City Desk :
The sound pollution in capital Dhaka has grown to an alarming level and it now stands twice the normal level in some areas, according to a very recent study revealed in the city.
Conducted over 45 places in the mega city in January 2017, it found that the day time sound level varies from 83.3 decibel to 108.2 decibel at three different categories of places, while the noise level at night in those areas hovers between 68.7 decibel and 106.4 decibel.
The Save Environment Movement, which administered the study said on Tuesday that the sound pollution in the city goes unabated due to lax rules and poor implementation of laws in this regard. The lack of mass awareness has also been a contributing factor, it added.
Noise intensity is measured in decibel (dB) units. Subject to 45 dB of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 dB the ear registers pain; hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85 dB, claims, claims a separate paper produced by Muhammad Mahadi and available at http://www.bangladeshenvironment.com.
The new report says the most alarming scenario is that the noise level in residential areas at night is up to two times higher than the normal level, a scenario that ruins sleeping orders and cause high blood pressures and may lead to stroke.
The noise from ambulances has been registered as the highest at 110.1 decibel, says the report adding hydraulic horns posed to be serious threat to public health and road safety as well. The high sound generated from hydraulic horns stimulates driver to drive fast and it often leads to road traffic accidents.
It says regular exposure to high levels of noise damages hearing. However, the noise pollution can be reduced through passage and enforcement of laws, and increasing of public awareness about the problem.
The sound pollution in capital Dhaka has grown to an alarming level and it now stands twice the normal level in some areas, according to a very recent study revealed in the city.
Conducted over 45 places in the mega city in January 2017, it found that the day time sound level varies from 83.3 decibel to 108.2 decibel at three different categories of places, while the noise level at night in those areas hovers between 68.7 decibel and 106.4 decibel.
The Save Environment Movement, which administered the study said on Tuesday that the sound pollution in the city goes unabated due to lax rules and poor implementation of laws in this regard. The lack of mass awareness has also been a contributing factor, it added.
Noise intensity is measured in decibel (dB) units. Subject to 45 dB of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 dB the ear registers pain; hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85 dB, claims, claims a separate paper produced by Muhammad Mahadi and available at http://www.bangladeshenvironment.com.
The new report says the most alarming scenario is that the noise level in residential areas at night is up to two times higher than the normal level, a scenario that ruins sleeping orders and cause high blood pressures and may lead to stroke.
The noise from ambulances has been registered as the highest at 110.1 decibel, says the report adding hydraulic horns posed to be serious threat to public health and road safety as well. The high sound generated from hydraulic horns stimulates driver to drive fast and it often leads to road traffic accidents.
It says regular exposure to high levels of noise damages hearing. However, the noise pollution can be reduced through passage and enforcement of laws, and increasing of public awareness about the problem.
