Construction

Construction noise, a major source of noise pollution, is emitted by construction equipment, which Leasure (1979) defines as "that equipment utilized at construction sites for the fabrication, erection, modification, demolition, or removal of any structure or facility, including all related activities such as clearing of land, site preparation, excavation, cleanup, and landscaping" (p. 31-1). Like industrial equipment, construction equipment tends to produce more noise in the lower end of the frequency spectrum. But unlike industrial equipment, which emits noise that primarily affects workers within a facility, construction equipment tends to be used outdoors, and thus affects many other people besides the workers at the site. Additionally, construction equipment tends to emit noise at lower peak intensities than industrial equipment, with the exception of impact pile drivers and ballast cleaning machines, which can reach peak intensities of over 105 and 120 dB, respectively (Bugliarello et al., 1976; Leasure, 1979).

Bugliarello et al. (1976) describe five categories of construction equipment: earthmoving equipment, materials handling equipment, stationary equipment, impact equipment, and other types of equipment. Whereas the first three categories include machines that are powered by internal combustion engines (view images), machines in the latter two categories are powered pneumatically, hydraulically, or electrically. Additionally, exhaust noise tends to account for the majority of noise emitted by machines in the first three categories -- those that use internal combustion engines -- whereas engine-related noise is usually secondary to the noise produced by the impact between impact equipment and the material on which it acts. Machines in the last category ("other types of equipment") vary in their primary source of noise, of course. (Leasure, 1979)

Noise levels emitted by various construction equipment at 50 feet:

(Bugliarello et al., 1976)

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