Noise pollution in a shopping center of Konya (Turkey)

Konya is one of the 16 metropolis of Turkey. Population of Konya is more than one millions. Survey area is one of the big shopping centers in the city. Elevated shopping center noise levels potentially affect communication, stress levels, aggressive behavior in customers and working people during the day. The purpose of this research study was to characterize the environmental noise inside a shopping center in Konya (Turkey). Data was collected in decibels (dB) at six locations in the shopping center over 3 different time periods on Sunday and Wednesday as crowded and normal work days respectively. Recorded data was analyzed and compared across locations and over time, in the light of World Health Organization (WHO) and Turkish noise standards. The 16.0 version of SPSS software were used for analyses of factorial variance. The results showed that the average sound levels varied between 62.25 (+/- 3.56) and 74.36 (+/- 3.53) dB on Wednesday and Sunday respectively. The highest rate of noise concerns with the last hour of the work day.