Gordon Downey | NSW Environment Protection Authority | Australia
Jeffrey Parnell | NSW Department of Planning and Environment | Australia
The potential adverse impacts of Low Frequency Noise (LFN) from industry and wind farms are often raised in submissions to regulators as issues of concern. Whilst levels of LFN may be an occupational hazard in certain industries such as defence, aeronautics and music, it rarely constitutes an off-site hazard. It does however increase the level of annoyance and regulators must ensure controls are in place to provide adequate levels of community protection and address public concern.
This paper presents a practical approach developed by the authors that could be used to assess and regulate the effects of LFN in a manner that is consistent with contemporary science.
The approach was developed from a critique of existing wide band methods used to assess LFN including overall C-weighted thresholds and the C minus A delta approach currently used in New South Wales, Australia [1]. Several issues were identified from the critique including:
• The C minus A delta approach has a high potential to identify false positive results when assessed against more contemporary standards;
• There is a need for a robust, yet practical methodology; and
• An approach based on knowledge of the noise spectrum is needed.
In summary, the critique found that LFN assessment levels need to be based on the frequency spectrum. However, such comprehensive spectral analysis is complex for compliance assessment purposes and therefore both a preliminary screening measure and industry specific simplified measures could be proposed to minimise the need to progress to full spectral analysis in all circumstances.
10:15 am
2829 - Vibration measurement as a tool to solve a murder
David Eager, Prof. Dr. | University of Technology Sydney | Australia
Chris Chapman, Prof. | University of Technology Sydney | Australia
This paper will discuss a novel use of vibration measurement used to assist the NSW Police Force to solve the ‘pogo stick’ murder.
The authors were approached by the Homicide Squad regarding a suspicious death of a 7-year boy at Oatley in May 2013. The child had reportedly fallen from a pogo stick and suffered significant head injuries. The child had not been provided with medical attention after the fall and died some 24 hours later.
The incident occurred inside a small unit which was used as a music recording studio. The studio is on the first level of a larger business complex. The studio consisted of a recording room, a lounge room, and a kitchenette. The child fell in the lounge room. At the time of the alleged incident the mother was in the kitchenette, and the accused was in the recording room. According to the accused, he had headphones on and was listening to loud music when he 'felt' the vibration of the thud.
Kodi Maybir was found guilty of murder in November 2015.