When planning new mechanical plant installations or industrial processes, the Local Authority will usually require a noise assessment of the proposed plant to be undertaken in accordance with BS 4142.
British Standard BS 4142:1997 “Method for rating industrial noise affecting mixed residential and industrial areas” is a tool widely used to determine whether a noise is likely to give rise to complaint from people living in the vicinity. The standard is complicated, but basically it sets out a method of assessing the impact of measured or calculated noise, based on the difference between the “rating level” of the noise and the “background noise level” (LA90) that would otherwise exist in the absence of the noise. The “rating level” is derived by adding any correction that is necessary, due to certain characteristics of the noise such as tonal or impulsive elements, to the “specific noise level”.
We have completed more than 200 assessments on a vast range of proposed installations, from small domestic air source heat pumps, through factories and industrial units, to large-scale open-air waste management sites.
INDUSTRIAL AND PLANT NOISE
