ࡱ> EGD7 -bjbjUU *D7|7|)lzzzzzzzD?$  tzzz.zz:n,zz P&hD  0?.zzzz WIDEX NOISE REPORT Traffic Noise in England 2007 by Deepak Prasher Professor of Audiology The Ear Institute University College London Introduction Transportation systems are a major source of noise pollution, with road traffic noise being the most prevalent and wide spread source. Ambient noise levels are rising due to the increasing levels of traffic on Britains roads. There are many other sources of environmental noise that present an ever-increasing burden of noise pollution that affects our well-being. Our daily routines in the home can expose us to high noise levels from items such as boilers, air conditioning units and household appliances. Many activities too, pose a risk, such as DIY and many leisure or social pastimes ranging from discos, clubs and pubs, to quad bikes and electronic games arcades. Noise not only annoys, it causes stress that can have an impact on our health and wellbeing. It can lead to anxiety, sleep problems, communication difficulties, even cardiovascular and immune changes, of which, the individual is usually unaware. If the noise is loud enough it may also lead to hearing impairment and tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears. Environmental Noise Health BurdenNoise LevelAnnoyance, anxiety, irritability >50dBASleep disturbance and consequences for work next day >50dBAInterference with speech communication >60dBAIncreased risk of heart disease>65dBADetrimental effect on performance at work or school>65dBAIncreased stress levels with an impact on stress hormones>65dBAHearing impairment>70dBATinnitus>70dBA Traffic Noise in Our Towns and Cities Our cities and even smaller towns are becoming noise hubs. Traffic levels are increasing with buses, lorries, cars, motorbikes and even street-cleaning vehicles creating much of the environmental noise pollution. Working to decrease traffic levels and encouraging more people to use public transport is not necessarily an answer to noise problems. Although buses are the best form of environmentally friendly travel in terms of energy consumption, some buses generate high levels of noise pollution. The doors, disabled access systems, brakes and general engine noise appear not to have been considered from a noise pollution perspective. City centre planners should also consider the noise when designing the layout, type and usage of roads. For example the kind of road surface used, the type of vehicle using it and the speed it is travelling at all add to the levels of noise pollution. Just doubling the speed of a vehicle, increases the noise level by 10 fold or by 10dB. The World Health Organisation (WHO) noise guidelines indicate that during the day, outdoor noise level should not exceed 55dBA LAeq and during the night it should be below 45dBA LAeq. However, as this report reveals, all the streets where noise measurements were taken exceeded these limits. The impact on our health - as highlighted earlier - result from levels of noise above 55dBA. The areas where noise levels are between 55-65dBA are considered to be urban grey areas and those between 65-75dBA are considered black spots with those above 75dBA not suitable for human habitation. Background ambient noise levels have to be between 30-55dBA to hear conversation comfortably and for it to be intelligible. However, as noise levels rise to those recorded in most of the streets reported here, speech comprehension at a metre away from the speaker becomes more and more difficult to understand. Effects on the Hearing Impaired With an ageing population, communication difficulties in noisy situations, sensitivity to noise and intolerance of high levels of noise in the environment, need special attention. More and more people are experiencing a deterioration in their hearing due to years of exposure to noise in the work place and from leisure activities. Combine this with the natural deterioration of hearing due to age and suddenly you have a serious impairment and this is when noisy environments can become a real issue - interfering with day-to-day life and leading to isolation. Speech communication in noisy environments becomes a particularly significant problem for anyone with hearing difficulties. It requires much greater effort to maintain communication with others. Most of us do not appreciate this as a major problem because we do not see any physical disability. Nor do we have any insight into how we may help the individual concerned. Shouting is unhelpful as clarity is required rather than volume. It is important therefore to recognise the extent of the difficulties encountered by people with hearing problems and to ease, in appropriate ways, the burden on those affected. Hearing Impairment an Increasing Problem According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) nearly 9m people in the UK have a hearing impairment, of whom 2.5m are aged between 16 and 60 years. The majority of these people have a mild to moderate hearing loss, but over 0.5m suffer from severe to profound deafness. Only 2m people have hearing aids, of whom 1.4m are thought to be regular users, whilst it is thought that 4m could benefit from having an aid. There are many hereditary, medical, social and environmental causes of hearing loss, but a third is due, at least partly, to noise exposure. The extent of hearing impairment depends on