Did you know that noise is one of the biggest public health challenges? It’s a serious issue affecting billions of people all around the world. Unfortunately, it’s a really complex problem and difficult to address. There are lots of things to consider, including industrial noise and transport noise. Understanding the issues can help to decide on effective responses, such as installing noise control measures like silencers and barriers.
A problem in Europe
According to the EEA’s (European Environment Agency) Europe’s Environment 2025 report, transport noise is a major concern. More worryingly, it’s also likely to remain a problem in the future.
Using data on transport noise exposure, the report gives a clearer picture of the issue. It reveals that a massive 30% of the population in Europe live in areas where it is noisy enough to be detrimental to health and wellbeing. However, if you look at the busiest urban areas alone, it can exceed 50%.
Examining the trends is a cause for concern too. According to the data, there was a slight decrease in the percentage of the population experiencing hazardous noise levels from 2017-2022. The most optimistic forecast is it could decline to a point where 21% of people in Europe are affected by loud traffic noise. However, a conservative forecast says the number will remain unchanged. The introduction of noise control solutions could help, however increasing traffic numbers and larger urban populations can counteract this.
The impact
Regular exposure to transport noise can have a huge impact on people. It can cause mental health problems because of the stress, annoyance, and disturbance. It is worse in situations where the sound disrupts sleep and prevents people from relaxing at home.
Worse, the noise can have a physical toll on people. It can lead to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. This happens because it causes continuous stress and can have an impact on key things like the nervous system and metabolic system. Alarmingly, the EEA report claims transport noise contributes to over 66,000 premature deaths annually.
What to do?
As you can see, this is a big problem and definitely needs to be addressed. Crucially, it is important to tackle noises at source where possible, using effective noise control solutions. The growth in the use of electrical vehicles is a positive, but we need more to make roads, railway lines, and even flight paths quieter.
It’s also vital to focus on hotspots, such as urban areas with high volumes of traffic. As you read, these are locations where a larger percentage of people are at risk. It leads to serious problems, including more pressure on healthcare infrastructure in the areas. It’s wise to think about how to reduce transport noise near homes.
Finally, effective planning is important too, especially when it comes to building new homes. The goal should be to deliver them in areas where people won’t have to deal with noise disturbances. Therefore, they should not be close to key things like busy motorways, train lines and flight paths.
Talk to us about noise control
Ventx is the very best team to work with if you want silencers to help you tackle noise from different sources. We can create almost any type, designing bespoke equipment for various applications in a number of industries. Crucially, we can help to lower noise in some of the most hazardous facilities, including manufacturing plants as well as oil and gas refineries.
Get in touch and talk to us about noise control. We can help you at any stage, but we recommend thinking about sound levels and mitigation as early as possible; it’s easier to design a low noise facility than it is to retrofit a noisy one.
