise Source | Decibel Level | Comment |
Jet take-off (at 25 meters) | 150 | Eardrum rupture |
Aircraft carrier deck | 140 | |
Military jet aircraft take-off from aircraft carrier with afterburner at 50 feet (130 dB) | 130 | |
Thunderclap; chain saw; oxygen torch (121 dB) | 120 | Painful; 32 times as loud as 70 dB |
Steel mill; auto horn at one meter; turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at 200 feet (118 dB); riveting machine (110 dB); live rock music (108-114 dB) | 110 | Average human pain threshold; 16 times as loud as 70 dB |
Jet take-off (at 305 meters); use of outboard motor; power lawn mower; motorcycle; farm tractor; jackhammer; garbage truck; Boeing 707 or DC-8 aircraft at one nautical mile (6,080 feet) before landing (106 dB); jet flyover at 1,000 feet (103 dB); Bell J-2A helicopter at 100 feet (100 dB) | 100 | Eight times as loud as 70 dB; serious damage possible in eight-hour exposure |
Boeing 737 or DC-9 aircraft at one nautical mile (6,080 feet) before landing (97 dB); power mower (96 dB); motorcycle at 25 feet (90 dB); newspaper press (97 dB) | 90 | Four times as loud as 70 dB; likely damage in eight- hour exposure |
Garbage disposal; dishwasher; average factory; freight train (at 15 meters); car wash at 20 feet (89 dB); propeller plane flyover at 1,000 ft (88 dB); diesel truck 40 mph at 50 feet (84 dB); diesel train at 45 mph at 100 feet (83 dB); food blender (88 dB); milling machine (85 dB); garbage disposal (80 dB) | 80 | Two times as loud as 70 dB; possible damage in eight- hour exposure |
Passenger car at 65 mph at 25 feet (77 dB); freeway at 50 feet from pavement edge 10 a.m. (76 dB); living room music (76 dB); radio or TV audio; vacuum cleaner (70 dB) | 70 | Arbitrary base of comparison; upper 70s are annoyingly loud to some people |
Conversation in restaurant; office; background music; air conditioning unit at 100 feet | 60 | Half as loud as 70 dB; fairly quiet |
Quiet suburb; conversation at home; large electrical transformers at 100 feet | 50 | One-fourth as loud as 70 dB |
Library; bird calls (44 dB); lowest limit of urban ambient sound | 40 | One-eighth as loud as 70 dB |
Quiet rural area | 30 | One-sixteenth as loud as 70 dB; very quiet |
Whisper, rustling leaves | 20 | |
Breathing | 10 | Barely audible |
Modified from http://www.wenet.net/~hpb/dblevels.html on 2/2000. SOURCES: Temple University Department of Civil/Environmental Engineering (www.temple.edu/departments/CETP/environ10.html), and Federal Agency Review of Selected Airport Noise Analysis Issues, Federal Interagency Committee on Noise (August 1992). Source of the information is attributed to Outdoor Noise and the Metropolitan Environment, M.C. Branch et al., Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles, 1970. | ||
(Ord. 21-09-01, passed 9-3-2021)