Urban road traffic noise on human exposure assessment using geospatial technology

Abstract

The sounds produced by humans, industries, transport and animals in the atmosphere that pose a threat to the health of humans or animals can be characterized as noise pollution. Adverse effects due to noise exposure can involve speech communication interference and declining learning skills of children. Highway traffic noise contributes to 80% of all noise. It has grown to a massive scale because of growth in population along the roads leading to a rapid change in land use and has evolved into a common reality in various Indian cities. The main objective of this work is to develop a road traffic noise prediction model using ArcGIS 10.3 for the busy corridors of Chennai. The collected data includes traffic volume, speed, and noise level in lateral and vertical directions. Noise levels were measured in 9 locations using a noise level meter. It is observed that the noise levels vary from 50 dB to 96 dB. It is found that the noise problem is severe in 18% of the area, and 6.3% of people are exposed to the traffic noise problem. The results obtained in this study show that the city is affected by severe noise pollution due to road traffic.