This practical guide for managers and engineers in the plastics industry shows how to reduce high noise levels which often occur in the workplace and reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing damage to employees. Practical methods for reducing noise from industrial machinery are described and illustrated with about twenty-five case studies relating to plastics processing machines such as granulators, shredders, extruders and injection moulders. Noise-control techniques include standard noise-control measures: enclosures, silencers and the use of sound insulating, sound-absorbing materials, vibration isolation and damping; and now the use of active noise control methods.

Along with fresh case studies this new edition adds chapters on environmental noise, on European Union machinery noise emission regulations, hearing protection, prediction of noise levels, and the design of quieter workplaces.

Bob Peters PhD, CEng, FIOA, CPhys has spent almost fifty years working in acoustics and noise control – in teaching, research, consultancy. He is a principal acoustic consultant for Applied Acoustic Design, a visiting fellow at London South Bank University, and distance learning course tutor for the Institute of Acoustics. He is also author of Acoustics and Noise Control 3rd edition, published by Routledge, and editor of Uncertainty in Acoustics, on acoustic measurements, with CRC Press.