Decision trees and labeling of low noise pavements as support for noise action plans.

Low noise pavements (LNPs) are a market driven trend to mitigate the high road traffic noise exposure levels. Their improvement towards acoustic efficiency and durability over time is a challenge since these factors can conflict with road primary functions, such as safety. LNPs are not always the most cost-effective solution in health effects prevention. Whilst Green Public Procurement (GPP) highlighted the importance of reducing rolling noise emissions by introducing new regulations for new-layed LNPs, the fixed minimum requirements are not exhaustive. Generally, limits are set following the Close ProXimity method, which is only source oriented. This method does not consider real traffic flows and it is not aimed at evaluating citizens' disturbance. This work presents strategy tools that could assist policymakers in choosing LNPs, when truly effective, over other mitigations. The approach includes a variety of indicators that would allow for comparing different facets of noise assessment. The proposed methodology does not require additional efforts from stakeholders because the measurements required for the estimation of the indicators must already be carried out for both verification of legal limits and GPP. The strategy tools are a decisional tree to support the evaluation of the applicability of a LNP before its approval, and an evaluation flowchart applicable after its laying to evaluate its efficiency. Finally, a first LNP labeling approach, based on the same set of indicators, is proposed. As a case study, these tools are applied to measurements performed before and after the laying of twelve LNPs part of the LIFE NEREiDE project.

Statistical Pass-By for Unattended Road Traffic Noise Measurement in an Urban Environment.

Low-noise surfaces have become a common mitigation action in the last decade, so much so that different methods for feature extraction have been established to evaluate their efficacy. Among these, the Close Proximity Index (CPX) evaluates the noise emissions by means of multiple runs at different speeds performed with a vehicle equipped with a reference tire and with acoustic sensors close to the wheel. However, signals acquired with CPX make it source oriented, and the analysis does not consider the real traffic flow of the studied site for a receiver-oriented approach. These aspects are remedied by Statistical Pass-By (SPB), a method based on sensor feature extraction with live detection of events; noise and speed acquisitions are performed at the roadside in real case scenarios. Unfortunately, the specific SPB requirements for its measurement setup do not allow an evaluation in urban context unless a special setup is used, but this may alter the acoustical context in which the measurement was performed. The present paper illustrates the testing and validation of a method named Urban Pass-By (U-SPB), developed during the LIFE NEREiDE project. U-SPB originates from standard SPB, exploits unattended measurements and develops an in-lab feature detection and extraction procedure. The U-SPB extends the evaluation in terms of before/after data comparison of the efficiency of low-noise laying in an urban context while combining the estimation of long-term noise levels and traffic parameters for other environmental noise purposes, such as noise mapping and action planning.

Source characterization guidelines for noise mapping of port areas.

Maritime transport for both passengers and freight is continuously increasing and, consequently, the global attention toward its sustainability is growing. Ships offer advantages in terms of environmental impact compared to other transportation systems but the increasing traffic volume is expected to increase pollutants. Noise produced in port areas has been neglected for too long, until the INTERREG Maritime programme Italy-France 2014-2020 has brought to light how citizen complaints are emerging for some of the main ports in the Mediterranean. However, port noise prevention and management is difficult as knowledge on specific sources is very limited in the literature. Furthermore, on field measurements are difficult to be performed given the complexity of the port area, where multiple types of sound emitters mix and confuse each other. Noise maps represent the first important step in order to align ports to the requirements set by the Environmental Noise Directive to the transportation infrastructures. Once computed, they are an excellent tool supporting port management towards the reduction of citizens' noise exposure while ensuring traffic growth. The present paper reports a guideline for the characterization of noise sources needed as inputs for the noise maps, as developed in the framework of the INTERREG Maritime programme Italy-France 2014-2020. On the basis of the current state of the art, a procedure has been elaborated for different categories of noise sources acting in port, ranging from stationary to moving ships, from mooring operations to loading/unloading operations, from industrial activities to road and railway traffic.