the loudness of the noise and the duration of exposure as well as the individuals own susceptibility. As the damage accrues over time and hearing deteriorates gradually, most people are unaware of the change occurring, until it is severe enough to affect their communication with others - particularly in noisy conditions. As the damage to the very sensitive hearing organ is irreversible, it is vital to avoid unnecessary noise exposure all through life. Excessive exposure to loud noise or music may also result in tinnitus or ringing in the ears or head. In most people this will only persist for a number of hours, but in some vulnerable people this may be permanent. The short-lived ringing is a clear indication that the level of exposure was excessive and such exposure should be avoided. Warning signs of hazardous noise include having to raise ones voice to be heard, not being able to converse with someone a metre away, and having muffled hearing and/or tinnitus after leaving a noisy area. The availability of new digital hearing aids which can be programmed for various ambient noise conditions or adjust amplification of speech sounds whilst diminishing the continuous background noise in the environment are helpful in alleviating the problems encountered by many hard of hearing people. The Findings This report describes the noise levels in 41 towns and cities in England measured during October and November 2006. Some surprising results in the survey were identified. Some small towns showed higher levels of noise than expected such as Darlington, Doncaster and Gillingham appearing in the top 10 noisy places. The Tyne Bridge in Newcastleupon-Tyne was the number one noise spot exceeding the first action level of the noise at work regulations with levels exceeding 80dB LAeq. Torquay was the quietest of the 41 places surveyed with a level of just over 60dB. Off road levels were also interesting, showing levels around 86dB inside arcades in Blackpool and levels below 50dB in the quadrangle of St. Johns College in Oxford. A table is attached that provides a ranking for the towns and cities included in this survey. Measurements A Bruel and Kjaer 2260 investigator system was used to record noise levels in streets around the towns and city centres where people normally mill around and are exposed to the traffic noise levels measured. Measurements were not taken on highways where only vehicular traffic is permitted and people are not in close proximity to it (although they may be exposed whilst in the vehicle with windows open). Measurements were undertaken in the morning (07.30-09.30 hrs) and evening (16.30-18.30 hrs) rush hours. The duration of the measurements varied from 10-20 minutes at each of two to three locations per town/city. For the purposes of the noise level listing the highest LAeq measure recorded at each town/city at any of the three locations has been taken. Several noise measures have been given for each location as follows: LAeq: Average measure of the equivalent continuous level over the duration of the measurement. The duration is also indicated. A refers to the A weighting which equates to Human hearing. The A denotes the A weighting and eq the equivalent constant level of noise with the same energy content as the varying acoustic noise signal. LApk provides the peak value for the A weighted measurement during the interval of measurement. LCpk provides peak measurement in the C weighting which includes lower frequencies in the measurements. L10 and L90 provide the level of A-weighted measurement exceeded for 10% or 90% of the measurement time. LAFMax or LASMax are the maximum A-weighted noise level measured with fast (AF) and slow (AS) time weighting. These are the highest level of noise level occurring the measurement time. LAFMin or LASMin are the minimum A-weighted noise level measured with fast (AF) and slow (AS) time weighting. These are the lowest level of noise level occurring the measurement time. The spectral information is also provided which gives the noise level in relation to the frequency distribution of the measurement taken. Detailed noise measurements for each town/city, together with the places where the measurements were taken and the overall ranking based on the highest LAeq measure recorded are available on request. Noise Level Rankings in Decibels (dB) Rank Location dB 1 Newcastle upon Tyne 80.4 2 Birmingham 79.1 3 London 78.5 =4 Darlington 78.3 =4 Doncaster 78.3 =6 Gillingham 77.8 =6 Leeds 77.8 =8 Leicester 77.5 =8 Liverpool 77.5 10 Stoke 77.4 11 Manchester 77.3 12 Sheffield 76.3 13 Nottingham 76.2 14 Bournemouth 76 15 Norwich 75.9 =16 Bristol 75.8 =16 Blackpool 75.8 18 Croydon 75.5 19 Swindon 75.2 20 Exeter 74.6 21 Coventry 74.5 22 Brighton 74.3 23 Carlisle 74.2 24 Sunderland 73.8 25 Plymouth 73.6 26 Southampton 72.5 =27 Cheltenham 72.4 =27 Lincoln 72.4 29 Bury St.Edmunds 72.3 30 Ipswich 71.9 31 York 71.5 32 Eastbourne 70.8 33 Oxford 70.7 34 Chelmsford 70.3 =35 Reading 69.8 =35 Cambridge 69.8 37 Colchester 68.1 38 Folkestone 66.8 39 Scunthorpe 66.4 40 Paignton 65.7 41 Torquay 60.2 2HKL  ! " W X ^ ` - . 5 6 H I P Q Y Z ` b c xzº̴̦̠̠̗̦̗̦B* OJQJph H*OJQJ CJ OJQJ 5B*ph 5OJQJ5CJ OJQJ5CJ4OJQJaJ4OJQJ CJ4OJQJB*OJQJph5CJ8OJQJaJ`5CJHOJQJaJ`5CJ`OJQJaJ`;23456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHKL[$a$-[rTU dd$If[$\$@&$a$ ! 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