Strategic Noise Maps and Action Plans for the reduction of population exposure in a Mediterranean port city

Abstract

One of the major environmental problems in contemporary societies is noise pollution, as it is well-known that noise adversely affects both the physiological and the psychological human health and well-being. This paper presents the development of Strategic Noise Maps and Action Plans for the “agglomeration of Piraeus”, an area with >15% of the total population and almost 12% of the total area of the “Athenian – Piraeus conurbation”. In Piraeus different noise sources, such as the railway, port activities, the road network, industrial and logistic activities etc., in combination with mixed land uses, dense urban canopy characteristics, residential areas adjacent to major road arterials etc. create a complicated noise environment that causes annoyance to the population. For this study, a campaign of 55 24-hour noise measurements was carried out and a series of 200 traffic counts were used for the estimation of traffic characteristics. Annual road traffic data were derived from a validated traffic model, while vessel, rail and industrial activity data were obtained from the service operators and in-situ surveys. The aforementioned noise/traffic measurements were used to calibrate a complex geographical model of the urban canopy and the noise sources layout. Strategic Noise Maps were then developed, along with estimations of the population exposure and DALYs lost from environmental noise per source. Action Plans including intervention measures aiming at the reduction of noise pollution in the area were then proposed. It was found that when implementing the interventions proposed both the noise levels and the exposure of population were significantly reduced, highlighting the importance of exposure reduction, especially for the vulnerable subpopulations, through prevention measures and strategies.