Traffic Flow Detection Using Camera Images and Machine Learning Methods in ITS for Noise Map and Action Plan Optimization.

Noise maps and action plans represent the main tools in the fight against citizens' exposure to noise, especially that produced by road traffic. The present and the future in smart traffic control is represented by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which however have not yet been sufficiently studied as possible noise-mitigation tools. However, ITS dedicated to traffic control rely on models and input data that are like those required for road traffic noise mapping. The present work developed an instrumentation based on low-cost cameras and a vehicle recognition and counting methodology using modern machine learning techniques, compliant with the requirements of the CNOSSOS-EU noise assessment model. The instrumentation and methodology could be integrated with existing ITS for traffic control in order to design an integrated method, which could also provide updated data over time for noise maps and action plans. The test was carried out as a follow up of the L.I.S.T. Port project, where an ITS was installed for road traffic management in the Italian port city of Piombino. The acoustic efficacy of the installation is evaluated by looking at the difference in the acoustic impact on the population before and after the ITS installation by means of the distribution of noise exposure, the evaluation of Gden and Gnight, and the calculation of the number of highly annoyed and sleep-disturbed citizens. Finally, it is shown how the ITS system represents a valid solution to be integrated with targeted and more specific sound mitigation, such as the laying of low-emission asphalts.

A nationwide study of air pollution from particulate matter and daily hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in Italy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The relationship between air pollution and respiratory morbidity has been widely addressed in urban and metropolitan areas but little is known about the effects in non-urban settings. Our aim was to assess the short-term effects of PM10 and PM2.5 on respiratory admissions in the whole country of Italy during 2006-2015. METHODS: We estimated daily PM concentrations at the municipality level using satellite data and spatiotemporal predictors. We collected daily counts of respiratory hospital admissions for each Italian municipality. We considered five different outcomes: all respiratory diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lower and upper respiratory tract infections (LRTI and URTI). Meta-analysis of province-specific estimates obtained by time-series models, adjusting for temperature, humidity and other confounders, was applied to extrapolate national estimates for each outcome. At last, we tested for effect modification by sex, age, period, and urbanization score. Analyses for PM2.5 were restricted to 2013-2015 cause the goodness of fit of exposure estimation. RESULTS: A total of 4,154,887 respiratory admission were registered during 2006-2015, of which 29% for LRTI, 12% for COPD, 6% for URTI, and 3% for asthma. Daily mean PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations over the study period were 23.3 and 17 µg/m3, respectively. For each 10 µg/m3 increases in PM10 and PM2.5 at lag 0-5 days, we found excess risks of total respiratory diseases equal to 1.20% (95% confidence intervals, 0.92, 1.49) and 1.22% (0.76, 1.68), respectively. The effects for the specific diseases were similar, with the strongest ones for asthma and COPD. Higher effects were found in the elderly and in less urbanized areas. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term exposure to PM is harmful for the respiratory system throughout an entire country, especially in elderly patients. Strong effects can be found also in less urbanized areas.

Effects of Exposure to Road, Railway, Airport and Recreational Noise on Blood Pressure and Hypertension.

Noise is one of the most diffused environmental stressors affecting modern life. As such, the scientific community is committed to studying the main emission and transmission mechanisms aiming at reducing citizens' exposure, but is also actively studying the effects that noise has on health. However, scientific literature lacks data on multiple sources of noise and cardiovascular outcomes. The present cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the impact that different types of noise source (road, railway, airport and recreational) in an urban context have on blood pressure variations and hypertension. 517 citizens of Pisa, Italy, were subjected to a structured questionnaire and five measures of blood pressure in one day. Participants were living in the same building for at least 5 years, were aged from 37 to 72 years old and were exposed to one or more noise sources among air traffic, road traffic, railway and recreational noise. Logistic and multivariate linear regression models have been applied in order to assess the association between exposures and health outcomes. The analyses showed that prevalence of high levels of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is consistent with an increase of 5 dB (A) of night-time noise (ß = 0.50 95% CI: 0.18-0.81). Furthermore, increased DBP is also positively associated with more noise sensitive subjects, older than 65 years old, without domestic noise protection, or who never close windows. Among the various noise sources, railway noise was found to be the most associated with DBP (ß = 0.68; 95% CI: -1.36, 2.72). The obtained relation between DBP and night-time noise levels reinforces current knowledge.

