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The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is the independent safety, standards, and research body for Great Britain’s rail network.
Air-filled latex balloons are used as impulse sound sources in room acoustics testing.
A study was conducted at London South Bank University measuring peak sound pressure levels from popping balloons of three sizes: small (9"), large (15"), and giant (36").
At 0.5 meters, large and giant balloons exceeded peak impulse noise limits set by EU and UK regulations (LCpeak ≥ 137 dB) and U.S. and Canadian thresholds (Lpeak ≥ 140 dB).
WHO guidelines for maximum safe exposure for children (Lpeak = 120 dB) were exceeded in all cases.
There is currently no standardized safety guidance or labelling related to balloon use in acoustic testing or public environments.
The study recommends implementing hearing protection, increasing burst distances, and integrating risk assessments.
The study advocates for safety labelling on balloon packaging.
This study is the first comprehensive investigation into balloon burst noise exposure and its potential for hearing damage.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is the independent safety, standards, and research body for Great Britain’s rail network. RSSB have just published a report by the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) outlining the technical proposals for a new standard for rail noise source terms for use in environmental noise modelling. The report concludes Stage 1 of the development of the standard, and it will be followed in Stage 2 by a draft standard for railway noise source terms taking account of feedback received on the Stage 1 proposals.
The work is related to the ongoing wider industry efforts to replace the Calculation of Road Traffic Noise and The Calculation of Rail Noise with a new four-part prediction standard for calculating noise from road and railway sources in Great Britain. This work is being led by the British Standards Institution Transportation Noise Committee EH1/2.
The approach for rail noise will broadly follow previous work undertaken by the HARMONOISE and IMAGINE projects which were the precursor to the European Union’s common noise assessment method CNOSSOS. The rail noise approach will include methods for charactering rolling noise, traction noise, aerodynamic noise, bridge noise, curving noise, braking noise, impact noise and train horns. It will include default terms for implementation in Great Britain together with guidance for predicting and measuring new terms.
RSSB, the ISVR and the BSI committee are keen to receive feedback on the proposals from the industry which are available here https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability/a-quieter-railway
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On Thursday 17 July, members of the IOA/Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Heat Pump Working Group participated in the Air Source Heat Pump Noise Policy Workshop.
International Women’s Day 2018 is a good time to reflect on the role of gender in our industry.
If you're planning to attend Inter-Noise 2022 in Glasgow from 21-24 August, be sure to join our conference social and ceilidh (a bargain at just £20)
On my first day in consultancy I didn’t even get a desk before I was despatched to join the company’s multi-disciplinary engineering team working in the client’s office on a new Wafer Fabrication Faci
I am so thrilled to be writing this month’s YMG blog for you on inspiring the next generation, it is a subject close to my heart.
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