Noise Free America is a national, non-profit organization aimed at reducing noise pollution

Noise pollution

Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...

 in the community. The organization’s main target is noise from boom cars (vehicles with loud sound systems), leaf blower

Leaf blower

A leaf blower is a gardening tool that propels air out of a nozzle to move yard debris such as leaves. Leaf blowers are usually powered by two-stroke engine or an electric motor, but four-stroke engines were recently introduced to partially address air pollution concerns. Leaf blowers are...

s, motorcycles, and car alarms.

Noise Free America has a 501(c)(3) non-profit status and has chapters in 27 states across the U.S. Currently, its headquarters are located in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

.

Beginning

Noise Free America was founded in 2001 at UCLA. A group of student interns identified 44 sources of noise pollution around campus, including jackhammers, leaf blowers, edge trimmers, and power washing machines. The group found these noise polluters to be disruptive to the academic environment at the university.

Features of NFA

Each month, Noise Free America issues a “Noisy Dozen” award to a major noise polluter. These awards have gotten significant media attention. Past winners include the cities of Youngstown, OH; Washington, DC; Stockton, CA; Kalamazoo, MI; and Baldwyn, MS.

Noise Free America also features an Ask an Expert section where people can ask technical questions about noise control. Noise control engineer Bob Andres is NFA's expert on noise pollution.

Office of Noise Abatement and Control

In March 2009, Noise Free America released a 76-page document titled “The American Noise Pollution Epidemic: The Pressing Need for Reestablishing the Office of Noise Abatement and Control.” The position paper lobbies for the reestablishment of ONAC, a sector of the Environmental Protection Agency dissolved by President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 in 1981.

Federal Legislative Agenda

The Federal government is called upon to declare noise a dangerous form of pollution, a serious threat to health and safety, and a public menace. To this end, Noise Free America recommends the following:

1. Establish a noise agency: The dormant Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) within the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) should be revived with full funding.
2. Limitations on train horns: The Federal Railroad Administration
   Federal Railroad Administration
   The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...
   
    (FRA) should reexamine its regulations regarding the length and duration of train horns at intersections that are equipped with bells, lights, and safety gates.
3. Limitations on back-up beepers: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
   Occupational Safety and Health Administration
   The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
   
    (OSHA) should reexamine its requirement for back-up beepers and trucks and vans. At the least, it should require back-up beepers of diminished volume.
4. Federal agencies study noise pollution
   Noise pollution
   Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
   
   : The President's Council on Environmental Quality, the United States Surgeon General
   Surgeon General of the United States
   The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
   
   , and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control should study and publicize the health and safety hazards of noise pollution.
5. FTC warning labels: The Federal Trade Commission
   Federal Trade Commission
   The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
   
    (FTC) should (a) require warning labels on products that are capable of causing hearing damage; (b) mandate a maximum decibel level for all electronically amplified products such as not to exceed "safe and reasonable" use; and (c) ban all toys whose noise levels pose a documented risk to the hearing of children.
6. Quieting jet aircraft: The Federal Aviation Administration
   Federal Aviation Administration
   The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
   
    (FAA) should set stricter noise thresholds for existing private and commercial internal combustion engine airplanes and mandate significantly quieter engines for future aircraft of this type.
7. Noise-silencing technologies: The FAA should give high priority to the goal of reducing by at least half the current “noise quotient” near existing airports within ten years using noise-sensitive routing protocols and noise cancellation and silencing technologies. Furthermore, substantial cash prizes should be awarded to designers and builders of prototypes of “the world's quietest airplanes” for selected categories of aircraft. The manufacturers of such aircraft should be granted significant tax benefits and other competitive advantages by Congress.
8. Limitations on “piped-in” music: The FAA shall set a maximum decibel limit for music "piped in" to airport terminals under its jurisdiction.
9. Limitations on car stereos: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
   National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
   
    should impose standards on allowable decibel
   Decibel
   The decibel is a logarithmic unit that indicates the ratio of a physical quantity relative to a specified or implied reference level. A ratio in decibels is ten times the logarithm to base 10 of the ratio of two power quantities...
   
   levels for car stereos.