More than ever before we are experiencing disturbances in our work and personal lives. Such noise pollution can affect not only our peace of mind but also tension levels, communication between people, and even safety in the workplace. Home and condo owners are becoming aware of low EPA and EPC noise standards, allowing easy litigation against sellers and builders for noise levels from adjoining units. (residential is 55 db at night, 60 db during the day) It is of course much easier to head off the problem during construction rather than correct it (if even possible) after. OSHA is focusing more on noise levels in the work place than ever before. The cost effective solution, is to stop noise problems before they happen. Today's construction techniques leave much to be desired in these areas. The best acoustic isolation methods (rooms within rooms) are far too costly.  Contrary to common usage, fiberglass, foam insulation, sound board, or extra layers of drywall do little to stop noise transmission. Even a concrete block wall is not a very good sound barrier: Sound is very difficult to stop and solid rigid materials actually tend to vibrate themselves, producing sound on the other side. While others attempt various ways to stop or absorb sound, ArtUSA has resolved the problem in a vastly different way. The soft 1/8" thick barrier is engineered not to stop or even absorb sound, but through a unique thermodynamic process transforms the sound energy into trace amounts of heat. Our barrier is made of a polymer material. As sound waves cause the material to flex, internal friction occurs and the acoustical energy is dissipated into a very small trace amount of heat. The principle is isothermal for low frequencies and adiabatic for higher frequencies. This is truly a vastly superior method to using massive solid materials for stopping sound transmission. Thus one 1/8" layer of barrier in a standard wall will result in more sound reduction than 12" of poured concrete! A concrete block wall using a metal stud and barrier was tested by a NVLAP lab. testers commented "We have never tested a wall assembly that achieved such a high sound transmission loss rating... it even exceeded the testing capabilities of most laboratories!"  The barrier is not only an incredible sound isolation product, but can be easily installed without construction changes, special tools, or skilled labor and is U.L. approved for use in 277 fire-rated wall and floor/ceiling configurations. Simply cut it with a box knife, staple or screw to studs, and ensure an airtight fit.