Noise assessment in a thermal plant development project in Kuwait

摘要

Noise is now playing an ever increasing role in our lives now. The trend to build more factories, to use more ground vehicles, and to increase aircrafts etc. has created an acceptance of noise. Thus, noise pollution becomes another category of environmental pollution, which threats human health and well-being. Every year, millions of people are exposed to hazardous noise. Many of them suffer impairment of hearing, and become victims of increasing accidents due to noise effects. Therefore, to conduct noise assessment for any new development and to reduce exposure to high noise levels have become a routine request. Based on increasing energy demand, a new thermal power station will be built in Kuwait. The noise pollution problem from this project has caused great attention in the local communities. We initiated a study to address the local concerns. This paper details the study, which includes monitoring program design, instruments, and assessment results. A simple empirical model was derived for noise level predications.