| 1. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Bulleravgift för järnvägsoperatörer : prissättning enligt marginalkostnadsprinciper
- 2006
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Swedish Parliament has decided that, in order to mitigate externalities in railway infrastructure, operators in the Swedish railway infrastructure shall pay charges based on short-run marginal social costs. Internalization of the social cost from noise is of particular interest, since it is the only environmental problem which people perceive as more troublesome today than they did in the early 1990s. Inclusion of a noise component in rail infrastructure charges raises two problems: (i) the monetary evaluation of noise abatement, since noise is a non-marketed good, and (ii) the estimation of the effect on the noise level that one extra train will create. We are interested in the marginal noise, since infrastructure charges based on the short-run marginal cost principle should be based on the effect from the marginal train, not the noise level itself. We show in this study that, based on already obtained knowledge, it is possible to implement a noise component in the rail infrastructure charges. Those values that already today are used to estimate the social cost from noise exposure (which in Sweden are based on noise from road-traffic) in cost benefit analysis can also be used to calculate the marginal cost. We recommend, however, that further research is carried out in order to get more robust estimates and to get estimates based on railway traffic. We also show that the existing noise estimation models can easily be modified to estimate the marginal noise. Noise infrastructure charges give the operators incentives to reduce their noise emissions. We believe that this kind of charges can be used to reduce overall emission levels to an optimal social level, but that it is important that these charges are based on monetary estimates for rail-traffic and not road-traffic.
|
|
| 2. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Bullervärden för samhällsekonomisk analys : beräkningar för väg- och järnvägsbuller
- 2009
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Noise is a significant social problem. For example, more than 20 per cent of the European Union's population is exposed to higher noise than what is considered acceptable. The transport sector is a major contributor to society's increasing noise problem, due to increased traffic volumes and urbanization exposing more people to noise. Road traffic is admittedly the largest individual noise source in the transport sector, but other transport modes such as aircraft and railways are also responsible for considerable noise emissions. Noise entails costs for the society. This fact, and that society has different needs, means that policies and projects to reduce noise levels need to be evaluated to secure an efficient resource allocation. Benefit cost analysis is a powerful tool to evaluate noise abatement, but it requires both benefits and costs to be measured in a common metric, i.e. in monetary values. Today's official monetary values for all modes are based on the impact of road-traffic noise on property prices. It is a well established fact that the disturbance which individuals experience differs between modes, and therefore there is a need to estimate monetary values based on the respective modes. This report focuses on road and rail noise, two noise sources with different characteristics. This study describes the need to revise the current official Swedish policy values for noise abatement. Current values for road-traffic noise show a progressive relationship between the social cost and the noise level that is too strong, and values for railway noise has been missing and instead based on results for road noise. Valuation of health effects should also be based on EKM since it is sanctioned within the EU, instead of the approach now proposed by ASEK based on estimated total social costs from noise exposure in relation to estimates from willingness to pay studies.
|
|
| 3. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Marginal cost pricing of noise in railway infrastructure
- 2008
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to mitigate negative effects from traffic it has been decided that infrastructure charges in the European Union (EU) should be based on short run marginal costs. The Swedish Parliament has legislated that operators in the Swedish railway infrastructure must pay charges based on short run marginal social costs in order to mitigate externalities in railway infrastructure. Internalization of the social cost of noise is of particular interest, since it is the only environmental problem perceived as more troublesome today than in the early 1990s. Inclusion of a noise component in rail infrastructure charges raises two issues: (i) the monetary evaluation of noise abatement, since noise is a non-market good, and (ii) the estimation of the effect on the noise level that one extra train will create. Regarding the latter, we are interested in the marginal noise, since infrastructure charges based on the short-run marginal cost principle should be based on the effect from the marginal train, not the noise level itself. Using already existing knowledge, this study shows that it is possible to implement a noise component in the rail infrastructure charges. The values that are used today to estimate the social cost of noise exposure in cost benefit analysis can also be used to calculate the marginal cost. We recommend, however, that further research be carried out in order to get more robust estimates based on railway traffic. We also show that the existing noise estimation models can easily be modified to estimate the marginal noise. Noise infrastructure charges give the operators incentives to reduce their noise emissions. We believe that this kind of charge can be used to reduce overall emission levels to an optimal social level, but that it is important for the charge to be based on monetary estimates for rail-traffic and not road-traffic.
