Modelling and measurement of crew accommodation noise exposure to a towed sonar source

The Royal Netherlands Navy operates a low-frequency active sonar consisting of a combination of a towed sonar source and receiver array in order to detect and classify objects underwater. The operation involves transmitting high power underwater sound towards an object and detecting the echo reflected by the object. Operating a towed source at...

Towards human-oriented norms: Considering the effects of noise exposure on board ships

With modern trends of decrease in crew numbers on board ships together with increased operational demands and paperwork, crew fatigue and comfort have become more critical and are being given more importance. It is well known that environmental factors affect crew comfort and performance. The two outstanding factors which exist in the shipboard...

Towards human-oriented norms: Considering the effects of noise and vibration exposure on board ships

With modern trends of decrease in crew numbers on board ships together with increased operational demands and paperwork, crew fatigue and comfort have become more critical and are being given more importance. It is well known that environmental factors affect crew comfort and performance. The two outstanding factors which exist in the shipboard...

Local impact assessment of urban traffic noise

Health effects of chronic noise exposure in pregnancy and childhood: A systematic review initiated by ENRIECO

Background: Chronic noise is an environmental pollutant and well-known to cause annoyance and sleep disturbance. Its association with clinical and subclinical adverse health effects has been discussed. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to examine associations between chronic noise exposure during pregnancy or childhood and health outcomes...

The WODA guidance paper on underwater sound from dredging (abstract)

The World Organisation of Dredging Associations (WODA) has identified underwater sound as an environmental issue that needs further consideration. A WODA Expert Group on Underwater Sound (WEGUS) was established to provide a guidance paper on dredging sound, impact on aquatic biota and advice on underwater sound monitoring procedures. The paper...

Potential population consequences of active sonar disturbance in Atlantic herring: Estimating the maximum risk (abstract)

Effects of noise disturbance to fish populations may be predicted by using the four steps in the population consequences of acoustic disturbance (PCAD) model, with small scale exposure experiments as input. We have used the results from experimental studies on mortality and behavior of juvenile and adult herring exposed to naval sonar as input...

A global approach for assessment of exposure to road traffic noise

The noise mapping performed for the Environmental Noise Directive is used to evaluate noise exposure of the population. This requires a significant effort and consistent data collection and application of calculation methods. It is well known that considerable variation in noise mapping results can occur due to uncertainty in input data. For...

Trends in aircraft noise annoyance: The role of study and sample characteristics

This study assesses the effects of aircraft noise on residential satisfaction, an important indicator of subjective well-being. A structural equation model is specified that estimates the relationships between objective variables, noise annoyance variables and residential satisfaction. Secondary data-analysis is used to estimate the model. The...

Exposure-response relationships for annoyance by wind turbine noise: A comparison with other stationary sources

There are indications that, given a certain level of noise exposure, the expected annoyance by wind turbine noise is higher than that by noise from other sources such as industrial noise or transportation noise. The aim of the present study was to establish the exposure-response relationship between wind turbine noise exposure and the expected...

Urban strategy: Noise mapping in instrument for interactive spatial planning

Spatial planning in urban areas is complex. Besides noise from different source types, many other aspects play a role. In order to support local authorities and others involved in spatial planning, TNO has developed an interactive instrument: 'Urban Strategy', which integrates a detailed interactive noise map with other aspects such as traffic...

Habitual traffic noise at home reduces cardiac parasympathetic tone during sleep

The relationships between road and rail traffic noise with pre-ejection period (PEP) and with respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during sleep, as indices of cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system tone, were investigated in the field (36 subjects, with 188 and 192 valid subject nights for PEP and RSA, respectively). Two analyses...

Sound propagation in cities

A new engineering model for sound propagation in cities is presented. The model is based on numerical and experimental studies of sound propagation between street canyons. Multiple reflections in the source canyon and the receiver canyon are taken into account in an efficient way, while weak reflections by distant buildings involving multiple...

Annoyance from environmental noise across the lifespan

Curvilinear effects of age on self-reported annoyance from environmental noise were investigated in a pooled international and a Dutch sample of in total 62,983 individuals aged between 15 and 102 years. All respondents were frequently exposed to varying levels of transportation noise (i.e., aircraft, road traffic, and railway noise). Results...

Rating environmental noise on the basis of noise maps

A system that rates noise on the basis of noise maps has been developed which is based on empirical exposure-response relationships, so that effects in the community will be lower if the system gives a better rating. It is consistent with noise metrics and effect endpoint chosen in the EU, i.e., it uses L</field>den and L</field>night and...

Balancing speech intelligibility versus sound exposure in selection of personal hearing protection equipment for Chinook aircrews

Background: Aircrews are often exposed to high ambient sound levels, especially in military aviation. Since long-term exposure to such noise may cause hearing damage, selection of adequate hearing protective devices is crucial. Such devices also affect speech intelligibility. When speech intelligibility and hearing protection lead to conflicting...

Noise exposure and public health

Exposure to noise constitutes a health risk. There is sufficient scientific evidence that noise exposure can induce hearing impairment, hypertension and ischemic heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and decreased school performance. For other effects such as changes in the immune system and birth defects, the evidence is limited. Most...