Page 39 - Spring 2006

other professional societies, e.g., the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and others. The teaming will surely be an opportunity for strong collaboration between ASA and INCE/USA, but it will also provide an opportunity for outreach to other professional organizations that deal with some aspect of acoustics or noise. The important end result of this teaming will be a possible new National noise policy that will replace the present- ly ineffective Noise Control Act of 1972.
Following this NAE consensus study, additional policies may need to be developed at the state and municipal levels because there are different needs. Again, ASA and INCE/USA acoustical experts should participate in these pol- icy developments.
International activities
Over the years, the ASA and INCE/USA have encouraged growth internationally in both acoustics and noise control engineering. Our organi-
zations have contributed substantially to the International Commission on Acoustics, to International Congresses on Acoustics, and to International INCE; these are organizations that facil- itate international cooperation. Most of the world’s leading acoustical and noise control organizations are now members of I-INCE that promotes the annual INTER-NOISE series of conferences.
Over the past few years there has been an initiative within I-INCE to define, and promote the implementa-
8
tion of, a global noise control policy. The policy concentrates on three major areas: (1) occupational noise, (2) com- munity and environmental noise, and (3) consumer product noise. It suggests that individual professional organiza- tions help their respective governments establish local noise policies and regula- tions, while the international bodies should provide standards and criteria by which to evaluate the noises of concern. Many members of the ASA and INCE/USA have contributed signifi- cantly to this effort, and it is clear that their cooperative leadership role in this
crucial area will continue. More and more of our members will likely become involved in these types of activities as both the USA and global noise policies evolve and become legally enforceable. It is important that the Executive Council of ASA and the Board of Directors of INCE/USA continue to support this involvement by creating new, or maintaining existing, working groups and committees to work with the international community.
Publications
The present Agreement4 notes that INCE/USA and International INCE (I- INCE) jointly publish NNI, the maga- zine that replaced Noise/News in 1993. Although ASA has no financial obliga- tion to NNI, it has agreed to provide information that may be published in it. Such information might include the list of the titles of recent JASA articles related to noise, news on standards, occasional publication of noise-related articles from JASA, meeting informa- tion, and other noise-related news of the ASA. As a member benefit, NNI is
VERY LOW-NOISE
G.R.A.S. Low-noise level microphone systems can measure noise levels below the threshold of human hearing, e.g. from disk drives,
computer equipment in general and
in quiet rooms.
A quiet location can easily be
subjected to intrusive noise when
many otherwise "inaudible" devices are in use.
It is therefore important to know in advance (via accurate measurements) the noise contribution of quiet products when many of these are to be placed in quiet working environments.
Two such systems are available:
Type 40HH has a dynamic range from 6.5 dBA to 113 dB (-8 dB 1/3-oct.) re. 20μPa over a frequency range from 10 Hz to 16 kHz ±2 dB
Type 40HF has a dynamic range from -2 dBA to 110 dB (-15 dB 1/3-oct.) re. 20μPa over a frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 kHz ±2 dB
G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration
23621 Lorain Road
North Olmsted, OH 44070, USA
Tel.: 440-779-0100 · Fax: 440-779-4148 E-mail: sales@gras.us · www.gras.us
ASA-INCE/USA Synergy 37