|
|
| 4. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Marginal cost pricing of noise in railway infrastructure
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Railway Transportation. - : Nova Science Publishers, Inc.. - 9781617285745 - 9781606928639 ; , s. 141-162
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to mitigate negative effects from traffic it has been decided that infrastructure charges in the European Union (EU) should be based on short run marginal costs. The Swedish Parliament has legislated that operators in the Swedish railway infrastructure must pay charges based on short run marginal social costs in order to mitigate externalities in railway infrastructure. Internalization of the social cost of noise is of particular interest, since it is the only environmental problem perceived as more troublesome today than in the early 1990s. Inclusion of a noise component in rail infrastructure charges raises two issues: (i) the monetary evaluation of noise abatement, since noise is a non-market good, and (ii) the estimation of the effect on the noise level that one extra train will create. Regarding the latter, we are interested in the marginal noise, since infrastructure charges based on the short-run marginal cost principle should be based on the effect from the marginal train, not the noise level itself. Using already existing knowledge, this study shows that it is possible to implement a noise component in the rail infrastructure charges. The values that are used today to estimate the social cost of noise exposure in cost benefit analysis can also be used to calculate the marginal cost. We recommend, however, that further research be carried out in order to get more robust estimates based on railway traffic. We also show that the existing noise estimation models can easily be modified to estimate the marginal noise. Noise infrastructure charges give the operators incentives to reduce their noise emissions. We believe that this kind of charge can be used to reduce overall emission levels to an optimal social level, but that it is important for the charge to be based on monetary estimates for rail-traffic and not road-traffic.
|
|
| 5. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Noise charges in railway infrastructure : a pricing schedule based on the marginal cost principle
- 2006
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to mitigate the negative effects of transportation and to achieve a competitive transport sector, infrastructure charges in the European Union shall be based on short-run marginal costs. This paper shows that railway-noise charges can be estimated using already obtained knowledge of monetary and acoustical noise evaluation. Most European countries have standardised calculation methods for total noise level, which can be used to estimate the marginal acoustical effect. Based on a Swedish case study (with a relatively high number of exposed individuals), railway-noise charges are estimated at 0.026, 0.099 and 0.89 e/km for commuter, high-speed and freight trains, respectively.
|
|
| 6. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Noise charges in road traffic : a pricing schedule based on the marginal cost principle
- 2007
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One way of mitigating the negative effects of noise from road traffic is to include the external cost of noise in a road charging system. This study shows how standardized calculation methods for road traffic noise can be used together with monetary estimates of the social cost of noise exposure to calculate charges based on the social marginal cost. Using Swedish data on traffic volume and individuals exposed to road noise, together with official Swedish monetary values for noise exposure, we estimate road-noise charges for light (cars) and heavy (trucks) vehicles.
|
|
| 7. |
- Andersson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
-
Property prices and exposure to multiple noise sources : hedonic regression with road and railway noise
- 2008
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study examines the effect of road and railway noise on property prices. It uses the hedonic regression technique on a Swedish data set that contains information about both road and railway noise for each property, and finds that road noise has a larger negative impact on the property prices than railway noise. This is in line with the evidence from the acoustical literature which has shown that individuals are more disturbed by road than railway noise, but contradicts recent results from a hedonic study on data of the United Kingdom.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Gidlöf-Gunnarsson, Anita, 1957, et al.
