Noise pollution

About: Noise pollution is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4455 publications have been published within this topic receiving 67192 citations.

Road traffic noise and sleep disturbances in an urban population: cross–sectional study

Abstract: Noise is one of the major environmental hazards of the modern world, originating from a wide variety of sources, including traffic (air, road, or rail), industrial facilities, or social activities. About 40% of the population in the European Union are exposed to road traffic noise with an equivalent sound pressure level (Leq) exceeding 55 dB(A) at daytime, whereas 20% are exposed to levels above 65 dB(A). Noise pollution is a major public health problem in developing countries as well. It is caused mainly by road traffic; the 24-hour Leq can reach even 75-80 dB(A) along the main roads. More than 30% of Europeans are exposed to Leq exceeding 55 dB(A) at night, which may cause sleep disturbances (1). Systematic noise measurements in Serbia were performed in four cities with a population over 250 000. The results of follow-up measurements in Belgrade over 30 years showed that outdoor noise levels exceeded the allowed limits on 23 out of 27 measuring sites for 11-16 dB during day and 10-14 dB during night (2). In contrast to some other environmental problems, noise pollution continues to increase, followed by an increasing number of complaints from the exposed residents. The adverse health effects of community noise pose a serious public health problem. They include hearing impairment, interference with speech communication, disturbance of rest and sleep, psychological and performance effects, effects on one’s behavior, and subjective annoyance and interference with intended activities. Furthermore, noise has socio-cultural, esthetic, and economic effects. The estimated social costs for all noise nuisances are around 2.1% of the gross national product in industrialized countries, with about 0.2% attributable to productivity losses and 1.9% to decreases in property values (3). Healthy sleep is a prerequisite for good physiological and mental functioning. However, disturbed sleep includes biological responses that may have numerous adverse effects on health and well-being, from difficulties with falling asleep, alterations of sleep stages, and awakenings to increased blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia (4). The pathophysiological basis for a noise-sleep relation may be the stimulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, adrenal medulla, and sympathetic nervous system with a subsequent release of “stress hormones,” ie, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisone (5). These biological responses might have long-term health implications including chronic fatigue syndrome, lower work productivity, increased proneness to accidents, and disturbances of blood pressure and coronary circulation. Substantial individual differences in neuroendocrine, immune, and behavioral responses to noise indicate that the level of noise itself may not be of primary importance. A close relation between arousal level and personality traits, such as introversion, neuroticism, and subjective noise sensitivity, can explain these differences (6,7). However, it is still unclear how important these personality characteristics are for the occurrence of sleep disturbances. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between extroversion-introversion, neuroticism, and subjective noise sensitivity as personality traits and sleep disturbances caused by traffic noise. We expected personalities characterized by higher levels of introversion, neuroticism, and subjective noise sensitivity to be more prone to noise-disturbed sleep.

How anthropogenic noise affects foraging.

Abstract: The influence of human activity on the biosphere is increasing. While direct damage (e.g. habitat destruction) is relatively well understood, many activities affect wildlife in less apparent ways. Here, we investigate how anthropogenic noise impairs foraging, which has direct consequences for animal survival and reproductive success. Noise can disturb foraging via several mechanisms that may operate simultaneously, and thus, their effects could not be disentangled hitherto. We developed a diagnostic framework that can be applied to identify the potential mechanisms of disturbance in any species capable of detecting the noise. We tested this framework using Daubenton's bats, which find prey by echolocation. We found that traffic noise reduced foraging efficiency in most bats. Unexpectedly, this effect was present even if the playback noise did not overlap in frequency with the prey echoes. Neither overlapping noise nor nonoverlapping noise influenced the search effort required for a successful prey capture. Hence, noise did not mask prey echoes or reduce the attention of bats. Instead, noise acted as an aversive stimulus that caused avoidance response, thereby reducing foraging efficiency. We conclude that conservation policies may seriously underestimate numbers of species affected and the multilevel effects on animal fitness, if the mechanisms of disturbance are not considered.

Traffic noise exposure affects telomere length in nestling house sparrows.

Abstract: In a consistently urbanizing world, anthropogenic noise has become almost omnipresent, and there are increasing evidence that high noise levels can have major impacts on wildlife. While the effects of anthropogenic noise exposure on adult animals have been widely studied, surprisingly, there has been little consideration of the effects of noise pollution on developing organisms. Yet, environmental conditions experienced in early life can have dramatic lifelong consequences for fitness. Here, we experimentally manipulated the acoustic environment of free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus) breeding in nest boxes. We focused on the impact of such disturbance on nestlings’ telomere length and fledging success, as telomeres (the protective ends of chromosomes) appear to be a promising predictor of longevity.We showed that despite the absence of any obvious immediate consequences (growth and fledging success), nestlings reared under traffic noise exposure exhibited reduced telomere lengths compared with their unexposed neighbours. Although the mechanisms responsible for this effect remain to be determined, our results provide the first experimental evidence that noise alone can affect a wild vertebrate’s early-life telomere length. This suggests that noise exposure may entail important costs for developing organisms.

Noise emission during the first powerboat race in an Alpine lake and potential impact on fish communities

Abstract: In order to assess the effects of high-speed boating on fish communities, noise levels were measured during the first Class 1 powerboat race on the Austrian Lake Traunsee. The noise spectra were compared to natural ambient noise and hearing abilities of four native fish species. Sound pressure levels (SPLs) were significantly elevated during the training heats and the race compared with natural levels, reaching up to 128 dB re 1 μPa (instantaneous SPL) at a distance of 300 m to the powerboats. Continuous equivalent SPLs were significantly lower during training and the pole position race compared to the race itself because fewer boats were simultaneously on the lake. The hearing abilities of the native hearing specialists and generalists were investigated. While carp and roach (two cyprinids) showed enhanced auditory sensitivity typical for hearing specialists, perch and whitefish were much less sensitive to sounds. Comparisons between power boat noise spectra and audiograms showed that the cyprinids can detect the boats up to several hundred meters distance because the main noise energy is well within the most sensitive hearing range. The hearing generalists, however, probably only perceive the first harmonic of the boat noise at close distances.