Effects of simultaneous exposure to noise from road- and railway traffic

• Environmental noise, in particular road traffic noise, is a growing and well recognized environmental health problem. However, when noise from road traffic occurs simultaneously with noise from other sources, only limited knowledge exists of the effects on health. A socio-acoustic survey was conducted in residential areas in Lerum, a community east of Gothenburg, Sweden. Noise exposure was calculated for railway and road traffic separately and for the total noise exposure from both sources. The survey was conducted in areas with sound levels ranging from LAeq, 24h 45 dB - 72 dB for both road traffic and railway noise. A sample of 2905 persons aged 18 -75 years was selected. The response rate was 71 % (1953 persons). The objectives were to assess various adverse health effects and to clarify the possible impact of exposure to two noise sources. Preliminary results show that road traffic noise caused a somewhat lower extent of annoyance as compared to railway noise. In areas exposed to high sound levels both from road traffic and railway noise, there seemed to be an interaction effect for noise annoyance. This effect appeared at sound levels above LAeq,24h 55 dB. For both noise sources, the most common adverse effects were disturbances on sleep and relaxation during day time and for railway noise, disturbance of communication.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

noise well being sleep hypertension railway road traffic

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)