Noise Pollution Measurement in Crowded Areas of Neyshabur during primary Three monthes of 2015

Background and purpose: Exposure to the environmental noise originated from traffic is common in urban areas, and can lead to the adverse health effects. Present study aimed to determine average Sound Level Index (SLI) and noise pollution in overcrowded areas of Neyshabur, Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was accomplished over three primary months of 2015 in Neyshabour city. Six stations in main and crowded parts of Neyshabour including Imam Khomeini, Enghelab Square, Khayyam Square, Azadi Square, Beasat crossroad and Attar Street were applied to measure the SLA in three time period of a day. The measurements were carried out using SVAN953 mean. Statistical analyses of the obtained data were performed by SPSS 18 software. Results: The achieved results revealed that the average SLI at the aforementioned stations were (100.06 ±5.16), (93.38 ± 5.15), (86.58 ± 4.96), (93.38 ± 5.15), (97.38 ± 4.15) and (96.90 ± 2.17) dB respectively. The maximum and minimum Equivalent sound levels were 125.4 and 80.2 dB at the Imam Khomeini station (as a commercial area) in the morning and Beasat station (as a residential area) in the evening correspondingly. Conclusion: In all stations, the measured sound pressure levels were higher than its permission limit for residential and commercial areas. Regarding the adverse health effects of noise pollution, it needs to perform required investigations to reveal the effective factors.