Preliminary information on noise pollution in commercial banks of Balasore, India.

ABSTRACT

The environmental noise in some commercial banks of Balasore, in terms of standard noise indices was worked out in the present study. Noise pollution was assessed in twenty different commercial banks of the city on 31st August, 2010 and during first week of September, 2010. The present noise monitoring was conducted with the help of sound level meter, which was calibrated acoustically using an external reference source, and placed over the microphone. It is inferred that the noise levels were more than the permissible limit i.e. 50 dB as prescribed in USA in all the investigated banks of Balasore and the maximum noise levels were around double of the said permissible limit, which is a contradiction with that of developed countries. Analysis of variance was also computed for all the banks during peak hour (10a.m.-12noon). The mean values of noise levels in different banks ranged from 75.5 to 90dB; from 69 to 83.6dB and 71.5 to 83.5dB during 10a.m.-12noon, 12-2p.m. and 2-4p.m., respectively. It was categorically observed that noise levels were more during 10a.m.-12noon than other investigated time intervals in all the 20 investigated banks. It is imperative to mention here that such an attempt of assessing noise in banks is first of its kind in India.