§ 164-13. Guide to noise.

A. 

The intensity of noise is measured in decibels (db). Its measurement is logarithmic, which means that each decibel increase of 10 is a ten-times increase in the level of noise: 130 is 10 times greater than 120, and 130 is 100 times greater than 110.

B. 

A guide to the noise intensity:

(1) 

Thirty decibels is considered very quiet.

(2) 

Fifty decibels is considered moderately quiet.

(3) 

Eighty decibels is considered annoying.

(4) 

One hundred decibels is considered intolerable.

(5) 

One hundred forty decibels is considered threshold of pain.

(6) 

One hundred eighty decibels is considered lethal.

C. 

Applying the decibel scale to everyday, we find:

	Level	Decibels
	Lethal Level	180 Rocket engine
		150 Jet plane at takeoff
	Pain Threshold	120 Machine gun at close range
		120 Pneumatic chipper
		115 House party, 4-piece rock band
		115 Jet airliner (500 feet overhead)
		111 Motorcycle
		108 Pneumatic hammer, 6 feet away
		107 Power mower
		104 Walking near a helicopter
	Discomfort and Danger Area	102 Outboard motor
		102 Outside, jet taking off at airport
		100 Heavy automobile traffic or jet aircraft passing overhead
		100 Train stopping in station
		100 150-cubic-foot air compressor
		98 Farm tractor
		96 Pushing a power lawn mower
		95 Subway train
		95 At a seat in subway, windows open
		94 Inside a jet airplane on takeoff
		93 Food blender
		92 Screaming child
	Hearing Damage (Eight hours)	90 Bus idling; heavy city noises
		90 Niagara Falls at base; garbage disposal
		88 Propeller aircraft flyover at 1,000 feet
		86 Sports car running in street
		85 Garbage truck 200 feet away
		82 Traffic at a residential intersection
	Recommended Maximum Noise Level	75 Average traffic
		75 Vacuum cleaner; dishwasher
		70 Automobile; home air conditioner
		60 Conversational speech
		55 Window air conditioner
		50 Quiet restaurant
		45 Homes
		40 Quiet office
		35 Library
		30-40 Refrigerator
		30 Whispering
		20 Leaves rustling in breeze
		20 Broadcasting studio
		10 Normal breathing
		0 Audibility threshold (level of weakest sound that can be heard by young person with excellent hearing)