Quantitative health impact assessment of construction noise exposure on the nearby region for noise barrier optimization

Abstract

As construction noise has become one of the most harmful pollutants for nearby residents, it is essential to quantify the health impacts of noise exposure to reduce them and reduce the number of resident disputes. Accordingly, this study aims to propose a method to assess the quantitative health impact of construction noise exposure on nearby residents and optimize noise barriers based on this health impact. To this end, the health impact of construction noise exposure on nearby residents was quantified as a health damage cost by estimating the environmental burden of disease (EBD) and its economic value based on noise simulations. The results show that the estimated health damage cost reflects the health impact of construction noise exposure on nearby residents within a feasible range of compensation costs compared with the existing compensation criteria. In addition, the optimal noise barrier heights reduce the health damage cost on a nearby region by 8.8% (USD 7213), and the barrier installation cost is also reduced by 0.7% (USD 1409). The proposed method can help the general contractor establish a noise mitigation plan to reduce the health impact of construction noise exposure on nearby residents as well as to prevent additional expenses for disputes or compensations. Furthermore, it can help the government reduce the social cost of solving disputes related to construction noise by providing a quantitative metric for compensation criteria based on the health impact of construction noise exposure.