Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 414, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden.
Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Aug 31;15(9):1887. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15091887.
Rail transport is a key stepping stone in the EU's transport policy and is pinpointed for investment and growth over the coming decades. This expanding infrastructure implies increased exposure to environmental stressors, such as noise and ground-borne vibrations. Little is known about the health impacts of exposure to these vibrations. The aim of this paper is to examine the association between annoyance from rail vibrations and the distance of residential dwelling from the railway. It reports the first results of a large epidemiological study, EpiVib, which was designed to investigate the long-term health effects of exposure to rail vibrations. The first part of this study examines a self-reported questionnaire. In total, 6894 individuals aged between 18 and 80 living within 1 km of a railway in west Sweden participated. Results presented here examine the association between distance to the railway and annoyance from vibrations and are stratified by train type. A positive association between closer distance and increased annoyance is seen. After adjustment for important modifiers, results showed that vibrations from freight trains and maintenance operations are reported to be moderately and highly annoying at distances of up to 400 m from the railway and diesel up to 300 m. Vibration from passenger and fast trains are significantly annoying up to 200 m from the track. Vibration from freight trains and maintenance operations were considered highly annoying up to 300 m from the track, diesel up to 400 m. Vibration from passenger and fast trains are not reported to be highly annoying after adjustment. Heavier, slower moving locomotives, in the form of diesel and freight trains, appear to be the source of annoyance at distances further from the railway compared to passenger and fast trains. This has implications in terms of property, transport, and infrastructure planning.
铁路运输是欧盟交通政策的重要基石，未来几十年将重点投资和发展铁路运输。随着铁路基础设施的不断扩张，铁路沿线环境中的噪声和地面振动等压力源的暴露程度也会增加。目前，人们对接触这些振动对健康的影响知之甚少。本文旨在研究铁路振动引起的烦恼与居民住宅距铁路的距离之间的关系。本文报告了一项大型流行病学研究（EpiVib）的初步结果，该研究旨在调查接触铁路振动的长期健康影响。该研究的第一部分是对自我报告问卷的调查。在瑞典西部，有 6894 名年龄在 18 至 80 岁之间的个人居住在距离铁路 1 公里范围内，他们参与了这项研究。本文呈现的结果是对居住在距离铁路不同距离处的人群，因铁路振动产生的烦恼程度与距离之间的关系的研究，结果按照列车类型进行了分层。结果显示，距离铁路越近，烦恼程度越高。在调整了重要的干扰因素后，结果表明，货运列车和维护作业产生的振动在距离铁路 400 米以内，以及柴油列车在距离铁路 300 米以内被报告为中度和高度恼人，而客运和高速列车的振动在距离轨道 200 米以内显著恼人。调整后，货运列车和维护作业产生的振动在距离铁路 300 米以内，柴油列车在距离铁路 400 米以内被报告为高度恼人，而客运和高速列车的振动在调整后则不会被报告为高度恼人。与客运和高速列车相比，重量更大、速度更慢的机车（以柴油和货运列车的形式）在距离铁路更远的地方会产生更多的噪音，这对房地产、交通和基础设施规划都有影响。
