This 1975 working paper from the Maryland State Aviation Administration examines methods for measuring and analyzing airport noise exposure, focusing on the Day-Night Average Sound Level (Ldn) as the recommended metric for assessing community noise impact. It reviews how sound characteristics such as magnitude, frequency, and time distribution affect human response, and evaluates criteria for acceptable noise limits based on effects including hearing loss, speech interference, sleep disturbance, and annoyance. The document also compares international noise exposure standards and proposes guidelines for land-use compatibility around airports.Open full document
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A working paper published by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Aviation Administration in January 1975 addressing the selection of appropriate methods for analyzing airport noise and establishing exposure limits. The document covers background information on measuring environmental noise exposure, the application of day-night sound level metrics to airport noise, and criteria of acceptability for airport noise including hearing loss, speech communication, annoyance, and sleep disturbance.
