Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia
Introduction: This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. Materials and Methods: The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calcu...
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2018-01-01
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doaj-db763f703ccf46979a4154beb64445fa2020-11-24T23:51:50ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsNoise and Health1463-17411998-40302018-01-0120949010010.4103/nah.NAH_59_17Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakiaAlzbeta PultznerovaPanulinova EvaDaniela KucharovaLubica ArgalasovaIntroduction: This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. Materials and Methods: The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. Results: The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (LAeq = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [ORMH = 7.80 (4.02–15.14)] and the noise from industry [ORMH = 3.08 (1.72–5.50)] in the exposed location. Discussion: The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. Conclusion: The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail transport.http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2018;volume=20;issue=94;spage=90;epage=100;aulast=PultznerovaNoise annoyancenoise measurementsrailway tracksrailway trafficsleep disturbance |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alzbeta Pultznerova Panulinova Eva Daniela Kucharova Lubica Argalasova |
spellingShingle |
Alzbeta Pultznerova Panulinova Eva Daniela Kucharova Lubica Argalasova Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia Noise and Health Noise annoyance noise measurements railway tracks railway traffic sleep disturbance |
author_facet |
Alzbeta Pultznerova Panulinova Eva Daniela Kucharova Lubica Argalasova |
author_sort |
Alzbeta Pultznerova |
title |
Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
title_short |
Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
title_full |
Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
title_fullStr |
Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
title_sort |
railway noise annoyance on the railway track in northwest slovakia |
publisher |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
series |
Noise and Health |
issn |
1463-1741 1998-4030 |
publishDate |
2018-01-01 |
description |
Introduction: This paper describes an assessment of noise caused by railway traffic in a large high-loaded railway track in Northwest Slovakia. Materials and Methods: The measurements of noise levels generated by trains passing through residential neighborhoods were taken. Noise maps were also calculated showing noise pollution generated by the train traffic. In addition, the annoyance level and sleep disturbance of residents affected by railway noise were evaluated by a validated questionnaire on a pilot sample of 107 respondents living near the important railway track. Results: The measurements indicated that the noise levels generated by the passage of the train were extremely high especially at night, clearly exceeding the nighttime limits of equivalent sound pressure level established by the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Health (No.549/2007) (LAeq = 55 dB). Measurements at one point during the night exceeded the limit values of up to 17.4 dB. The residents reported feeling affected by the noise generated by passing trains, which caused irritability, headache, poor concentration, and insomnia. In addition, 19.64% of the residents claimed that nocturnal noise pollution was the most distressing. The results of bivariate analysis showed a higher risk of annoyance especially for railway noise [ORMH = 7.80 (4.02–15.14)] and the noise from industry [ORMH = 3.08 (1.72–5.50)] in the exposed location. Discussion: The effects of railway traffic on annoyance/sleep and psychosocial well-being were evaluated in a few studies. In accordance with our results the railway noise mostly disturbs sleep and rest of the respondents. Conclusion: The pilot survey showed the importance of sleep and rest disturbance by railway noise and the possibilities of getting worse health condition in the future. Noise abatement measures and strategies should, therefore, be implemented in an effective and manageable way increasing the environmental advantages of rail transport. |
topic |
Noise annoyance noise measurements railway tracks railway traffic sleep disturbance |
url |
http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2018;volume=20;issue=94;spage=90;epage=100;aulast=Pultznerova |
work_keys_str_mv |
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