A Taxonomy Proposal for the Assessment of the Changes in Soundscape Resulting from the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Many countries around the world have chosen lockdown and restrictions on people's mobility as the main strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions have significantly affected environmental noise and modified urban soundscapes, opening up an unprecedented opportunity for research in the field. In order to enable these investigations to be carried out in a more harmonized and consistent manner, this paper makes a proposal for a set of indicators that will enable to address the challenge from a number of different approaches. It proposes a minimum set of basic energetic indicators, and the taxonomy that will allow their communication and reporting. In addition, an extended set of descriptors is outlined which better enables the application of more novel approaches to the evaluation of the effect of this new soundscape on people's subjective perception.

Stabilization of a p-u Sensor Mounted on a Vehicle for Measuring the Acoustic Impedance of Road Surfaces.

The knowledge of the acoustic impedance of a material allows for the calculation of its acoustic absorption. Impedance can also be linked to structural and physical proprieties of materials. However, while the impedance of pavement samples in laboratory conditions can usually be measured with high accuracy using devices such as the impedance tube, complete in-situ evaluation results are less accurate than the laboratory results and is so time consuming that a full scale implementation of in-situ evaluations is practically impossible. Such a system could provide information on the homogeneity and the correct laying of an installation, which is proven to be directly linked to its acoustic emission properties. The present work studies the development of a measurement instrument which can be fastened through holding elements to a moving laboratory (i.e., a vehicle). This device overcomes the issues that afflict traditional in-situ measurements, such as the impossibility to perform a continuous spatial characterization of a given pavement in order to yield a direct evaluation of the surface's quality. The instrumentation has been uncoupled from the vehicle's frame with a system including a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller, studied to maintain the system at a fixed distance from the ground and to reduce damping. The stabilization of this device and the measurement system itself are evaluated and compared to the traditional one.

Challenges of the Use of Sound Emergence for Setting Legal Noise Limits.

In the vast majority of legislation on environmental noise, the metric used for expressing limit values is based on sound pressure levels. But some countries have introduced sound emergence limit values where the compliance of a noise-generating activity is defined as a maximum allowable difference between the sound pressure level with and without the regulated activity operating. This paper investigates the foundations and the merits of this kind of differential noise limit values. Our review of literature indicates that there is very little evidence supporting the use of differential noise limits over absolute ones. Moreover, while sound emergence limits seem to originate from consideration about audibility of the regulated noise source, they appear to give little insight into what is audible and what is not. Furthermore, both the definition and the practical measurement of sound emergence raise several challenges that compromise reproducibility. In addition, first, the reference to background noise makes it very difficult first to ascertain the conformity of noisy installations in the long run, second to effectively protect the community from excessive noise and third to evaluate conformity on the basis of simulations. When switching to another metric is not an option the paper makes recommendations toward a more reliable use of sound emergence.

A procedure for deriving wind turbine noise limits by taking into account annoyance.

With the increasing installation of wind farms, the attention of citizens towards wind turbine noise (WTN) has grown. Differently from some national legislations, the scientific community has promptly responded, increasing the studies and the social surveys in order to better understand the cause of disturbance and the indicators that relate to it. At first, the paper underlines the importance of low WTN levels for indirect health effects such as sleep disturbance and annoyance. The importance to consider noise annoyance in legislation is also discussed, as WTN is more disturbing than other most common noise sources. Then, conversion curves for equally highly annoyed are introduced considering the annoyance perceived by population in relation with the type of source. Finally, a specific limit value of 43 dB(A) for WTN is derived and suggested, comparable with British and Danish standards.

