The Influence of Environmental Noise on the Living and Working Conditions of the Population - Slovak Case Study

Abstract

Physical stressors like noise can have a significant impact on both the environment and the health of people who are exposed to it. In particular, the excessive noise produced by road traffic is a highly topical issue. The study aimed to investigate the traffic noise values on a busy road in the town of Turzovka. In addition to comparing the measured results with the limit values, we conducted a questionnaire survey with fifty residents. The questionnaire surveyed the attitudes of fifty town residents towards traffic noise concerning their quality of life and health. Subsequently, we compared the questionnaire survey results with the measured noise values at a measured site on a busy road in Turzovka. The respondents' answers from the questionnaire survey confirmed that 68% of the respondents felt the impact of noise exposure on their health, which corresponded with the results of the accurate measurements. According to the measurements, the critical time zones were from 5:00 to 6:00 and from 16:00 to 17:00. The final part of the thesis consists of the proposed measures, whose implementation can decrease the potential high noise exposure and thus reduce the health risks associated with the noise issue.