Analysis of Sampling Methodologies for Noise Pollution Assessment and the Impact on the Population

Guillermo Rey Gozalo,Juan Barrigón Morillas

doi:10.3390/ijerph13050490

Abstract

Today, noise pollution is an increasing environmental stressor. Noise maps are recognised as the main tool for assessing and managing environmental noise, but their accuracy largely depends on the sampling method used. The sampling methods most commonly used by different researchers (grid, legislative road types and categorisation methods) were analysed and compared using the city of Talca (Chile) as a test case. The results show that the stratification of sound values in road categories has a significantly lower prediction error and a higher capacity for discrimination and prediction than in the legislative road types used by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications in Chile. Also, the use of one or another method implies significant differences in the assessment of population exposure to noise pollution. Thus, the selection of a suitable method for performing noise maps through measurements is essential to achieve an accurate assessment of the impact of noise pollution on the population.

Highlights

IntroductionA recent publication by the World Health Organization points out that noise pollution, ranked second among a series of environmental stressors for their public health impact and, contrary to the trend for other environmental stressors which are declining, is increasing in Europe [1]
A recent publication by the World Health Organization points out that noise pollution, ranked second among a series of environmental stressors for their public health impact and, contrary to the trend for other environmental stressors which are declining, is increasing in Europe [1].Noise is known to have auditory and non-auditory health impacts [2]
The selection of a suitable sampling method is essential to achieve an accurate assessment of the impact of noise pollution on the population

Summary

Introduction

A recent publication by the World Health Organization points out that noise pollution, ranked second among a series of environmental stressors for their public health impact and, contrary to the trend for other environmental stressors which are declining, is increasing in Europe [1]. Noise is known to have auditory and non-auditory health impacts [2]. Road traffic is considered to be the main source of community noise pollution. The most important non-auditory effects of traffic noise are annoyance and sleep disturbance [4,5,6,7]. Annoyance is a feeling of displeasure that can result in adverse emotions including irritability, stress, fear, and even depression [8,9,10,11,12]; it is associated with health-related quality of life [13,14,15]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion