scholarly journals Modelled exposure to motor vehicle generated noise at schools and early childhood centres.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Allan Schori

<p><b>Motor vehicle generated noise pollution places a significant burden on the health and wellbeing of people in many urban areas and children have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group. Despite this, little is known about the extent of exposure to noise at schools and early childhood centres (ECCs), areas where children spend much of their time. To examine traffic generated noise levels at schools and ECCs, this study used the Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe and validated the results against volunteered geographic noise measurements, using the Wellington Territorial Authority as a case study area. We examined the relationship of modelled noise values with socio-demographic variables of schools and ECCs. In addition, we assessed the relationship between modelled noise values and land use and proximity to busy roads to assess their use as proxy measures of noise. For the case study area, we found 57.7% of ECCs and 41.0% of schools exceeded the 2018 World Health Organization Environmental Noise Guidelines (53dB) and noise levels at schools and ECCs were higher compared to background levels. Schools with a higher proportion of international students, privately run ECCs, and ECCs located in the central city experienced particularly high noise levels.</b></p> <p>Compared to volunteered in situ noise measurements, our model performed reasonably: 81% of model values within 15dB of a volunteered measurement. While we found the proxy noise measurement ‘distance to busy roads’ explained 2% of the modelled noise levels in this study. Compared to proxy measures of noise, the modelled noise levels enhanced our understanding of noise level exposure. Overall, the findings of this research highlight the magnitude and inequalities of traffic generated noise pollution on children, which may be useful for guiding policy to mitigate noise pollution around schools and ECCs, such as location planning and identifying areas where ameliorating noise levels is important.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Allan Schori

<p><b>Motor vehicle generated noise pollution places a significant burden on the health and wellbeing of people in many urban areas and children have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group. Despite this, little is known about the extent of exposure to noise at schools and early childhood centres (ECCs), areas where children spend much of their time. To examine traffic generated noise levels at schools and ECCs, this study used the Common Noise Assessment Methods in Europe and validated the results against volunteered geographic noise measurements, using the Wellington Territorial Authority as a case study area. We examined the relationship of modelled noise values with socio-demographic variables of schools and ECCs. In addition, we assessed the relationship between modelled noise values and land use and proximity to busy roads to assess their use as proxy measures of noise. For the case study area, we found 57.7% of ECCs and 41.0% of schools exceeded the 2018 World Health Organization Environmental Noise Guidelines (53dB) and noise levels at schools and ECCs were higher compared to background levels. Schools with a higher proportion of international students, privately run ECCs, and ECCs located in the central city experienced particularly high noise levels.</b></p> <p>Compared to volunteered in situ noise measurements, our model performed reasonably: 81% of model values within 15dB of a volunteered measurement. While we found the proxy noise measurement ‘distance to busy roads’ explained 2% of the modelled noise levels in this study. Compared to proxy measures of noise, the modelled noise levels enhanced our understanding of noise level exposure. Overall, the findings of this research highlight the magnitude and inequalities of traffic generated noise pollution on children, which may be useful for guiding policy to mitigate noise pollution around schools and ECCs, such as location planning and identifying areas where ameliorating noise levels is important.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428
Author(s):  
Özgün Ünver ◽  
Ides Nicaise

This article tackles the relationship between Turkish-Belgian families with the Flemish society, within the specific context of their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Flanders. Our findings are based on a focus group with mothers in the town of Beringen. The intercultural dimension of the relationships between these families and ECEC services is discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM). The acculturation patterns are discussed under three main headlines: language acquisition, social interaction and maternal employment. Within the context of IAM, our findings point to some degree of separationism of Turkish-Belgian families, while they perceive the Flemish majority to have an assimilationist attitude. This combination suggests a conflictual type of interaction. However, both parties also display some traits of integrationism, which points to the domain-specificity of interactive acculturation.


Author(s):  
Candan Kus Sahin ◽  
Busra Onay ◽  
Beyza Sava

The sustainable landscpe design is a strategic framework in city planning and urban recreational areas, important for the quality of life of an increasingly urbanized society. This study deals with a better understanding of visitors demand and noise properties of Ayazmana promenade area, located in Isparta city center, Turkiye. The approach in the study is an exploration one with a base in site observations, interviews and survey. However, the average noise levels of the area was measured between 43.1 to 58.1 dB(A) in Autumn and 50.2 to 62.0 dB(A) in Spring, respectively. The recreational characteristics of Ayazmana promenade area were further evaluated with survey methodology on total of 100 respondents. Moreover, majority of participants (79) reported to be visiting of that promenade area for cheating with friends, followed by 78 for traveling, 70 for walking, 65 for sitting in green open spaces and for picnic, 57 for listening music and 53 for sporting activities, respectively. It is noticeable that most of the respondents (92%) were described the Ayazmana promenade area is somewhat noisy. At the end of survey study, it was requested to assessed the Ayazmana promenade area with some suggestions by respondents.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662110556
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Weatherhead ◽  
Matthew Niedner ◽  
Mary K. Dahmer ◽  
Nasuh Malas ◽  
Toni Owens ◽  
...  

