Comparison of community noise exposure parameters

As an initial effort in the development of a city noise control program, noise exposure was determined for 31 sites variously affected by noise from traffic, boats, trains, aircraft, and other sources. Digital monitoring equipment with a 100-dB dynamic range was used to obtain sound-level data for a minimum of 24 hours at each site, with a sampling rate of once per second. Data were reduced in terms of Leq, Ldn, CNEL, and sound-level percentile values. The correlations among these parameters show a dependency on types of noise present and also have implications for selection of limiting values.