Assessment of Traffic-Related Noise in Three Cities in the United States

Details

• Personal Author:
  Coogan PF ; Jerrett M ; Lee EY ; Ross Z ; Seto EYW
• Description:
  Background: Traffic-related noise is a growing public health concern in developing and developed countries due to increasing vehicle traffic. Epidemiological studies have reported associations between noise exposure and high blood pressure, increased risk of hypertension and heart disease, and stress induced by sleep disturbance and annoyance. These findings motivate the need for regular noise assessments within urban areas. This paper assesses the relationships between traffic and noise in three US cities. Methods: Noise measurements were conducted in downtown areas in three cities in the United States: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City. For each city, we measured ambient noise levels, and assessed their correlation with simultaneously measured vehicle counts, and with traffic data provided by local Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). Additionally, measured noise levels were compared to noise levels predicted by the Federal Highway Administration's Traffic Noise Model using (1) simultaneously measured traffic counts or (2) MPO traffic data sources as model input. Results: We found substantial variations in traffic and noise within and between cities. Total number of vehicle counts explained a substantial amount of variation in measured ambient noise in Atlanta (78%), Los Angeles (58%), and New York City (62%). Modeled noise levels were moderately correlated with measured noise levels when observed traffic counts were used as model input. Weaker correlations were found when MPO traffic data was used as model input. Conclusions: Ambient noise levels measured in all three cities were correlated with traffic data, highlighting the importance of traffic planning in mitigating noise-related health effects. Model performance was sensitive to the traffic data used as input. Future noise studies that use modeled noise estimates should evaluate traffic data quality and should ideally include other factors, such as local roadway, building, and meteorological characteristics. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Safety Transportation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Community Noise Health Effects Noise Exposure Noise Levels Noise Pollution Noise Survey Stress Traffic Noise Model Truck Traffic Vehicle Count
• ISSN:
  0013-9351
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Georgia ; Massachusetts ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  182-189
• Volume:
  132
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054826
• Citation:
  Environ Res 2014 Jul; 132:182-189
• Contact Point Address:
  Eunice Y. Lee, Division of Environmental Health Science, School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
• Email:
  izeunice@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Research
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e79ea3e4212503a747d0b995e40ec6983914e2b52478d45fc78b5569f672ec9c3e942ea52aa8eab101f259808a84824433588cefa7f19c9f3f61417b1df94411
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217248/cdc_217248_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.20 MB ]