University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118, USA.
Environ Int. 2011 Nov;37(8):1336-41. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2011.05.019. Epub 2011 Jun 24.
Environmental noise is a major source of public complaints. Noise in the community causes physical and socio-economic effects and has been shown to be related to adverse health impacts. Noise, however, has not been actively researched in the United States compared with the European Union countries in recent years. In this research, we aimed at modeling road traffic noise and analyzing human exposure in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. We modeled road traffic noise levels using the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model implemented in SoundPLAN®. After analyzing noise levels with raster, vector and façade maps, we estimated human exposure to high noise levels. Accurate digital elevation models and building heights were derived from Light Detection And Ranging survey datasets and building footprint boundaries. Traffic datasets were collected from the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Noise level simulation was performed with 62 computers in a distributed computing environment. Finally, the noise-exposed population was calculated using geographic information system techniques. Results show that 48% of the total county population [N=870,166 residents] is potentially exposed to 55 dB(A) or higher noise levels during daytime. About 9% of the population is potentially exposed to 67 dB(A) or higher noises. At nighttime, 32% of the population is expected to be exposed to noise levels higher than 50 dB(A). This research shows that large-scale traffic noise estimation is possible with the help of various organizations. We believe that this research is a significant stepping stone for analyzing community health associated with noise exposures in the United States.
环境噪声是公众投诉的主要来源。社区噪声会产生身体和社会经济影响，并已被证明与不良健康影响有关。然而，与近年来的欧盟国家相比，噪声在美国并没有得到积极研究。在这项研究中，我们旨在对佐治亚州富尔顿县的道路交通噪声进行建模并分析人类暴露情况。我们使用美国交通部联邦公路管理局交通噪声模型在 SoundPLAN® 中对道路交通噪声水平进行建模。在使用栅格、矢量和立面图分析噪声水平后，我们估计了人类对高噪声水平的暴露程度。准确的数字高程模型和建筑物高度是从激光雷达调查数据集和建筑物轮廓边界中得出的。交通数据集是从佐治亚州交通部和亚特兰大地区委员会收集的。噪声水平模拟是在分布式计算环境中使用 62 台计算机进行的。最后，使用地理信息系统技术计算了噪声暴露人群。结果表明，在白天，该县总人口的 48%[N=870,166 名居民]可能会受到 55 dB(A)或更高的噪声水平的影响。约 9%的人口可能会受到 67 dB(A)或更高的噪声的影响。在夜间，预计 32%的人口将暴露在高于 50 dB(A)的噪声水平下。这项研究表明，在各组织的帮助下，大规模的交通噪声估计是可行的。我们相信，这项研究是分析与美国噪声暴露相关的社区健康的重要一步。
