What factors influence the typical sound level limits?
Sound level limits should be established at typical residential locations in the adjacent community. There is three basic factors to consider. 1. Those communities with higher noise levels, e.g. industrial zones, interstate highway zones, typically have higher noise limit levels. 2. Specifying just the dB limit is not enough because the time variant nature of the community sound has an impact on how annoying the sound is judged to be. Thus a time-related parameter must be included. 3. The frequency content of the sound may also be important is some situations. Normally a dBA measure is used in which mid range frequencies of the sound pressure spectrum are emphasized. However in special circumstances a dBC measure may be more appropriate in which lower frequency content is taken into account.
