The following is from Table B.1 from Federal Agency Review of Selected Airport Noise Analysis Issues [page B-6] published by the Federal Interagency Committee on Noise (August 1992) Source of the information is attributed to a publication titled Outdoor Noise and the Metropilitan Environment by M.C. Branch, et al. Los Angeles California: Department of City Planning, City of Los Angeles, 1970
| dB(A) | Overall Level | Community Noise Levels (Outdoors) | Home and Industry Noise Levels | Subjective Loudness (Relative to 70 dB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | Uncomfortably Loud | Military jet aircraft take-off from aircraft carrier with afterburner at 50 ft . . . 130 dB | Oxygen Torch . . . 121 dB | 32 times as loud |
| 110 | Turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at 200 ft . . . 118 dB | Riveting machine . . . 110 dB Rock band . . . 108 - 114 dB | 16 times as loud | |
| 100 | Very loud | Boeing 707 or DC-8 aircraft at one nautical mile (6080 ft) before landing . . . 106 dB Jet flyover at 1000 feet . . . 103 dB Bell J-2A helicopter at 100 ft . . . 100 dB | 8 times as loud | |
| 90 | Boeing 737 or DC-9 aircraft at one nautical mile (6080 ft) before landing . . . 97 dB Power mower . . . 96 dB Motorcycle at 25 ft . . . 90 dB | Newspaper press . . . 97 dB | 4 times as loud | |
| 80 | Car wash at 20 ft . . . 89 dB Propeller plane flyover at 1000 ft . . . 88 dB Diesel truck 40 mph at 50 ft . . . 84 dB Diesel train 45 mph at 100 ft . . . 83 dB | Food blender . . . 88 dB Milling machine . . . 85 dB Garbage disposal . . . 80 dB | 2 times as loud | |
| 70 | Moderately loud | High urban ambient sound . . . 80 dB Passenger car 65 mph at 25 ft . . . 77 dB Freeway at 50 ft from pavement edge 10 a.m. . . . 76 dB | Living room music . . . 76 dB Radio or TV-audio. vacuum cleaner . . . 70 dB | 70 dB(A) |
| 60 | Air conditioning unit at 100 ft . . . 60 dB | Cash register at 10 ft . . . 65-70 dB Electric typewriter at 10 ft . . . 64 dB Dishwasher (Rinse) at 10 ft . . . 60 dB Conversation . . . 60 dB | 1/2 as loud | |
| 50 | Quiet | Large transformers at 100 ft . . . 50 dB | 1/4 as loud | |
| 40 | Bird calls . . . 44 dB Lowest limit of urban ambient sound . . . 40 dB | |||
| 10 | Just audible | |||
| 0 | Threshold of Hearing | |||
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