Annoyance Judgment and Measurements of Environmental Noise: A Focus on Italian Secondary Schools.

The effects of noise on students' health, well-being, and learning are of growing concern among both the general public and policy-makers in Europe. Several studies have highlighted the consequences of noise on children's learning and performance at school. This study investigates the relationship between noise judgment in school goers aged 11-18 and noise measurements aimed at evaluating their exposure at school. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered to 521 individuals in 28 classrooms in eight schools of four cities in Italy, with different environmental characteristics. Using a Likert-type scale, a selected set of responses related to noise generated an Annoyance Index (AI) score for each student and a classroom median score (MAI). From the noise data acquired, a global noise score (GNS) was assigned to each classroom. A higher AI was found in industrialized areas and among younger students. No significant differences in noise judgment were found by gender. A significant inverse correlation was described between MAI and GNS, thus the better the acoustic quality of the classrooms, the less the perceived noise and annoyance. The results show that noise perception and consequent disturbance are highly correlated with classroom acoustics, and confirm that annoyance represents the most widespread subjective response to noise.

Annoyance evaluation due to overall railway noise and vibration in Pisa urban areas.

The noise impact of the whole railway infrastructure was characterized in the urban environment of Pisa, Italy. The ordinary train transits were considered, nevertheless it was given particular attention also to the noise sources referable to railway operations like manoeuvring, loading and unloading, truck movements, braking, squeals and whistles. These kinds of noise are usually neglected in the noise modelling and are hereafter called "unconventional noises". The characteristics of the railway infrastructure and the receptors' distribution guided the measuring point selection and led to a survey with a sample of 119 people ranging between the ages of 35 and 70 and residents in the area for at least 5 years. The differences between the ordinary noise modelling and the measured noise, including the unconventional ones, were investigated. Dose-effect relationships for %HA and measured or simulated railways noise were calculated and compared with others in literature. The last paragraph of this paper is dedicated to the exposure to railway vibration and its relation with noise exposure. The results show the limitations of traditional noise mapping for railway epidemiological studies based exclusively on ordinary transits and confirm the role of vibrations as enhancing factor for disturbance.

Assessing the Underwater Ship Noise Levels in the North Tyrrhenian Sea.

The purpose of this research was to assess the anthropic underwater noise caused by ships within the Cetacean Sanctuary, a wide area in the North Tyrrhenian Sea. Noise from low-frequency continuous sounds has been investigated within the 1/3-octave bands centered at 63 and 125 Hz. All the information about noise sources and sound attenuation have been organized in a database; a tool automatically extracts useful information from it and feeds a ray-tracing model to estimate noise levels. The results show average levels generally over the 100 dB re 1 µPa value.

Low frequency noise impact from road traffic according to different noise prediction methods.

The European Noise Directive 2002/49/EC requires to draw up noise action plans. Most of the implemented solutions consist in using barriers, even if some studies evidenced that annoyance could increase after their installation. This action dumps the high frequencies, decreasing the masking effect on low ones. Therefore, people annoyance and complaints may increase despite the mitigation. This can happen even in pedestrian zones near main roads due to the screening effect of first buildings row. In this paper, the authors analyze the post-operam screening effects in terms of low frequency noise. The difference between C- and A-weighted levels is calculated as annoyance indicator (LC-A). Different methods able to map noise with octave bands detail are tested in order to establish differences in the estimates of annoyance exposure. In particular, a comparison is carried out between data from interim method NMPB 96, its updated version 2008, NORD 2000 and those provided by a customized procedure through ISO 9613 propagation and Statistical Pass By measurements. Test sites are simulated in order to validate each model results through measurements. Results are discussed for real locations in Pisa city center and virtual scenarios in a rising scale of complexity.

[Health impact assessment of airport noise on people living nearby six Italian airports]. / Valutazione dell'impatto del rumore aeroportuale sulla salute della popolazione residente nelle vicinanze di sei aeroporti italiani.

