Noi­se Pol­lu­tion

Event orga­nizers should remem­ber that noi­se is pol­lu­tion too. Not all sound is noi­se, but the World Health Orga­niza­tion WHO defi­nes the noi­se limit as 65 deci­bels.

Usual­ly the maxi­mum deci­bel limit for out­door events is around 90–100 dB, for indoor events it is slight­ly lower – but even pro­lon­ged expo­su­re to 85dB can dama­ge the hea­ring. As a rule, using audio equip­ment in out­door events is only allowed from 9 am to 10 pm, so if you want to play music out­si­de this time win­dow, it is recom­men­dable that you also con­si­der the indoor option.

The sound from PA Sys­tem is tem­po­ra­ry noi­se, mea­ning it must be noti­fied to the local envi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion official. Read more on the City of Oulu Envi­ron­men­tal Cont­rol web­si­te.

Do this

Begin­ners

If your event is orga­nized out­doors, take the near­by natu­re and neigh­bors into con­si­de­ra­tion.

Inform local resi­dents about the noi­se caused by your event.

Distri­bu­te or sell earplugs to the audience, and orga­nize hea­ring pro­tec­tors for the staff.

Advanced

Place per­for­ming sta­ges and sound sys­tems in such a way that they cause as litt­le harm as pos­sible to the sur­roun­ding neigh­bor­hood and that the noi­se does not tra­vel through waterways to resi­den­tial houses.

Take into con­si­de­ra­tion that noi­se pol­lu­tion in natu­re sites can dis­turb ani­mals too.

Next Level

Do not shoot fireworks, which cause noi­se that causes excess stress and fear in pets and birds.