Industrial Plant Reduces Noise, Improves EHS with Sound-Absorbing Panels

EFPs

by | Nov 16, 2015

This article is included in these additional categories:

EFPsA wastewater treatment plant in New York has reduced its noise with sound-absorbing panels, which can help industrial plants increase productivity and improve environment, health and safety conditions, according to a case study published on Water & Wastes Digest.

The Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant’s acoustic levels exceeded safe levels, according to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The average background noise levels in the pump room were 92 dBA, and in the blower room were 87 dBA. This made communications between employees very difficult, thus increasing safety hazards and reducing productivity, the case study says.

The facility manager asked Eckel Industries to assess the plant. After an evaluation, Eckel suggested the plant install its sound-absorbing Eckoustic Functional Panels (EFPs) on specific wall and ceiling surfaces to achieve a reverberation goal of 85 dBA or less.

Eckel Industries says this paneling is ideal for industrial applications because the EFPs are versatile and durable, so they can be installed in new or existing facilities without interference with utilities such as sprinklers, lighting or ventilation. They require little or no maintenance, the company says.

In the generator room, with one engine set and three pumps running, the EFPs reduced the background noise from 92.5 dBA to 82.7 dBA, a reduction of 9.85 dBA. With two sets of engine generators and four pumps running, average noise levels were reduced by 6.98 dBA, bringing the overall noise level below 85 dBA.

The blower room experienced similar results, the case study says. With two blowers running, the average levels noise reduction with EFPs installed was over 5 dBA, from 86.6 dBA to 81.3 dBA.

 

Additional articles you will be interested in.

Stay Informed

Get E+E Leader Articles delivered via Newsletter right to your inbox!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Share This