# Study of Noise Effect of Slag Storage Technology on Surrounding Environment
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Measurement Results  
In order to carry out the measurements, a detailed analysis of the individual acoustic events was first carried out, including the calculation of the emission data values for these events, namely  
* lifting the arm with a hydraulic hammer;
* handling of the ladle car--plugging into the electrical grid;
* lifting of the slag pot and the dumping of slag;
* deskulling of the slag. In order to determine the emission data from the slag pot deskulling, noise measurements were first made at the \(\mathrm{M_{E}}\) measurement point, which was located at a fixed distance of 10 m from the centerline of the railway track at the level of the slag pot that was currently being handled. The time history of the equivalent sound pressure levels of the whole process of one deskulling cycle, with a deskulling time of approximately 5 s, with the related activities is shown in Figure 5.  
During the measurement at the \(\mathrm{M_{E}}\) measurement point, a manipulator with a hydraulic hammer deskulled the stuck slag that was being discharged from the slag pots. During this action, the manipulator operator lifted the hydraulic hammer arm and positioned it against the slag pot to use the hammer impacts to most efficiently release the slag residue from the slag pot. The number of strikes was stochastic, ranging from a few strikes to hundreds of strikes lasting several tens of seconds. The operator stops bounding as soon as the slag residue from the pot is released and dumped in the landfill. Further noise measurements during the slag pot deskulling were made at the dump site and in the protected areas (residential areas). Their purpose was to determine the sound propagation conditions in the surrounding area. At the same time, background noise measurements were also carried out. The measurements were carried out at the following measurement points:  
Figure 4: The attenuation due to propagation through vegetation increases linearly with the distance of propagation through this medium \(d_{t}\). Measurement point M1 was located on the slag dump at a distance of 14 m from the track axis, on which a train with ten slag pots was at a height of 1.5 m above the ground level. 2. Measurement point M2 was located on the road next to the slag landfill 25 m from the road axis at the time of measurement without vegetation at a height of 1.5 m above ground level at a distance of 940 m from the source. The measurement point was in the acoustic shadow of the landfill. 3. Measurement point M3 was located in the village on the boundary of the land adjacent to the family house at a distance of 1710 m from the source at a height of 1.5 m above ground level. 4. Measurement point M4 was situated on the road on the boundary of the land adjacent to the family house at a distance of 1980 m from the source at a height of 1.5 m above ground level. Measurements were performed repeatedly over a period of 3 months. Average values were taken into account during the evaluation. Atmospheric conditions were monitored and recorded during the measurements, and their influence was taken into account during the evaluation of the measurements. In accordance with the valid Slovak Republic legislation, since the speed of wind propagation was less than 5 ms\({}^{-1}\), the influence of atmospheric conditions was negligible. The location of the measurement points is shown in Figure 6.  
Figure 5: Time course from the M\({}_{\rm E}\) measurement point with the recording of process activities during the slag deskulling from several slag pots. Figure 6: View of measurement points M1–M4. Figure 7 shows the time course of the equivalent sound pressure level at the reference measurement point M1 during one cycle of slag pot deskulling one slag pot. From the given waveform, high emission values are evident with peak values reaching almost 110 dB. Figure 8 shows the time courses of the equivalent sound pressure level at all measurement points during one slag pot deskulling cycle.