Evaluation of noise pollution by utilizing noise mapping: a case study for assessing effects of noise on occupational health and safety at container terminals

In every kind of workplace, depending on the on-going processes, sound is an integral part of the job being done. People occupying the area are directly exposed to a variety of sounds. Irrespective of their content, when the level reaches unwanted degrees it then becomes noise. Environmental noise, as it may have physical and physiological adverse effects on human health, has always been a social and occupational concern for people. Hence, identifying the amount of exposure to noise becomes a necessity in frequently used work places. In maritime field, there are a vast range of sources that could create unwanted noise levels in work places. Especially during port operations, either continuous or intermittent, noise sources may cause occupational health problems. Main assumption of this research bases on the fact that container terminal environment by nature involves a variety of shore-based noise sources which are someway harmful to human health. This assumption can only be proved by firstly making area-specific noise measurements, then analyzing the data obtained through this effort and finally by comparing the results to the standards set by national and international organizations. With this perspective on mind, this study firstly reviews the existing data on noise related problems and then discusses the methods for assessing and evaluating noise levels and then puts forward the international standards on the issue. Using a quantitative approach, the study utilizes full day measurement method as per ISO 9612:2009 Acoustics – Determination of occupational noise exposure – Engineering method at a container port to measure and evaluate operational noise levels at a running container terminal. The measurements are taken with intervals of 2 or 10 minutes in selected 30 points in the areas of the loading/discharging docks. For taking measurements a Sound Level Meter (Brüel & Kjaer 2260) was used and evaluation was performed through 7815 Noise Explorer software. Then, a thorough noise map of the workplaces concerned was generated. Research findings have revealed that the equivalent sound pressure levels in all workplaces where measurements are taken were around 76 dB which, though not drastically high, still falls under the harmful band of the noise. As one of the major assumptions of the study suggests, the results have shown that technological advances in port equipment and procedures does not always positively contribute to noise issue at container port terminals during cargo operations. However, the results of the study still make an attempt to contribute to enhancing environmental noise awareness as well as promoting efforts of researchers for further works in the field.