(författare)
-
Good sound environment in green areas modify road-traffic noise annoyance at home
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Noise Control 2009 (EURONOISE 2009). - uo : Curran Associates, Inc.. ; , s. 1579-1587
-
Konferensbidrag (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- There has been a growing recognition among noise researchers that natural elements and natural areas of the built environment have potentials to reduce annoyance due to traffic noise. It has been suggested that presence of vegetation (e.g., trees, bushes, grass, flowers) contributes to an aesthetically pleasing environment, which influence overall residential satisfaction and people?s perception of the noise. Other expected benefits of natural elements/areas are prevention or modification of adverse effects of work-, personal-, or environmental stress (e.g., noise) through restoration processes. Within the large TVANE-project, the present study examined the effect of green areas (park or similar at walking distance) on noise responses in residential settings (n=468) exposed to road traffic noise (LAeq,24h 45 to 65 dB). A binary multiple logistic regression analysis, with sound exposure as the prime variable assumed to predict general noise annoyance at home, indicated that presence of green areas, a closer distance to it from the subject?s home, and perceived green-area characteristics (good sound environment, high attractiveness and potentials for recreational activities) significantly lowered noise annoyance. The results suggest that the exposure-response relationship between noise and annoyance is influenced by access to nearby green areas provided that they have good environmental quality, particularly regarding the perceived sound environment
|
|
| 10. |
- Gidlöf-Gunnarsson, Anita, 1957, et al.
(författare)
-
Noise annoyance and restoration in different courtyard settings: Laboratory experiments on audio-visual interactions
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Inter Noise 2007, Istanbul 28-31 August, Paper no IN07_117 (Available on CD)..
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Having access to restorative, natural environments in urban residential areas is important for health and wellbeing. However, previous research on restorative environments is mainly focused on the visual impression. Knowledge is needed on the interaction between the acoustic/perceived soundscape and the visual appearance in residential settings intended for restoration and recreation. The present study examines audio-visual interactions in two laboratory settings – an attractive vs. unattractive courtyard. At each courtyard setting, six sound conditions were presented in a randomised order during 4 minutes each: only sounds from road traffic at LAeq 43, 50 and 55 dB, and these traffic sound levels together with birdsong. 24 subjects (12 men, 12 women) participated in the experiment. The results indicate that visual courtyard perception, road traffic noise annoyance, perceived soundscape (e.g., soothing, stressing), emotional reactions, and possibilities to rest/relax were affected by courtyard setting, sound levels, and birdsong. For example, noise annoyance decreased with the attractive courtyard setting and presence of birdsong. However, about 35 to 50% and 75 to 90% were annoyed at 50 and 55 dB, respectively. At these sound levels, few of the participants reported that they would like to visit the courtyards, even if it was the attractive one.
|
|
| 11. |
- Jerson, Tomas, et al.
(författare)
-
TVANE - Train vibration and noise effects : presentation of a Swedish research project
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Noise Control Engineering. International Congress And Exhibition.. - : Curran Associates, Inc.. - 9781605609898 ; , s. 1397-1403
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- For efficient planning of noise and vibration reducing measures, it is important to have knowledge of the health effects of noise and vibrations from railway traffic as well as from road traffic noise. Issues of relevance are “the railway bonus”, the effect of simultaneous exposure to railway and road traffic noise, the effect of vibrations from railway traffic per se as well as in combination with noise, and effects of high intensive railway traffic. The TVANE-project aims to investigate all these issues by socio-acoustic field surveys, noise and vibration measurements, and laboratory experiments
|
|
| 12. |
- Thorsson, Pontus, 1974, et al.
(författare)
-
Macroscopic modeling of urban traffic noise influence of absorption and vehicle flow distribution
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Applied Acoustics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-682X .- 1872-910X. ; 66:2, s. 195-209
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prediction of noise levels at shielded positions in urban areas is more difficult than on exposed positions. At shielded positions, the predictions method must include multiple reflections, and many sources must be taken into account. Using numerical methods that solve the wave equation is possible, but very computationally heavy. Here two methods have been used, a very simplified ray model and a statistical model. The results show that concentrating the traffic and introducing absorption onto building façades will give lower levels at shielded positions. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 13. |
- Vierth, Inge, et al.
