Mining in the U.S. Rocky Mountain West (circa 2007) and its environmental noise implications

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2007-05, Vol.121 (5_Supplement), p.3041-3041
• Main Authors: Hankard, Michael, Cerjan, Jeff
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/1.4781722

There’s gold in them hills, and some oil, gas, and coal, too. Commodity prices are up, the desire to develop domestic energy supplies is strong, and the West has some (relatively) green fuels to be had. The relevance of this to acoustics is that it takes a lot of big, noisy equipment to get these resources to market. This, combined with the construction of homes advancing further into prime mining lands, tends to create noise conflicts between landowners and mineral rights owners. This study identifies the locations of existing mining operations in the West, and looks at which sectors are on the rise. The major noise producing activities associated with various mining activities are described, including earth moving, processing, transportation, and blast noise and vibration. A review of noise propagation models, applicable environmental noise regulations, and mitigation strategies is also provided. This report is intended to be a useful reference for those interested in gaining an understanding of the location and nature of current and projected mining operations in the U.S. West, the noise generated by these operations, and how noise conflicts between mining and homeowners are being addressed.