Thursday 9 October 2014

The Necessity Of Drilling Noise Control

By Jocelyn Davidson


Offshore drilling is incredibly hazardous to the environment. In addition to the obvious oil spills, sonic pollution is a very damaging issue that requires drilling noise control. Although oil or gas leaks are the most well-known problems, sound pollution has equally hazardous effects on marine life. When disturbed by foreign sonic waves, marine life is unable to properly communicate, locate their food, and navigate themselves. It's reported that beaching of whales and dolphins might be a direct results of this.

Noise pollution is detrimental not only to marine life, but to humans as well. Research has been done in recent years that examine this problem. It's been realized that continued or syncopated loud sound from appliances, factory manufacturing, music, traffic, etc. All negatively affect humans and will eventually result in hearing loss.

These hearing loss issues are not to be taken lightly. Though the hearing loss can be temporary as well as permanent, your ears will be exposed to damage whatever the case. When sound reaches 70 decibels, humans comprehend this as simply loud sound. However, 10 more decibels from this and the ears can get damaged. If this loud sound gets to 100 decibels, the ears will have permanent damage that is non-repairable.

Excessive or exposure to loud sound will influence cognitive function as well. Reading can become more difficult, as well as comprehension and problem solving. On top of cognitive impairment, loud sound can also be a large distraction, especially in the workplace. Unfortunately, children are also highly affected by excessive sound. Researchers have compared children who attended school in noisy areas to ones who learned in quiet settings, and found loud sound was negatively correlated.

Noise pollution will eventually damage the heart as well. Research has been done, and it shows that blood pressure rises due to impairment of arteries and blood flow. Heart rates will also increase, especially in children. When these children have constantly high heart rates, they can eventually develop cardiovascular diseases.

High levels of pollution will be detrimental to your sleeping patterns. Obviously, loud noises can distract you from sleeping at night. This prevents people from feeling well-rested, and leaves them irritable and very uncomfortable during the day. On top of this, you will lose energy and experience a bit of fatigue as well. Your work performance will be highly affected because of this. Your social life can also be affected from lack of sleep. Since you are irritable, you might project your feelings to others, and end up offending them.

An environment of 50 to 60 decibels will be noticeably noisy to people. This will prevent people from talking to each other coherently. When you're in this situation, it's very easy to misunderstand what each other is saying, or simply not hear any speech at all.

Noise pollution will undoubtedly cause a lot of stress on a person. When this happens, it will be difficult to avoid the mental issues that come with chronic stress, including violent behavior. You might also experience other symptoms of stress such as headaches, emotional imbalance, or daily anxiety.




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