(författare)
-
Långa och tunga lastbilars effekter på transportsystemet : redovisning av regeringsuppdrag
- 2008
-
Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- I Sverige tillåts lastbilar i inrikestrafik som är upp till 25,25 meter långa och 60 ton tunga. Detta skiljer sig från EU-normen, där lastbilar som regel inte är längre än 18,75 meter och väger maximalt 40 ton. Näringsdepartementet har gett VTI i uppdrag att studera vilka samhällsekonomiska konsekvenser avvikelsen har medfört för Sverige samt beskriva konkurrensytan mellan väg- och järnvägstransporter. Effekterna på transportkostnader för näringslivet, avgas- och bulleremissioner, vägslitage, tidsfördröjning för bilister samt trafiksäkerheten har beräknats. En mycket stor andel av godstransporterna på väg utförs med fordon som överskrider EU-normen. Att krympa fordonsstorleken skulle leda till stora samhällsekonomiska förluster. Framför allt är det transportkostnaderna som ökar, men det skulle även uppkomma betydande kostnadsökningar inom områdena trafiksäkerhet, avgasemissioner och bulleremissioner. I utredningen konstateras att det är svårt, åtminstone på kort sikt, att åstadkomma överflyttningar mellan väg och järnväg. Detta beror delvis på att järnvägens kapacitet är högt utnyttjad.
|
|
| 14. |
- Vierth, Inge, et al.
(författare)
-
The effects of long and heavy trucks on the transport system : report on a government assignment
- 2008
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Trucks up to 25.25 metres in length and weighing up to 60 tonnes are permitted in domestic traffic in Sweden. This deviates from the EU standard, according to which trucks are not to be longer than 18.75 metres or weigh more than 40 tonnes. The Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications has commissioned VTI to study what economic consequences this deviation has had for Sweden and to describe the competition interface between road and rail transport. The effects on transport costs for business, exhaust and noise emissions, road wear, time delay for motorists and road safety have been estimated. A very large proportion of freight transport by road takes place by vehicles that exceed the EU standard. Reducing vehicle size would lead to large economic losses. Transport costs would increase in particular, but significant cost increases would also occur in the areas of road safety, exhaust emissions and noise emissions. It is noted in the study that it is difficult, at least in the short term, to bring about transfers between road and rail. This is due, in part, to high rate of utilisation of the railway capacity.
|
|
| 15. |
- Ögren, Kenneth, et al.
(författare)
-
Lobotomy at a state mental hospital : a survey of patients operated during the period 1947 to 1958
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 61:5, s. 355-362
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This retrospective survey aims at describing patients subjected to prefrontal lobotomies and the general treatment conditions at Umedalen State Mental Hospital during the period 1947–1958. Data collected from psychiatric and surgical medical records was analysed using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. A total of 771 patients subjected to lobotomy during the years 1947–1958 were identified. From these, a sample of 105 patients was selected for the purpose of obtaining detailed data on socio-economic status, diagnosis, symptomatology, other psychiatric treatments applied before the pre-frontal lobotomy operation, time spent in hospital before operation, praxis of consent and mortality. The diagnosis of schizophrenia was found in 84% of the 771 lobotomized patients. The post-operative mortality was 7.4% (57 deaths), with the highest rate in 1949 (17%). The mean age of the patient at the time of operation was 44.8 years for females and 39.5 years for male patients. The average length of pre-operative time in hospital for females was 10.7 years and for males 3.5 years. It remains unclear why this mental hospital conducted the lobotomy operation to such a comparatively great extent. Factors such as overcrowding of wards and its status as a modern mental hospital may have contributed.
|
|
| 16. |
- Ögren, Kenneth, et al.
