Topic
Noise pollution
About: Noise pollution is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4455 publications have been published within this topic receiving 67192 citations.
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TL;DR: A relatively simple GIS-based noise model is presented that may be used for routinely evaluating the health impacts of environmental noise in urban environments and varies considerably between neighborhoods.
Abstract: Vehicle traffic is the major source of noise in urban environments, which in turn has multiple impacts on health. In this paper we investigate the spatial distribution of community noise exposures and annoyance. Traffic data from the City of San Francisco were used to model noise exposure by neighborhood and road type. Remote sensing data were used in the model to estimate neighborhood-specific percentages of cars, trucks, and buses on arterial versus non-arterial streets. The model was validated on 235 streets. Finally, an exposure-response relationship was used to predict the prevalence of high annoyance for different neighborhoods. Urban noise was found to increase 6.7 dB (p < 0.001) with 10-fold increased street traffic, with important contributors to noise being bus and heavy truck traffic. Living along arterial streets also increased risk of annoyance by 40%. The relative risk of annoyance in one of the City's fastest growing neighborhoods, the South of Market Area, was found to be 2.1 times that of lowest noise neighborhood. However, higher densities of exposed individuals were found in Chinatown and Downtown/Civic Center. Overall, we estimated that 17% of the city's population was at risk of high annoyance from traffic noise. The risk of annoyance from urban noise is large, and varies considerably between neighborhoods. Such risk should be considered in urban areas undergoing rapid growth. We present a relatively simple GIS-based noise model that may be used for routinely evaluating the health impacts of environmental noise.
93 citations
TL;DR: Curvilinear effects of age on self-reported annoyance from environmental noise were investigated in a pooled international and a Dutch sample of in total 62,983 individuals aged between 15 and 102 years, revealing an inverted U-shaped pattern that explains the absence of linear age effects in previous studies.
Abstract: Curvilinear effects of age on self-reported annoyance from environmental noise were investigated in a pooled international and a Dutch sample of in total 62,983 individuals aged between 15 and 102 years. All respondents were frequently exposed to varying levels of transportation noise (i.e., aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise). Results reveal an inverted U-shaped pattern, where the largest number of highly annoyed individuals was found in the middle-aged segment of the sample (peaking around 45 years) while the lowest number was found in the youngest and oldest age segments. This pattern was independent of noise exposure level and self-reported noise sensitivity. The inverted U-shape explains the absence of linear age effects in previous studies. The results are discussed in light of theories predicting an age-related vulnerability to noise. © 2009 Acoustical Society of America.
92 citations
TL;DR: A high prevalence of annoyance reports, as well as aspects indicative of sensitivity to noise exposure, are found, which suggest the importance of reviewing and updating Brazilian public policies regarding environmental noise.
92 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that greenery perception exerts considerable influence on noise annoyance rated at home and wetland parks and garden parks are shown to be able to reduce noise annoyance to a greater degree than grassy hills.
91 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a sound dosimeter was worn by the operating surgeon during three total hip replacements and two total knee replacements, and a timed record of the procedures was kept concurrently.
Abstract: Background: Surgeons working in orthopedic operating theatres are exposed to significant noise pollution due to the use of powered instruments. This may carry a risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The present study was designed to quantify the noise exposure experienced by surgeons and establish whether this breaches occupational health guidelines for workplace noise exposure.
Methods: A sound dosimeter was worn by the operating surgeon during three total hip replacements and two total knee replacements. A timed record of the procedures was kept concurrently. Noise levels experienced during each part of the procedure and total noise exposures were measured. Noise exposures were compared with occupational health guidelines.
Results: Noise exposure in total hip replacement averaged 4.5% (1.52−6.45%) of the allowed daily dose (average duration 77.28 min). Total knee replacement exposure was 5.74% (4.09−7.39%) of allowed daily exposure (average duration: 69.76 min). Maximum sound levels approached but did not exceed recommended limits of 110 dBA (108.3 dBA in total hip replacement and 107.6 dBA in total knee replacement). Transient peak sound levels exceeded maximums of 140 dB on multiple occasions during surgery.
Conclusions: Overall total noise dose during orthopaedic surgery was acceptable but orthopaedic surgeons experience brief periods of noise exposure in excess of legislated guidelines. This constitutes a noise hazard and carries a significant, but unquantified risk for noise-induced hearing loss.
91 citations