Environmental noise pollution and sources

Abstract

Environmental noise is a pollutant agent with a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of people and wildlife. Means of transport are the sources of noise to which the population is most exposed, with road traffic being the main sound source. Noise pollution is often associated with air pollution due to emissions from transportation. Other sources of noise such as industrial, construction, leisure and urban waste collection activities also generate annoyance and sleep disturbances, although to a lesser extent. In order to design and plan effective mitigation measures, it is essential to have an independent knowledge of both the impact of each noise source and the different physical mechanisms through which each source generates noise. Reducing the number of people exposed to adverse noise levels is a priority objective for many countries.