Authors : Mojtaba Afsharnia, Hamed Biglari, Mohsen Poursadeghiyan, Roghieh Hojatpanah, Parviz Ghandehari and Ali Firoozi
Abstract: The examination and control of noise pollution in urban areas can have significant positive effects on the health and social wellbeing of residents. This study investigated the noise pollution in high-traffic streets of Birjand city. This investigation was carried out by using a TES sound meter to measure the equivalent sound level during four time periods of morning, noon, evening and night at several stations. The collected data was then analyzed with SPSS and results were reported. These results showed that the average sound levels observed in all stations are above the standard level (p>0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the average sound pressure levels of different time periods (p<0.05) and the highest average sound pressure level was observed in time period of noon. The highest and lowest average sound pressure levels were observed, respectively in Motahari St. station during noon (84.40 dB) and Shohada St. station during morning (77.23 dB). The highest equivalent sound level in morning, evening and night was observed in Taleghani St., but the highest equivalent sound level in noon was observed in Motahari St. The results of this study showed that noise pollution in Birjand City is higher than national standards and that most of this pollution is caused by traffic of vehicles.
Mojtaba Afsharnia, Hamed Biglari, Mohsen Poursadeghiyan, Roghieh Hojatpanah, Parviz Ghandehari and Ali Firoozi, 2016. Measuring Noise Pollution in High-Traffic Streets of Birjand. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 11: 1085-1090.