Objective Delirium is a common problem in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and is associated with increased length of stay, cost and mortality. This study evaluated the relationship between noise pollution and delirium risk. Design: This is a Quality Improvement (QI) initiative at an academic PICU. Sound levels were monitored and patients were screened for delirium using the Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium (CAPD). Setting PICU Patients: All PICU patients Interventions: None Measurements and Main Results: Over the 83-week study period (2015-2017), the median [IQR] CAPD score was 8 [3 to 14]. Nursing compliance with the CAPD was 72.2%. The proportion of patients screening positive for delirium (CAPD ≥ 9) was 45.9%. A total of 329 711 hly decibel (dB) measurements were collected and reported. Occupied rooms were louder than unoccupied rooms (51.8 [51.6-51.9] dB vs. 49.8 [49.7-49.9] dB, respectively, p < 0.001). Days (10 AM to 4 PM) were louder than nights (11 PM to 5 AM) (52.8 [52.7-53.0] dB vs. 50.7 [49.9-51.5] dB, respectively p < 0.001) in occupied rooms. Winter (Nov-Feb) months were louder than summer (May-Aug) months (52.0 [51.8-52.3] dB vs. 51.5 [51.3-51.7] dB, respectively, p < 0.002) in occupied rooms. Median weekly nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.6 ( p < 0.001). Median weekly risk of mortality (ROM) and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.15 ( p < 0.01). Conclusions: Significant noise pollution exists in the PICU with a moderate correlation between nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores. This could potentially implicate noise pollution as a risk factor for the development of delirium.


Author(s):  
A Bracciali ◽  
L Ciuffi ◽  
R Ciuffi

An on-board device for bolting to the axlebox of a railway vehicle or locomotive to measure rolling noise close to the wheel surface has been developed by the authors (1, 2). Even though laboratory calibration and test runs have shown that the measured noise data are consistent, there was no way to prove that they were in accordance with the on-ground measured ones. Italian State Railways (FS) have performed tests with different wheelsets to evaluate the efficiency of several noise-reduction solutions; during these tests it was possible to repeat noise measurements on-board, therefore obtaining a sufficient amount of data to calibrate the device and to analyse in detail the behaviour of such wheelsets. Calculated calibration constants prove that on-board measured data can be used with confidence to estimate noise levels at several distances from the track, thereby reducing the necessity of long and expensive on-ground tests to measure environmental noise pollution.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Ryan ◽  
Matthew Gagnon ◽  
Tyler Hanna ◽  
Brad Mello ◽  
Mustapha Fofana ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionHospitals are meant to be places for respite and healing; however, technological advances and reliance on monitoring alarms has led to the environment becoming increasingly noisy. The coronary care unit (CCU), like the emergency department, provides care to ill patients while being vulnerable to noise pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) recommends that for optimum rest and healing, sound levels should average approximately 30 decibels (dB) with maximum readings less than 40 dB.ProblemThe purpose of this study was to measure and analyze sound levels in three different locations in the CCU, and to review alarm reports in relation to sound levels.MethodsOver a one-month period, sound recorders (Extech SDL600; Extech Instruments; Nashua, New Hampshire USA) were placed in three separate locations in the CCU at the West Roxbury Veterans’ Administration (VA) Hospital (Roxbury, Massachusetts USA). Sound samples were recorded once per second, stored in Comma Separated Values format for Excel (Microsoft Corporation; Redmond, Washington USA), and then exported to Microsoft Excel. Averages were determined, plotted per hour, and alarm histories were reviewed to determine alarm noise effect on total noise for each location, as well as common alarm occurrences.ResultsPatient Room 1 consistently had the lowest average recordings, though all averages were >40 dB, despite decreases between 10:00pmand 7:00am. During daytime hours, recordings maintained levels >50 dB. Overnight noise remained above recommended levels 55.25% of the period in Patient Room 1 and 99.61% of the same time period in Patient Room 7. The nurses’ station remained the loudest location of all three. Alarms per hour ranged from 20-26 during the day. Alarms per day averaged: Patient Room 1-57.17, Patient Room 7-122.03, and the nurses’ station - 562.26. Oxygen saturation alarms accounted for 33.59% of activity, and heart-related (including ST segment and pacemaker) accounted for 49.24% of alarms.ConclusionThe CCU cares for ill patients requiring constant monitoring. Despite advances in technology, measured noise levels for the hospital studied exceeded WHO standards of 40 dB and peaks of 45 dB, even during night hours when patients require rest. Further work is required to reduce noise levels and examine effects on patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and length of stay.RyanKM,GagnonM,HannaT,MelloB,FofanaM,CiottoneG,MolloyM.Noise pollution: do we need a solution? An analysis of noise in a cardiac care unit.Prehosp Disaster Med.2016;31(4):432–435.


