US versus international environmental noise policies—a proposed agenda for the next decade

Abstract

During the past decade, there has been significant efforts in both Europe and Asia to develop new environmental noise control policies. During the same time in the US, there have been few major improvements in our national environmental noise policies, coupled with decreased levels of funding for noise research. The improvements in environmental noise policies being seen in Europe and Asia are due to an increasing awareness of the negative impacts of these exposures on the overall health and welfare of the exposed populations, and an awareness of the costs to society for these exposures. In particular, the rapidly evolving set of European Commission Noise Directives and the World Health Organization ‘‘Guidelines for Community Noise’’ represent a new, more aggressive philosophy concerning the steps required to minimize environmental noise exposure. In addition, the European Commission is adopting stringent noise emission criteria for a wide range of products, which could severely hinder US efforts to compete in the European marketplace. In response to this high level of international activity, it is proposed that the US embark on a 10-year effort to revitalize our national environmental noise policies. A description of a proposed philosophy for this program is presented.