Environmental Noise Impact Assessment for New Developments
We provide comprehensive environmental noise impact assessment services to help developers navigate planning regulations, mitigate acoustic risks, and safeguard surrounding communities. By evaluating the context of your project, our specialists identify all applicable international, national, and local noise emission limits early in the design stage. We thoroughly quantify noise sources, identify sensitive human and ecological receptors, and deliver targeted noise control engineering proposals to streamline your planning approvals.
Early involvement in a project provides the strategic opportunity to influence architectural and site design, potentially eliminating or significantly reducing noise impacts before construction begins. Integrating noise control engineering measures into early budgets yields substantial overall cost and time savings throughout the project lifecycle.
The Role of Noise Impact Assessment in EIA Frameworks
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an essential evaluation procedure applied to new development proposals, site extensions, and industrial expansions anticipating potential environmental impacts. As a crucial component of the planning and decision-making process, the EIA framework ensures potential noise disturbances are predicted, acoustically modelled, and mitigated through enhanced design standards.
Standards for Environmental Noise Assessment & Compliance
Our environmental noise assessment methodologies strictly adhere to established international, regional, and national acoustic standards:
Environmental Policies: Malaysia Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Amendment 1985) and the Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control (2017).
Acoustic Measurement & Prediction: ISO 1996-1:2016, ISO 1996-2:2017, and ISO 9613-2:1996 for outdoor sound propagation.
Industrial & Commercial Noise: BS 4142:2014+A1:2019 for rating commercial noise, BS 5228-1:2009+A1:2014 for construction sites, and DIN 45680 for low-frequency noise immission.
Transportation Infrastructure: Calculation of Road Traffic Noise 1988 (CRTN) and Calculation of Railway Noise 1995 (CRN).
Instrumentation & Calibration: Equipment compliant with IEC 61672-1, IEC 61672-3, IEC 60942, and IEC 61260-1. Laboratory operations strictly follow ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC Guide 98-3 measurement uncertainty standards.
Some (not limited to and depending on countries and contexts) standards we used in our work:
- Guidelines for Environmental Noise Limits and Control, 2017
- Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (Amendment), 1985
- ISO 1996-1:2016 Acoustics – Description, measurement and assessment of environmental noise – Part 1: Basic quantities and assessment procedures
- ISO 1996-2:2017 Acoustics – Description, measurement and assessment of environmental noise – Part 2: Determination of sound pressure levels
- ISO 9613-2: 1996 Acoustics – Attenuation of sound during propagation outdoors – Part 2: General method of calculation
- BS 4142: 2014+A1:2019 Methods for rating and assessing industrial and commercial noise
- BS 5228-1: 2009+A1: 2014 Code of practice for noise and vibration control on construction and open sites. Part 1: Noise
- DIN 45680 Measurement and assessment of low frequency noise immission in the neighbourhood
- IEC 61672-1 Electroacoustics — Sound level meters — Part 1: Specifications
- IEC 616723-3 Electronics – Sound level meters. Part 3: Periodic tests
- IEC 60942 Electroacoustics – Sound calibrators
- IEC 61260-1 Electroacoustics – Octave-band and fractional-octave-band filters – Part 2: Pattern-evaluation tests
- ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
- ISO/IEC Guide 98-3 Uncertainty of measurement. Part 3: Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement.
- Calculation of Road Traffic Noise 1988 (CRTN)
- Calculation of Railway Noise 1995 (CRN
Planning Policies & Environmental Noise Assessment Objectives
Sustainable development requires balancing economic expansion with noise control. Our assessments ensure planning decisions achieve key policy objectives:
Prevent noise from creating significant adverse effects on public health, psychological wellbeing, and quality of life.
Mitigate residual sound levels to a minimum practical threshold.
Support urbanisation, infrastructure, and commercial growth while ensuring existing businesses are protected from unreasonable restrictions when nearby land uses change.
Identify and preserve tranquil areas that have remained undisturbed by environmental noise.
Our Noise Impact Assessment Methodology
We execute environmental noise impact assessments through a structured, six-stage workflow:
Scoping & Investigation: Define project-specific noise issues and management boundaries.
Baseline Monitoring: Identify sensitive human and ecological receptors to establish baseline noise conditions.
Noise Prediction & Modelling: Computer-model acoustic propagation and predict noise levels generated by proposed operations.
Significance Evaluation: Measure predicted levels against regulatory standards to determine impact severity.
Mitigation Engineering: Design custom noise barriers, acoustic enclosures, and operational controls to limit noise spread.
Post-Implementation Verification: Conduct post-construction noise monitoring to verify mitigation compliance.
