ENVIRONMENT
Table 1. Acoustic classification by land use. Areas
Land use
Protected areas Quiet areas
Outdoor natural areas, schools and hospitals Homes, open areas, roads, pedestrian zones and parks
Moderate noise areas Mixed areas of housing, offices and commerce Loud noise areas
Mixed areas of housing, offices, commerce,
hotels, museums, libraries, theatres, small industry and workshops
Special noise areas Industrial areas, transportation centres and heavy traffic roads
sites with the highest noise emission according to a tour and an interview with users. In Mexico City, the measurements of sound emissions are carried out, in most cases, based on a citizen complaint against the operation of commercial establishments or operation of industries that starting from the noise that it generates. However, the objective of the external measurements in our study was to know the levels of urban noise reaching the hospital and compare them with permissible international standards. For this, measurements were made in the perimeter of the section that adjoins the Avenida Revolución and Barranca del Muerto primary avenues, as well as on Plateros secondary avenue. The records were made at every 10 metres distance between each one, access to the emergency area and the main entrance. Figure 2 shows the location of all 22 external points of noise measurement.
Daytime measurements The measurement phase began at 09:00 and lasted a period of five minutes on each point. Figure 3 shows outdoor daytime noise measurement at point six. Of the 22 daytime measurement points
established on the perimeter of the property – carried out between 09:00 and 12:00, it appears that the lowest minimum
60–65 70–75 Source: Towards an acoustic categorization of urban areas in Mexico City by Rodriguez et al. 2016
Figure 2. Location of external points of noise measurement.
values at the sidewalk level were found on Plateros avenue, where the lowest value recorded was 59.4 dBA. It should be noted that Plateros, according to the site analysis, is a tertiary avenue. To have a reference of acceptable noise
values in such areas, Colombian national standards were considered.6
consider a maximum of 55 dBA as satisfactory noise emissions for hospital areas during the day. In this case, it is observed that the
lowest recorded value of 59.4 dBA, is 4.4 dBA above the value recommended by the aforementioned Colombian
These values
standards. In the same area, 59.9 dBA was recorded at reference point 19. Located on Plateros avenue, this point is significant because it is at the access to HGDFF hospital pharmacy is located. This area is exposed to the outside with a waiting area for patients and users who come for medication, and who must remain directly exposed for a long time to the noise caused by urban traffic. Likewise, it is important to note that the hospital has three accesses on high- traffic avenues: the main access on Barranca del Muerto avenue, where a noise level of 67.1 dBA was recorded at reference point 12; personnel access located on Barranca del Muerto avenue, where a noise level of 65.6 dBA was recorded at point 14; and access to the emergency area on Avenida Revolución, where 71.5 dBA and 74.2 dBA were recorded at points seven and six respectively. Table 2 shows all daytime noise
measurements. All these values are above the value recommended by the Colombian standards. This situation implies not only the temporary exposure of users to noise, but also the existence of noise ingress from urban traffic.
Night measurements In the 22 night measurement points carried out between 20:00 and 00:00, the lowest values recorded at the level of the perimeter sidewalk of the hospital were found on Plateros – as mentioned, a tertiary avenue. Figure 4 shows outdoor night-time noise measurement at point 11. The lowest value recorded was 57.5 dBA (point 20) while the maximum value recorded was 74.3 dBA (point three) on Avenida Revolución, which is a primary avenue. In both cases, the main source of noise was urban traffic. The Colombian standards state a
Figure 3. Point 6 outdoor daytime measurement. 60
satisfactory noise level for such areas at night are 45 dBA, with a 50 dBA maximum. The recorded nighttime value of 72.9 dBA at point six located on Avenida Revolución – at the access to the emergency area – is where patients’ relatives wait on the sidewalk and remain
IFHE DIGEST 2022
Limit max. suitable noise (dBA) Noise limit real (dBA) 40–45 45–50 50–55 55–60
50–55 55–60 60–65 65–70
Source: Resėndiz, 2019
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