As part of our continued support of Noise Action Week that took place earlier this year, Cirrus Research decided to send its team of experts out into the community to capture readings at everyday summer events that we Brits just love to go to.
Not quite on our doorstep but certainly in the neighbourhood, we found the popular and ever-growing Malton Food Festival, and decided to investigate noise levels at this event that spans the whole of the town centre, featuring both indoor and outdoor stalls.
Head of Sales and Marketing, Martin Ellison, taking some noise measurements at the festival
We were granted access to the whole site, including the tented demo area that saw chefs from across the region put on some great gastro displays. Thanks to the lovely weather, the event was extremely busy over both days.
The team got there early and set up a portable CK:675B environmental noise measurement kit in the main stage tent. The table below shows the different noise levels recorded throughout the day. Not surprisingly the bands – brass in particular – were much louder than the cooking demos, apart from one very lively cooking challenge.
Noise measurements were taken at the following areas:
| Time | Duration | LAeq (dB) | LAFMax (dB) | LCPeak (dB) | Notes |
| 26/05/2018 08:50 | 00:00:28 | 68.6 | 89 | 114.5 | Set up |
| 26/05/2018 11:15 | 00:01:07 | 73.9 | 88.5 | 101.3 | Lower stalls |
| 26/05/2018 11:29 | 00:01:10 | 68 | 76.4 | 92.2 | Pomodoro marketplace dolls still |
| 26/05/2018 11:54 | 00:02:06 | 67.5 | 80.6 | 96.2 | Top street near the Golden Lion |
| 26/05/2018 12:09 | 00:06:35 | 67.7 | 83.6 | 97.5 | Strolling along the top Street near the church |
| 26/05/2018 12:16 | 00:01:21 | 70.6 | 83.3 | 97.9 | Talbot Yard |
| 26/05/2018 12:40 | 00:01:28 | 69.3 | 80.5 | 101.8 | Just in front of the Milton Rooms |
| 26/05/2018 12:49 | 00:01:53 | 76.5 | 90 | 102.4 | Indoor market |
| 26/05/2018 13:00 | 00:01:53 | 71.9 | 78.5 | 94.1 | Pop up picnic area |
| 26/05/2018 13:19 | 00:03:46 | 90.8 | 103.3 | 118.9 | Brass band |
| 26/05/2018 13:23 | 00:01:19 | 92.1 | 99.8 | 113.5 | Brass Band other side |
| 26/05/2018 10:23 | 00:02:05 | 67.1 | 78.2 | 90.9 | Information stall at the food festival |
| 26/05/2018 10:31 | 00:02:08 | 65.8 | 81.2 | 100.3 | |
| 26/05/2018 10:35 | 00:02:05 | 66.3 | 78.8 | 96 | Marquee in the marketplace |
| 26/05/2018 10:44 | 00:06:51 | 68.2 | 83.8 | 112.1 | Pop-up picnic area |
| 26/05/2018 11:42 | 00:02:32 | 69.7 | 83.3 | 99.7 | Market Square |
| 26/05/2018 11:46 | 00:01:35 | 77.9 | 85.3 | 99.8 | Steam fair |
| 26/05/2018 11:47 | 00:01:27 | 68.9 | 79.2 | 96.8 | Shambles |
Overall, the averages were below the occupational upper action level of 85dB(A), except when you were listening to the brass band, so we hope the band members were wearing their own form of hearing protection!
The noise levels were also remarkably consistent across all the areas, with good crowds found in all the locations. The indoor market showed slightly louder readings than the rest of the site, but this was undoubtedly due to the enclosed nature of the space, with little leeway for noise mitigation. It was great to see such large crowds enjoying a real family fun day out, with plenty of tasting and talking going on, but nothing to worry our team or test the upper limits on our sound level meters and kits.
An Optimus outdoor measurement kit was put in place to measure the noise levels inside one of the marquees at the event
For the most accurate noise level readings, the team used:
2 x CR:171B Optimus Green sound level meters as handhelds for measurements in different festival locations.
1 x CR:171B plus a CK:675B outdoor kit for the measurements in the tent over the two days.
Noise Action Week takes place every year. To find out more go to: http://www.noiseactionweek.org.uk/
