School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Acoustics Program and Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hartford, USA.
Environ Int. 2014 Feb;63:207-15. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.11.001. Epub 2013 Dec 6.
The World Health Organisation has recently acknowledged that contrary to the trend for other environmental stressors, noise exposure is increasing in Europe. However, little research has been conducted on environmental noise exposure to handling activity at shipping ports. This paper reports on research examining the extent of noise exposure for residents within the vicinity of Dublin Port, Ireland using the nation's largest port terminal as a proxy for port noise. In order to assess the level of exposure in the area, long-term measurements were undertaken at the most exposed residential façade for a period of 45days to determine the extent of night-time exposure that was above levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. The indicators L90, Leq and LMax were used to determine exposure levels. The results show that exposure is above night-time guideline limits set down by the WHO, above Irish levels for the assessment of noise mitigation and highlight the extent to which port noise can be a significant environmental stressor. The research also investigated the extent of low-frequency noise (which is associated with greater health issues) from night-time port handling activity and found a significant low-frequency component indicating the negative health issues that might arise from port noise exposure more generally. We also undertook semi-structured interviews with residents to qualitatively assess the self-reported impact of prolonged night-time noise exposure for local residents.
世界卫生组织最近承认，与其他环境压力因素的趋势相反，欧洲的噪声暴露正在增加。然而，对于航运港口装卸活动中的环境噪声暴露，几乎没有进行研究。本文报告了一项研究，该研究使用爱尔兰最大的港口码头作为港口噪声的代表，调查了都柏林港附近居民的噪声暴露程度。为了评估该地区的暴露水平，在最暴露的住宅立面上进行了为期 45 天的长期测量，以确定夜间暴露在世界卫生组织推荐水平以上的程度。使用 L90、Leq 和 LMax 等指标来确定暴露水平。结果表明，暴露水平高于世界卫生组织规定的夜间指导限值，高于爱尔兰评估噪声缓解的水平，并突出了港口噪声可能成为重大环境压力因素的程度。该研究还调查了夜间港口装卸活动产生的低频噪声（与更大的健康问题有关）的程度，并发现了一个显著的低频成分，表明可能会因港口噪声暴露而产生更普遍的健康问题。我们还对居民进行了半结构化访谈，从定性角度评估了长期夜间噪声暴露对当地居民的自我报告影响。