(författare)
-
Psychosurgery in Sweden 1944-1964
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Journal of the History of the Neurosciences. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0964-704X .- 1744-5213. ; 14:4, s. 353-367
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
|
|
| 17. |
- Ögren, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
-
A system for railway noise sleep disturbance trials
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Noise and Vibration Mitigation for Rail Transportation Systems. ; , s. 1-6
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In Sweden a new research project aimed at studying noise and vibration from railway traffic has been started. An important part of the project is controlled laboratory experiments where subjects are exposed to noise and vibration when sleeping. The first set of experiments (using only noise) have already started, and the vibration excitation is under construction. Here the focus is on the construction of the laboratory and the design of the experiments, but some preliminary results are also presented. The sound system consists of roof mounted speakers for low frequencies, and two speaker cabinets for the high frequency part. Train passages recorded in the field on the façade of a building are filtered to account for façade insulation and presented to the subjects. This enables many scenarios to be studied with the same setup by selecting the individual sounds and changing the parameters of the filter. The vibration excitation system under construction will be based on electro-dynamical shakers which will interact with the bed to force it to vibrate.
|
|
| 18. |
- Ögren, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
-
Effects of railway noise and vibrations on sleep : experimental studies within the Swedish research program TVANE
- 2009
-
Ingår i: 8th European Conference on Noise Control 2009 (EURONOISE 2009). - : Curran Associates, Inc.. - 9781615676804 ; , s. 1214-1221
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper describes a laboratory sleep study with an exposure situation corresponding to a dwelling close to a railway. Both noise and bed vibrations were generated for passing trains, and the sleep quality of the test subjects was evaluated using questionnaires before and after sleep. A total of 21 test subjects slept five nights in the laboratory, and three different exposure situations were presented in a randomized order after two nights for habituation. The three exposures were combined from two noise levels and two vibration amplitudes; one with high noise levels and strong vibrations, one with lower noise levels and strong vibrations and one with high noise levels and weaker vibrations. The results indicate that the perceived sleep disturbance from noise increased with increasing vibration amplitude. There was no such interaction effect for perceived sleep disturbance due to vibrations, i.e. sleep disturbance due to vibrations was the same irrespective of noise level. These results suggest that it will not be sufficient to reduce the noise levels to protect from sleep disturbances, e.g. by sound insulating windows and noise barriers, if vibration levels are high. The vibration levels must also be addressed.
|
|
| 19. |
- Ögren, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
-
Noise and vibration generation for laboratory studies on sleep disturbance
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem (ICBEN) 2008. ; , s. 1-8
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The research project TVANE is aimed at studying the effects of noise and building vibrations from railway traffic, and is sponsored by the Swedish railway infrastructure manager Banverket. The project includes many studies performed both in the field with questionnaires and noise and vibration measurements, and in the laboratory. This paper describes the design of a low cost vibrating bed used in laboratory sleeping experiments, and also the sound and vibration signals that the subjects were exposed to.
|
|
| 20. |
- Ögren, Mikael
(författare)
-
Noise emission from railway traffic
- 2006
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- European authorities hope to be able to increase the volume of freight and passengers that are transported on railway systems compared to those transported on roads. If that policy is successful the problem of noise from railway traffic will increase. It is know from previous research that measures against the noise are more efficient if applied directly at the source itself rather than using indirect measures such as noise barriers and increased window insulation. This report is a literature survey on how the railway noise is generated, and to what extend different measures at the source can reduce the noise emission. The report also briefly describes what limits and recommendations on noise exposure are enforced now and in the near future. Furthermore the noise propagation methods used for calculating the noise level at different receiver positions (noise exposure) from the noise emission are discussed.
|
|
| 21. |
|
|
| 22. |
- Öhrström, Evy, 1946, et al.
