Chapter 19 Noise pollution and its impact on human health and the environment

This chapter deals with (1) the basic theory of sound propagation; (2) an overview of noise pollution problem in view of policy and standards by the World Health Organization, the United States, and the European Union; (3) noise exposure sources from aircraft, road traffic and railways, in-vehicle, work, and construction sites, and occupations, and households; (4) the noise pollution impact on human health and the biological environment; (5) modeling of regional noise-affected habitats in protected and unprotected land areas and the marine environment; (6) noise control measures and sustainability in view of sustainable building design, noise mapping, and control measures such as barriers and berms along roadsides, acoustic building materials, roadway vehicle noise source control, road surface, and pavement materials; and (7) environmental noise pollution management measures and their impact on human health

Development of a highway noise prediction model using an Leq20s measure of basic vehicular noise

The objective of the study reported here was to build a highway traffic noise simulation model for free-flow traffic conditions in Thailand employing a technique utilizing individual vehicular noise modelling based on the equivalent sound level over 20 s (Leq20 s). This Leq20 s technique provides a more accurate measurement of noise energy from each type of vehicle under real running conditions. The coefficient of propagation and ground effect for this model was then estimated using a trial-and-error method, and applied to the highway traffic noise simulation model. This newly developed highway traffic noise model was tested for its goodness-of-fit to field observations. The test shows that this new model provides good predictions for highway noise conditions in Thailand. The concepts and techniques that are modeled and tested in this study can also be applied for prediction of traffic noise for local conditions in other countries.No Full Tex

Motorway noise modelling based on perpendicular propagation analysis of traffic noise

A model for motorway traffic noise has been obtained from measurements along the Bangkok-Chonburi motorway. The model's parameters include traffic volume and combination, the average spot speed of each type of vehicle and the physical conditions of the motorway in terms of right-of-way width, number of lanes, lane width, shoulder width, and median width for both of the main carriageways and frontage roads. The noise level that is generated by each type of vehicle has been analyzed according to the propagation in the direction perpendicular to the center line of motorway's carriageway. The total traffic noise is then analyzed from traffic volume of all vehicle types on both sides of carriageways and frontage roads. The basic noise levels used in the motorway traffic noise model are modified according to the effective ground effect along the propagation path. The final result of this study is that a motorway traffic noise model based on the perpendicular propagation analysis technique performs well in a statistical goodness-of-fit test against the field data, and therefore, can be used effectively in traffic noise prediction for related or similar motorway projects.No Full Tex