Eoin A. King

Strategic environmental noise mapping : methodological issues concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive and their policy implications

This paper explores methodological issues and policy implications concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END) across Member States. Methodologically, the paper focuses on two key thematic issues relevant to the Directive: (1) calculation methods and (2) mapping methods. For (1), the paper focuses, in particular, on how differing calculation methods influence noise prediction results as well as the value of the EU noise indicator L(den) and its associated implications for comparability of noise data across EU states. With regard to (2), emphasis is placed on identifying the issues affecting strategic noise mapping, estimating population exposure, noise action planning and dissemination of noise mapping results to the general public. The implication of these issues for future environmental noise policy is also examined.

Estimating human exposure to transport noise in central Dublin, Ireland.

This paper reports on research conducted to determine estimates of the extent of environmental noise exposure from road transport on residents and workers in central Dublin, Ireland. The Harmonoise calculation method is used to calculate noise values for the study area while a Geographical Information System (GIS) is utilised as a platform upon which levels of noise exposure are estimated. Residential exposure is determined for L(den) and L(night) while worker exposure is determined for L(den). In order to analyse the potential of traffic management as a noise abatement measure, traffic was redirected from the main residential areas to alternative road links and the revised exposure levels were determined. The results show that the extent of noise exposure in Dublin is considerable, and in relative terms, it is worse for the night-time period. In addition, the results suggest also that traffic management measures have the potential to lead to significant reductions in the level of noise exposure provided that careful consideration is given to the impact of traffic flows on residential populations.

Implementation of the EU environmental noise directive: lessons from the first phase of strategic noise mapping and action planning in Ireland.

The first phase of noise mapping and action planning in Ireland, in accordance with EU Directive 2002/49/EC, is now complete. In total this included one agglomeration, one airport and approximately 600 km of major roads outside the agglomeration. These noise maps describe the level of noise exposure of approximately 1.25 million people. The first phase of noise mapping was dealt with by five noise mapping bodies while 26 action planning authorities were involved in the development of the associated action plans. The second phase of noise mapping, due to be completed in 2012, sees a reduction in the defined thresholds describing the required agglomerations, roads and railways that have to be mapped. This will have a significant impact on the extent of mapping required. In Ireland this will result in an increased number of local authorities being required to develop strategic noise maps for their area along with the further development of associated action plans. It is appropriate at this point to review the work process and results from the first phase of noise mapping in Ireland in order to establish areas that could be improved, throughout the noise mapping project. In this paper a review of the implementation procedures focussing on (dominant) road traffic noise is presented. It is identified that more standardisation is needed and this could be achieved by the establishment of a national expert steering group.

An assessment of residential exposure to environmental noise at a shipping port.

The World Health Organisation has recently acknowledged that contrary to the trend for other environmental stressors, noise exposure is increasing in Europe. However, little research has been conducted on environmental noise exposure to handling activity at shipping ports. This paper reports on research examining the extent of noise exposure for residents within the vicinity of Dublin Port, Ireland using the nations largest port terminal as a proxy for port noise. In order to assess the level of exposure in the area, long-term measurements were undertaken at the most exposed residential façade for a period of 45days to determine the extent of night-time exposure that was above levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. The indicators L90, Leq and LMax were used to determine exposure levels. The results show that exposure is above night-time guideline limits set down by the WHO, above Irish levels for the assessment of noise mitigation and highlight the extent to which port noise can be a significant environmental stressor. The research also investigated the extent of low-frequency noise (which is associated with greater health issues) from night-time port handling activity and found a significant low-frequency component indicating the negative health issues that might arise from port noise exposure more generally. We also undertook semi-structured interviews with residents to qualitatively assess the self-reported impact of prolonged night-time noise exposure for local residents.

Smartphone-based noise mapping: Integrating sound level meter app data into the strategic noise mapping process.

The strategic noise mapping process of the EU has now been ongoing for more than ten years. However, despite the fact that a significant volume of research has been conducted on the process and related issues there has been little change or innovation in how relevant authorities and policymakers are conducting the process since its inception. This paper reports on research undertaken to assess the possibility for smartphone-based noise mapping data to be integrated into the traditional strategic noise mapping process. We compare maps generated using the traditional approach with those generated using smartphone-based measurement data. The advantage of the latter approach is that it has the potential to remove the need for exhaustive input data into the source calculation model for noise prediction. In addition, the study also tests the accuracy of smartphone-based measurements against simultaneous measurements taken using traditional sound level meters in the field.

