American physicians have associated some seemingly unrelated conditions to sound exposure. Long-term exposure to transportation noise has been associated with increased cardiovascular risk (Babisch, 2006). Hearing loss can occur at even low levels of sound that occur for an extended time (Sisto et al., 2007; Reuter et al., 2007; Dobie, 2007). Noise related hearing loss can occur in a variety of work settings (Mrena et al., 2007; Trost and Shaw, 2007; Moon 2007). ). Therefore, every work situation needs to be evaluated for the potential to cause hearing loss. Many of the ill effects of noise may be linked to loss of sleep (Rios and daSilva, 2005; Robertson et al., 2007; Lu et al., 2005).

Although the limits set by Title 42 are not requirements by Russia or the UK, they will be used as guidelines in the design of the structure. In the U.S. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets guidelines for workers during an 8-hour workday (OSHA, 2007). This facility will not be subject to inspection by OSHA, but its regulations set an excellent standard for worker safety. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the workers to use OSHA guidelines as the guiding principles for this project. Using U.S. standards will assure that the passengers and workers are afforded the highest level of protection possible. Even though this is not a requirement, the project will adhere to the most stringent set of rules in reference to sound protection issues.

Thermal Pollution

Thermal pollution typically refers to an effluent that is released into a stream or other body of water. The effluent causes a rise in the temperature of the water, places wildlife at risk. There are no streams or waterways surrounding the airport that would be affected by thermal pollution from aircraft. As always, one has to be careful with fuels, petroleum products and other materials to assure that they are handled and disposed of in a safe fashion. However, in this project there is little risk of a thermal pollution problem.

Although there is little risk of thermal pollution via the typical routes, there is some risk that aircraft activity may place the permafrost at risk. This problem was first addressed by Dingman, Weeks, and Yin-Chao (1967). However, there has been little research conducted in this area since that time. There are few inhabitants or human concerns in the permafrost region. This airport is an exception to the rule. The key problem that is of concern to this project is that thermal pollution does not melt the permafrost causing instability in the substrate. It is not expected that this will be a significant problem, but a monitoring program will be instituted as a part of this project in order to make certain that thermal pollution does not become a problem in the future.

Conclusion

Russian and UK laws give us few clues that will help to resolve the potential noise problem that may arise during the construction and occupation of the new terminal and runway. The legislative role on the issue of noise pollution is one of guidance, rather than strict regulation. Laws in all three countries that will be involved realize that there is no way to predict every circumstance that could arise from the issue. Therefore, common sense and concern for the occupants, neighbors and other stakeholders must be the guiding principle that governs the control of thermal and noise issues throughout the project.

The ultimate goal of this firm is to consider all of the perspectives of the may stakeholders that will be affected by the project. It will attempt to ascertain the optimal building materials to be used and will suggest locations for structures based on maximizing the distance between the sound source and the listener. It will have to consider many perspectives from a daily exposure standpoint. For instance, it will have to consider the exposure of a passenger that is only exposed to a noise for a short time and that of a worker that will be exposed to a sound to 8 hours, 5 days a week or more. The analysis...

However, noise abatement will have to be considered along with all of the other design issues that arise. One of the most difficult tasks in this project will be to convince Russian authorities of the potential dangers and attention that needs to be payed to the noise issue. They have taken a rather non-chalant attitude towards worker exposure to noise in the past. However, as a U.S. firm, noise is a serious consideration in any project. This may represent a potential clash during the project that will have to be handled when the time comes. However, going armed with the latest statistics on the harmful effects of noise and the costs associated with it should help to make the Russians more aware of the problem and its importance. The consulting firm will have to be proactive in its approach to the importance of the noise issue. It can anticipate that it will have to overcome a lack of concern on the part of the Russian authorities.
Section 2.0: Why Noise is a Concern on This Project

One of the key problems in dealing with noise from a legal perspective is that what constitutes "noise" is difficult to define. The definition of noise is subjective and will differ depending on whom one asks. Noise, by the strictest definition means sound that passes from one space to another (Sneider and Phil, 2005). However, not every sound that passes from one space to another is considered to be noise. Some sounds are considered pleasurable and not bothersome at all. In order to be considered "noise" the sound has to be considered bothersome in some manner to someone. However, when a noise becomes bothersome is also highly subjective. One person may consider a sound to be noise, while it barely bothers another. This question of what constitutes "noise," as opposed to simply "sound" has confounded the UK legal profession for decades. Legal professionals in the United States are confronted with a similar dilemma.

The most commonly accepted definition of "noise" means a sound that poses a potential health risk. A sound that can damage hearing would definitely be considered to be "noise" by most definitions. However, it may be noted that individuals differ in their sensitivity to pressures in the ear caused by sound (Sneider and Phil, 2005). However, there are known averages under which damage typically occurs to hearing. These averages are used to determine minimum and maximum allowable sound levels to ensure health and safety.

Research has found that the environment has a considerable amount to do with how sound effects one's susceptibility to hear. The type of building materials and their acoustic properties, dampness, condensation, thermal insulation and heating all contribute to how sound effects individuals in the space (Sneider and Phil, 2005). Therefore, when we begin to discuss the new terminal, these factors will have to be considered from a design perspective. The choice of building materials will have to take into account the acoustic properties of the material.

Several attributes of human hearing will have to be taken into account in the design of the buildings. One is that the human ear notices high frequencies more easily than low frequencies. The second is that two sounds being heard simultaneously have an additive effect as far as loudness is concerned (Sneider and Phil, 2005).

Airport noise is treated differently from standard noise, such as construction noise. Loudness, in terms of decibels is only one aspect of the potential for noise to cause damage. Low, middle, and high frequency noises are treated differently by sound engineers (FICAN, 2007). The reason for this is that the human ear is better suited to hearing mid to high frequencies. Sounds in this range are more annoying than those that lie outside the human range of hearing. Therefore, special consideration will have to be given to sounds in this range.

The a-weighted sound level (dBA) is used to measure the pressure caused by sounds within the average human hearing range (FICAN, 2007). This classification helps to distinguish between damaging sound and that which is outside of the human hearing range. This distinction helps engineers design sound reduction systems that are the most effective in dampening the types of sound that will be the most bothersome. a-weighted sound levels will be used to help target the design of the sound insulation so that it will be the most effective.

When measuring sound, the most common measurement takes into account the cumulative noise exposure from a single sound event. For instance, an aircraft flyover produces many different sounds at several different frequencies. The total accumulative effect of these sounds is referred to as the Sound Exposure Level (SEL). This measurement is the sum of the sound energy over the duration of the event (FICAN, 2007). The SEL is normalized to one second, but for most sound…