scope:

This standard provides basic quantities and procedures for the description of residual sound levels in protected natural areas and quiet residential areas. This information supplements the basic information contained in the American National Standards listed as references. This standard specifies a method to measure residual sound in protected natural areas and quiet residential areas. This standard sets minimum requirements for the instruments used and for the sensitivity checks performed in conjunction with measurements in parks, wilderness areas, and quiet residential areas. This standard defines the A-weighted, noise-compensated (ANS-weighted metric), which is the standard Aweighting filtered to exclude sounds above the 1 kHz octave band.

The resulting data can be used to characterize residual sound levels with respect to anthropogenic noise. Data obtained in quiet residential areas can be used to assess the residual sound in relation to manmade noise sources such as wind turbine generators, compressor stations for pipelines, highways, and airports.