Hygiena 2011, 56(1):11-17

Effects of Low Frequency Noise from Open Air Music Festivals on Unconcerned People in the Surrounding Areas

Pavel Junek¹, Dana Potužníková¹, Tomáš Hellmuth¹, Lubomír Píša², Ivan Kučera²

¹ Zdravotní ústav se sídlem v Ostravě, Národní referenční laboratoř pro komunální hluk, Ústí nad Orlicí

² Krajská hygienická stanice Královéhradeckého kraje se sídlem v Hradci Králové

Low frequency noise in the frequency range below 200 Hz has a very low attenuation through the open air, walls, windows and other barriers. It propagates over very large distances and can cause standing waves and resonances in dwellings. Therefore, the acoustic fields can be non homogenous in the embosomed areas. Some of the sources of low frequency noise are musical instruments. Presently, open air festivals have become a part of our everyday life, and sleep disturbance is commonly reported by people living in surrounding areas. The authors of the paper relate complaints of citizens from the surroundings of the open air festivals locations with low frequency noise in the music, based on series of measurements taken in the years 2008 and 2009. They point out the problems with measurements of the A-weighted sound level noise in which the low frequencies are present. They propose to use the difference between C- and A-weightings to indicate presence of the low frequency noise in the music. Examples of the outdoor and indoor noise measurements taken during the open air festivals are presented with categorization based on the types of music. Biological aspects of the influence of music on humans are also presented. It seems that loud music with low frequency noise can influence several systems in the human body. Special attention is paid to brain waves. Sleep disturbance of people living in distant dwellings is also worth concern. The aim of the presented work is to point out some negative effects of electronically amplified music at open air festivals on people living in the surrounding areas, and demonstrate the unsuitability of contemporary common measurement methods used in environmental noise investigation and health risk assessment.

Keywords: low frequency noise, public health, health risk assessment, annoyance, sleep disturbance, stress, entertainment music

Received: October 2010; Accepted: December 2, 2010; Published: March 1, 2011  Show citation