2020 ◽  

<p>We utilized satellite and GIS technologies to address the relationship between urban land uses and Noise Pollution (NP) in one of the most crowded regions of Tehran city. Leq was determined in 170 stations of the studied area and an acoustic map was created. Moreover, using satellite remote sensing data and a land use map, the density map for nine types of the most important urban land use was provided and the relationship between different land use densities and NP was investigated. We found that the investigated region was highly polluted and the NP level was higher in the morning (76.29±5.61 dB[A]) and afternoon (76.46±4.88 dB[A]) in comparison to the noon period. Furthermore, the prepared acoustic map revealed that in the east and southwest of the studied area, the NP was highest and lowest, respectively. Also, cultural (73.48±4.7 dB[A]) and parking (79.02±4.3 dB[A]) areas had the lowest and highest levels of Leq. Also, the high density of road, commercial, industrial, mixed commercial and residential and parking land uses had a direct significant relationship with Leq and this relation was inverse for green space. It was concluded that land use variations significantly affect the NP levels and it can be utilized to predict and manage the NP in different cities.</p>


Author(s):  
Md. Sultan Mahmud ◽  
Rony Basak

Noise pollution is a silent villain as it’s quite easy for being ignored by us. Urban areas are more exposed to this deadly agenda as the density of population and their belongings are excessive in there. This study differentiated noise levels of Sylhet City Corporation, a growing city of Bangladesh into different types according to the land use purpose of the city like residential, silent etc. One hundred and sixty-eight noise level readings, taken at 14 different positions during the morning, afternoon, evening, and night of selective weekdays which are categorized as busy days, typical days and weekends were utilized for this research. Results put the average noise level readings in the city centers at between 45 dB(A) and 95 dB (A), dissented from the permissible limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as national standardization organization: Department of Environment (DOE) in all the land use types, with the highest noise pollution levels recorded for transportation, commercial and silent typed areas. The result of the one-way ANOVA test completed where the dependent variable was noise and the independent variable was land use types uncovers a factually huge mean noise levels over the study area (F (4,115) = 9.52, p = 1.1079). Tukey’s HSD method also carried away which showed the uneven difference of noise levels between the land types. The study represents noise pollution auditing, and the immediate needs to control urban noise pollution with convenient and effective policies some of which is recommended at the end of the study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-445
Author(s):  
GODWIN JOHUEL BIRMA ◽  
E. E. UKPEBOR ◽  
B. R. ISSA

Environmental noise pollution affects not only the quality of life, but it poses a serious health and social problem. The Cirrus integrating averaging sound level instrument: model CR262A was employed to determine the noise levels at the twenty-two (22) selected sampling stations. The measurement of the noise was carried out during the morning, afternoon, and evening periods, to evaluate noise pollution within the twin city.Results indicated that there is no much difference (p>0.05) in the mean noise values within the different periods of the day at each sampling station, but there is significant variation (p<0.05) in the mean noise values at each period of the day over all the sampling stations. The results of the noise measurement showed that Enerhen Junction and NNPC Complex recorded the highest and lowest overall noise values of 84.84+5.39 dB(A) and 70 .90+2.98 dB(A) respectively. The results of this survey showed that the noise values at all the measurements points within Warri and Effurun metropolitan cities and at all the periods of the day is more than the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Environment (NFMEnv) and World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit of 55dB daily noise level criteria for residential areas. The ssurvey requires the need to enact and enforce permissible noise levels/standards for residential neighbourhoods of 55dB by relevant environmental authorities both at Federal and state levels instead of applying 90dB standard meant for regulations in industrial settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 1015-1025
Author(s):  
José Luis Cueto ◽  
David Bienvenido-Huertas ◽  
Francisco Fernández-Zacarías ◽  
Ricardo Gey ◽  
Ricardo Hernández-Molina

This article presents a methodological approach to try to respond to some of the protection and management needs against the noise of a peri-urban natural park. The methodology presented is based on the generation of "ad hoc" noise maps. To analyze its possibilities and the limits of use, a coastal park surrounded by a densely populated area in the southwest of Spain is used as a case study. In this study, birds in their diverse ecosystems are the main target noise receiver of the study. The source of noise pollution considered is the traffic noise of the highways and the urbanized areas surrounding the park. However, the methodology can be extrapolated to any source of noise and other protection figures. An adequate diagnosis of the environmental noise would help to overcome the supposed incompatibility between the preservation of nature and the tourist exploitation of natural spaces. With this in mind, it has also been proposed as target noise receivers, the ornithologists and visitors who wish to become bird-watchers and bird-listeners. To this end, it has been proposed to produce noise maps with certain methodological guidelines that fit on a case-by-case basis. Several heights are used in this paper, adapting the map to noise receivers. With the same purpose, noise level maps in octave bands were developed. The tonal frequencies of interest are those that the birds use in their songs (according to the species, normally between 2 and 8 kHz). The maps have been contrasted with noise measurements carried out throughout the park. The study shows that in the areas most exposed to the noise of the Rio San Pedro and the university campus, noise levels at 2 kHz can reach 74 dB during the peak traffic hours. In addition, a large percentage of the area of both areas is affected by noise levels that exceed 50 dB (100% and 44% respectively). We are also concerned that a small population of birds has been counted in these areas based on preliminary observations at peak traffic times. The results can help the decision-makers to evaluate how traffic noise invades different ecosystems and where it can mask the sound of birds.


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