Modelling of intra-urban variability of prevailing ambient noise at different temporal resolution

Abstract The impact of temporal aspects of noise data on model development and intra-urban variability on environmental noise levels are often ignored in the development of models used to predict its spatiotemporal variation within a city. Using a Land Use Regression approach, this study develops a framework which uses routine noise monitors to model the prevailing ambient noise, and to develop a noise variability map showing the variation within a city caused by land-use setting. The impact of data resolution on model development and the impact of meteorological variables on the noise level which are often ignored were also assessed. Six models were developed based on monthly, daily and hourly resolutions of both the noise and predictor data. Cross validation highlighted that only the hourly resolution model having 59%explanatory power of the observed data (adjusted R2) and a potential of explaining at least 0.47% variation of any independent dataset (cross validation R2), was a suitable candidate among all the developed models for explaining intraurban variability of noise. In the hourly model, regions with roads of high traffic volumes, with higher concentrations of heavy goods vehicles, and being close to activity centreswere found to have more impact on the prevailing ambient noise. Road lengthswere found to be the most influential predictors and identified as having an impact on the ambient noise monitors.

Chapter 3 – Environmental Noise and Health

This chapter provides a systematic overview of the existing evidence investigating the health effects of environmental noise. There is now a considerable literature linking environmental noise exposure with a wide array of negative health effects. The most important of these are annoyance and sleep disturbance, but other emerging effects are potentially considerable including the relationship between excessive noise exposure and cardiovascular outcomes such as hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke. Moreover, the after-effects of noise-induced sleep disturbance are associated with numerous health-related problems including feeling of fatigue, reduced performance, increased anxiety and negative emotional responses such as anger and even depression. Children appear to be a particular risk group with respect to noise with research, showing that environmental noise exposure has negative cognitive impacts in children. These include reduced reading and problem-solving ability as well as reduced attention span and motivation among noise-exposed children. Moreover, the most recent evidence suggests a link with mental health issues including emotional problems, conduct disorder, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviour.

Chapter 2 – Principles of Environmental Noise

This chapter introduces the basic principles of environmental noise. At the outset the difference between the terms ‘noise’ and ‘sound’ is discussed followed by the general theory informing the wave motion of sound. Then, key concepts associated with the frequency of sound are presented with an emphasis on how frequency information is represented in assessments of environmental noise. The decibel scale is described, together with examples of how its logarithmic scale operates within the field of acoustics. The manner in which the human ear responds to sound, and how this is accounted for through the use of a weighting system, is also discussed. The chapter concludes with observations on the measurement of environmental noise along with a description of how sound is attenuated through propagation outdoors.

Noise Mitigation Approaches

This chapter focuses on technical and practical approaches for noise abatement. In doing so, a critical overview is provided of the noise action planning process adopted in the EU as part of the Environmental Noise Directive as well as an outline of the typical approaches adopted for noise action planning. The chapter then delineates between source-based abatement measures which are often more technical in nature, before discussing propagation-based measures which tend to focus on reducing noise at a particular receiver (or set of receivers). Emphasis is also placed on the creation of an environmental noise abatement strategy which incorporates both long-term and short-term measures for achieving noise reduction. Finally, practical examples are provided of best-practice real world case studies where noise reductions have been achieved as a result of the implementation of noise abatement strategies for key transportation (road and rail) sources.

Assessing the accuracy of head related transfer functions in a virtual reality environment

While graphics and visual representations for Virtual Reality (VR) systems are very well developed, the manner in which audio signals and acoustic environments are recreated in a VR system is not. In the case of audio spatialization, the current approach makes use of a library of standard head related transfer functions (HRTFs), i.e., a user selects a generic HRTF from a library, with limited personal information. It is essentially a “best-guess” representation of that individual’s HRTF. This limits the accuracy of audio developments for virtual reality. This paper reports on results from localization tests to determine the capabilities of a generic HRTF used in a VR environment. Volunteers entered a VR world, and an invisible sound source made a short bursts of white noise at various position in the room. Volunteers were asked to point to the location of the sound source, and results were captured to the nearest millimeter using the VR’s motion tracking system. It is proposed that future versions of this experimental methodology will enable the development of a pseudo-personalized HRTF, unique to each individual VR user.While graphics and visual representations for Virtual Reality (VR) systems are very well developed, the manner in which audio signals and acoustic environments are recreated in a VR system is not. In the case of audio spatialization, the current approach makes use of a library of standard head related transfer functions (HRTFs), i.e., a user selects a generic HRTF from a library, with limited personal information. It is essentially a “best-guess” representation of that individual’s HRTF. This limits the accuracy of audio developments for virtual reality. This paper reports on results from localization tests to determine the capabilities of a generic HRTF used in a VR environment. Volunteers entered a VR world, and an invisible sound source made a short bursts of white noise at various position in the room. Volunteers were asked to point to the location of the sound source, and results were captured to the nearest millimeter using the VR’s motion tracking system. It is proposed that future versions of this...