A review of noise codes and regulations developed in the US over the last thirty years

摘要

In the 1970’s the United States was one of the leading countries addressing Noise as a human health issue, both in the work place and in regards to environmental noise exposure to the community. Many people working in the acoustics field in the United States over the last 20 plus years will report that in the 1980’s President Ronald Reagan placed a focus on defunding Federal noise programs and the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help benefit industry. A focus on a review of recent activity to regulate noise in the last ten plus years, along with the past 30 years of code development, demonstrates very little movement forward to in seriously address Noise Pollution in our communities. Both a general review of noise codes in the US, as well as empirical knowledge gained from running the City of Portland Oregon’s Noise Control Office, indicate our nation is on par with many third world countries in having a lack of focus on modernizing our noise codes to take advantage of the advances in noise measurement technology and instrumentation.