People
endangered by noise emissions
UP-5
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
% of people exposed to noise levels greater than 55 dB(A) and 65 dB(A).
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
5: The themes and targets of the programme, section 5.5: The urban environment,
identifies noise as one of the most pressing problems in urban areas resulting
from road and air traffic. The 5EAP sets the objective that no person should be
exposed to noise levels which endanger health and quality of life through the
establishment of an EU Directive to be implemented by the year 2000.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
6: Protecting and promoting human health, section E: Reducing health risks from
environmental pollution and hazards, refers to noise and the development of
criteria for maximum permitted safe noise exposure levels and promote noise
assessment and control as part of environmental health programmes.
International
conventions and agreements:
None.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
5
(48%)
Policy
Relevance:
5
(3.1)
Analytical
Soundness:
6
(2.9)
Responsiveness:
7
(2.6)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Traffic
congestion
3 Significance
Purpose:
Exposure
to noise in excess of acceptable levels in urban areas is a major cause of
stress for the urban population. It is related particularly to road and air
traffic and causes serious health risks. The purpose of this indicator is to
monitor the pressure of urban noise trends on the urban population.
Relevance:
More
than 50% of the European population is exposed to noise levels above 55 dB (A)
and 16% of the population is exposed to noise levels over 65 dB(A).
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
The
% of people exposed to noise is linked to other indicators of pressure such as
UP-4: Share of private car transport in urban areas.
Targets:
EU
targets up to 2000 include:
-exposure
of population to noise levels excess of 65 dB (A) should be
phased out;
-%
of population exposed to levels between 55 dB (A) and 65 dB (A)
should
not increase;
-%
of population exposed to levels below 55 dB (A) should not increase
above
that level.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
% of population exposed to noise in urban areas is directly related to urban
transportation trends. Road traffic is the major offending source of noise in
urban areas. Second and third come neighbourhood and aircraft noise.
Measurement
methods:
Data
on noise exposure are collected at the local scale but they are not available
in many cities.
Limitations
of the indicator:
Major
problems are due to the lack of data.
Alternative
definitions:
A
possible alternative is the number of people exposed to noise disaggregated by
source of noise.
