Poluição sonora em um campus universitário: quais os impactos na percepção e no comportamento dos usuários?

Abstract

Noise pollution is considered an environmental problem on several university campuses. The excessive noise can compromise the academic performance of users. Thus, this work aims to identify the influence of the sound pressure level of the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) on the perception and behavior of users within the environments. This study was carried out by using on-site measurements collected on the external areas and in the internal environments across the campus and the results were compared to recommendations from national and international standards. In addition, the design strategies adopted in the campus project that promote noise mitigation were identified and evaluated. Questionnaires were also applied to a sample of 626 participants in order to assess their experiences and perceptions regarding noise on the campus. The results indicate that the institution's noise is not suitable for an educational area, since 81% of the points measured in the external environment exceeded that recommended by the Brazilian standard NBR 10.151 and 50% of the points exceeded the less restricted limits of the World Health Organization (WHO). In the indoor environments analysed, 100% of the measured points reached sound pressure levels above that recommended by WHO and by the national NBR 10.152 standard. Despite this, 46% of the volunteers say they are not disturbed by the existing sound, making noise pollution unnoticed by the population. The application of distance from the road to the building and the application of slopes for the unevenness of buildings in relation to the road (both with the use of surfaces with a high sound absorption rate materials) were identified as design strategies that contribute to the mitigation of noise on the campus. However, it is concluded that these strategies are still not enough to ensure indices of environmental acoustic quality at the institution, recommended by Brazilian NBR 10.151 and WHO recommendations.