(författare)
-
Effects of railway noise and vibration in combination: field and laboratory studies
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of EuroNoise 2009, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 26-28, paper 270.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most socio-acoustic surveys show that railway noise causes less general annoyance than road traffic and aircraft noise. While speech interference is recognized as a dominating effect of railway noise, few studies have investigated how railway noise affects sleep. Vibrations induced by trains may be a severe problem in areas where the ground consists of clay, especially near railway lines with heavy freight traffic. There is, however, little knowledge of the combined effects of noise and vibrations from railway traffic, especially on sleep. Railway transport is steadily increasing both in number, speed and more heavily loaded freight trains. New knowledge is therefore needed on the combined effects (e.g. annoyance and sleep disturbances) of noise and vibration, effects of a very large number of trains and if and under what conditions a railway bonus is justified. The large Swedish research project TVANE (Train Vibration and Noise Effects) addresses these research questions. This paper presents preliminary results from ongoing socio-acoustic surveys involving residents (n=980) living at different distances from the railway line in areas without train vibrations and in areas with different levels of vibrations (0.10 - 1.43 mm/s) induced by trains. Furthermore, results from experimental studies on the combined effects of noise and vibrations on sleep quality and sleep disturbances are presented. It is concluded that railway vibration levels used in the experiment (1.4 mm/s) disturb sleep to a greater extent than the railway noise levels (Lnight 31 dB). Results from field studies confirm the strong effect of railway vibrations on sleep. An interaction effect exists between noise and vibration and general annoyance to railway noise increases when combined with railway vibration.
|
|
| 23. |
|
|
| 24. |
|
|
| 25. |
- Öhrström, Evy, 1946, et al.
(författare)
-
Experimental studies on sleep disturbances due to railway and road traffic noise.
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 9th Congress of the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise (ICBEN) 2008, July 21-25, Foxwoods CT,USA. - 9783980834254 ; available on CD
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- According to EU position papers on annoyance and on sleep disturbance, railway noise causes less adverse effects than noise from road traffic and aircraft. Some more recent studies show, however, similar or even stronger effects from railway noise than road traffic. The present experimental study examined effects on sleep from railway and road traffic noise. Eighteen young, healthy subjects with normal hearing slept 5 nights in the laboratory. They were exposed during three nights to railway noise and two types of road traffic noise, one with the same equivalent sound level as the railway noise (Lnight 31 dB) and one with the same maximum sound level as the railway noise (LAFmax 54 dB). The frequency spectra of the three sound exposures were filtered to correspond to a realistic situation in the home with the bedroom window slightly open. Sleep quality was evaluated by questionaires. The overall results revealed no differences in subjective sleep (time for falling asleep, difficulties in falling asleep, sleep quality or nighttime annoyance due to noise) between nights with railway noise and nights with road traffic noise. The average number of awakenings per night was however somewhat higher for railway noise (2.2 awakenings) as compared with the road traffic noises (1.5 and 1.3). The results from the present study contradict, to some extent, the results obtained in the latest meta analysis of dose-response relationships between sleep disturbances and different types of traffic noise, which suggest that railway noise causes less sleep disturbances than road traffic noise.
|
|
| 26. |
|
|
| 27. |
- Öhrström, Evy, 1946, et al.
(författare)
-
Listening experiments on effects of road traffic and railway noise occurring separately and in combination
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Inter Noise 2007, Istanbul 28-31 August, 2007, Paper no IN07_116 (Available on CD)..
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In urban areas, exposure to several noise sources (e.g., road-traffic/railway noise) is a common situation. Knowledge is needed for evaluating soundscapes with more than one dominant noise source. In comparison to road-traffic noise, railway noise interferes more with speech communication. This was confirmed in a recent large field study, which also indicated that noise annoyance significantly increased in situations with combined railway/road traffic noise exposure as compared to situations with one dominant source. In the present experimental study, 12 men and 12 women were exposed to different noise situations (only road LAeq 53 dB, only railway 53 dB, road+railway 53 dB, road+railway 56 dB) in a randomised order when listening to a played-back radio program during 10 min in each situation. The laboratory room was furnished as a living room and noise levels were chosen to simulate a situation with windows kept fully open or an outdoor situation. Road traffic noise at 53 dB caused a higher amount of annoyed subjects, greater listening disturbance, and a more negatively perceived soundscape than railway noise at 53 dB. In comparison to when noise sources occurred separately, annoyance increased with 38% for railway and 13% for road traffic when combined at 56 dB (= 88% annoyed).
|
|
