Can We Quiet Down New York City?

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) August 2, 2007 -- Because of this statement, New York City has established new rules, guidelines and standards for governing noise within the city, and they will be using the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) to monitor these new noise regulations. You can view all of these new codes at

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/airnoise.html

The biggest changes that are going to affect the soundproofing and noise control industry will come from the construction noise section of this new code. The DEP will be requiring a noise mitigation plan prior to the start of work at all construction sites effective July 1, 2007. The noise mitigation plan is to be posted at every construction site and if complaints are received around that site a DEP inspector will come to the site to see if any changes need to be made to the posted plan.

The new codes specifically call for noise mitigation within five categories of construction devices including impact equipment, earth moving devices, construction trucks, stationary devices and manual devices.

Impact equipment includes such items as pile drivers, jack hammers, hoe rams and blasting equipment. The new codes call for noise barriers to be utilized for noise pathway controls around pile drivers. The code states in section 28-102 a.1.C.i-iii, "The responsible party shall construct a portable noise barrier that shall be free from gaps and holes and constructed of a sufficiently massive material to achieve a Sound Transmission Class rating of STC30 or greater?The Noise barrier shall be long and tall enough to completely block the line of sight between the pile driver and any indoor receptor within 200 feet and that is a maximum of 20 feet above level grade, when work occurs. The barrier shall be placed as close to the actual pile driving work as feasible?Where applicable, portable noise shields made of steel frames wrapped with noise curtain materials, such as Sound Seal model BBC-13-2 or equivalently rated material." The new code also has very similar requirements jackhammers, hoe rams and blasting equipment.

Earth moving devices and construction truck requirements for noise pathway controls are very similar to the impact equipment requirements, but add these comments, in section 28-102 b. 1. C. iii, when dealing with vac-trucks and dump trucks. "Portable noise shields made of steel frames wrapped with noise curtain material, such as Sound Seal model BBC-13-2, or equivalently rated material, shall be used to form a noise barrier in the direction of sensitive receptors and completely block the line of sight between the receptors and the trucks. Noise curtains are typically made out of a ¼" thick heavy vinyl material, often with a noise absorptive quilt attached to one side. Those noise curtains generally weigh 1.5 lbs/sq.ft., have an STC rating of about 32, and come in 4-foot wide sheets complete with grommets and Velcro edges to aid in hanging the curtains and sealing the sheets side-by-side."

Stationary devices such as cranes, auger drill rigs and street plates also carry similar noise pathway controls and portable noise control shields to those stated for the impact equipment, earth moving devices and construction trucks.

Manually operated equipment such as concrete saws carry the same requirements for noise pathway controls, but add these comments for acoustical enclosures, in section 28-102 e. 1. C. iii. "Portable noise control enclosures made of steel frames wrapped with noise curtain material, such as Sound Seal BBC-13-2, or equivalently rated material, shall be built to surround (top and 3 sides) the concrete saw and operator. A well made enclosure, using curtain material with a Sound Transmission Class rating of STC30 or greater, can generally provide a 5dBA insertion loss providing there are no gaps in the enclosure."

In addition to the requirements for the aforementioned construction device categories, the new codes (section 28-107 4E) are calling out treatment for perimeter noise barriers. The noise barrier specifications call for "noise barriers made of a noise-resistant material sufficient to achieve a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of STC30 or greater, based on sound transmission loss data taken according to ASTM Test Method E90. Such a barrier can provide as much as a 10dBA insertion loss providing it is positioned as close as possible to the noise source or to the receptors. To be effective, the barrier must be long and tall enough to completely block the line of sight between the noise source and receptors. The gaps between adjacent panels must be filled-in to avoid having noise penetrate directly through the barrier."

This has just been a summary of some of the recommendations outlined within the new noise control plans for New York City.

Acoustical Solutions has been serving the soundproofing and noise control building industry for twenty years and is a national representative for the Sound Seal Company. Along with products for the above mentioned devices, enclosures and noise pathways, Acoustical Solutions offers a full line of indoor and outdoor industrial, commercial, environmental and architectural noise control products including enclosures, wall and fencing systems, acoustical panels, tiles, vibration and isolation control, doors and door hardware. For more information please visit http://www.acousticalsolutions.com or call 1-800-782-5742.

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