Consumer Products

Consumer products represent a wide range of noise-producing items, and Clark (1991) divides them into four categories: recreational (e.g. guns, model airplanes, motorcycles, snowmobiles, go carts, all-terrain vehicles, video arcades, and private planes), hobbies/workshop (e.g. chain saws, power saws, shop vacuums, routers, lawn mowers, and snow blowers), household (e.g. garbage disposals, food blenders, vacuum cleaners, washers and dryers, air conditioners, and refrigerators), and music (e.g. personal stereos, rock concerts, symphony concerts, and home stereos). Among these, guns are the loudest (view image), with peak intensities well above 120 dB, followed by motorcycles and rock concerts, each of which can approach 120 dB in their peak intensity levels. The least noisy consumer products belong to the household category, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, which do not exceed peak intensities of more than 75 dB (see figure below).

Rock concerts have long been recognized as a significant source of noise pollution, and 1970's bands such as Slade and The Who were known to produce noise levels of up to 125 dB (view image), though most rock bands produce levels closer to 100 dB (Bugliarello et al., 1976). However, these events are of rather short duration, especially when compared to work environments, such as industrial facilities and construction sites, where workers typically spend eight or more hours a day, five days a week, for years or even decades. Thus, when put in perspective, perhaps it is noisy work conditions that warrant the attention often given to loud rock concerts.

Noise levels emitted during various activities:

(Clark, 1991)

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