Abstract
The negative effect of traffic noise on human health is indisputable. The article illustrates the magnitude of this problem in selected European capitals using data made available by the European Environment Agency, collected as a part of strategic noise mapping under Directive 2002/49/EC. The purpose of the described studies is to determine the number of people suffering from noise-induced health problems, and to compare the effect of the road noise on human health with the effect of noise from rail vehicles. Studies concern noise annoyance, induced sleep disturbance, and Disability-Adjusted Life Years, or DALY index. Analyses clearly show that environmental pollution from road noise often exceeds environmental pollution from railway noise by a factor of 10. In addition, studies show that in many cities, more than half of the population is exposed to road noise exceeding the acceptable values. The worst of all selected agglomerations with regard to people exposed to road and rail noise is Paris, the capital of France. It should be noted, however, that it has the highest population density of all the analyzed cities and a very well developed transport network. Further studies are needed to characterize the effect of traffic noise on inhabitant health more accurately, using specific indicators allowing to do so.
Highlights
Noise is one of the most adverse effects associated with moving means of transport.The amount of noise generated is affected by many factors related to the vehicle, the road, and the environment
The assessments of road noise effect on people so far have largely consisted only of references to noise limits set in Poland by the Minister of Environment, in agreement with the Minister of Health, [3,4] without any additional assessment of the noise level values obtained
The study presented in this paper clearly shows that road noise is a much greater environmental hazard than railway noise
Summary
Noise is one of the most adverse effects associated with moving means of transport.The amount of noise generated is affected by many factors related to the vehicle, the road, and the environment. The assessments of road noise effect on people so far have largely consisted only of references to noise limits set in Poland by the Minister of Environment, in agreement with the Minister of Health, [3,4] without any additional assessment of the noise level values obtained. Such an approach prevents completely assessing the actual state of the threat and is merely a technical action indicating the area and magnitude of the threats
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