BACKGROUND: aircraft noise has been associated with several health effects. Because of the great success of low-cost flights, small airports have been turned into international airports thus exposing nearby residents to an increase in noise levels and potential disturbances and health disorders. OBJECTIVE: to estimate the exposure levels and evaluate the health impact of aircraft noise on residents nearby six airports in Italy (Rome: Ciampino; Milan: Linate and Malpensa; Pisa; Turin; Venice) focusing on hypertension, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), annoyance and sleep disturbances. METHODS: residents in the local Municipalities considered at 31.12.2010 were included in the study and their addresses were geocoded. Aircraft noise exposure in 2011 was defined using the Integrated Noise Model linked to each participant's address. Lden (<55, 55-60, 61-65, 65-70 dB), Lnight, Leq (day and night) were calculated. Available exposure-response relationships were used to estimate the number of additional cases of hypertension, AMI, annoyance and sleep disturbances in the local population. RESULTS: 73,272 persons exposed to aircraft noise levels >55dB were considered: 55,915 (76.3%) were exposed to 55-60 dB; 16,562 (22.6%) to 60-65 dB; 795 (1.2%) to 65-70 dB. Exposure to aircraft noise levels above 55 dB was estimated to be responsible each year of 4,607 (95%CI 0-9,923) additional cases of hypertension; 3.4 (95%CI 0-10.7) cases of AMI; 9,789 (95%CI 6,895-11,962) cases of annoyance; 5,084 (95%CI 1,894-10,509) cases of sleep disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: a significant impact of airport noise on the health of residents nearby six Italian airports was estimated. Epidemiological evaluation and noise mitigation measures should be introduced to protect the health of residents.

Gden: An indicator for European noise maps comparison and to support action plans.

Ten years after the approval of the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC (END) a large experience have been acquired to develop noise maps and action plans: the Noise Observation and Information Service for Europe maintained by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on behalf of the European Commission contains all data delivered in accordance with the END by Members States within the first round of implementation of the END. This large database should be useful to evaluate the pollution of Europe and to guide policy makers to establish best practices. However, local procedures and national methods do not permit a direct comparison of data reported. A comparison within agglomerations in EU is here carried out in order to find suitable indicators to identify most polluted cities despite different methods used. Critical and quiet areas have been assessed in action plans, but national laws and requirements are various, as different indicators used for their identification. The analysis was performed on noise exposure classes distribution, grouping them together using Gden and Gnight indicators to offer a new tool for presenting noise maps of the cities to the public permitting their comparison and for drawing detailed action plans. Strong relationship between these indicators and highly annoyed and highly sleep-disturbed people percentages are obtained. Furthermore, a comparison between Gden and Qcity Noise Scoring for local hot spot identification is carried out for the agglomeration of Pisa, where different transportation noise sources are present. The final goal is to define faster methods for suitable indicators calculation in hot spot identifications.

Urbanization and the more-individuals hypothesis.

1. Urbanization is a landscape process affecting biodiversity world-wide. Despite many urban-rural studies of bird assemblages, it is still unclear whether more species-rich communities have more individuals, regardless of the level of urbanization. The more-individuals hypothesis assumes that species-rich communities have larger populations, thus reducing the chance of local extinctions. 2. Using newly collated avian distribution data for 1 km(2) grid cells across Florence, Italy, we show a significantly positive relationship between species richness and assemblage abundance for the whole urban area. This richness-abundance relationship persists for the 1 km(2) grid cells with less than 50% of urbanized territory, as well as for the remaining grid cells, with no significant difference in the slope of the relationship. These results support the more-individuals hypothesis as an explanation of patterns in species richness, also in human modified and fragmented habitats. 3. However, the intercept of the species richness-abundance relationship is significantly lower for highly urbanized grid cells. Our study confirms that urban communities have lower species richness but counters the common notion that assemblages in densely urbanized ecosystems have more individuals. In Florence, highly inhabited areas show fewer species and lower assemblage abundance. 4. Urbanized ecosystems are an ongoing large-scale natural experiment which can be used to test ecological theories empirically.