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Residential traffic noise exposure assessment: application and evaluation of European Environmental Noise Directive maps

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 531–538 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Digital noise maps produced according to the European Environmental Noise Directive (END) could provide valuable exposure information in noise and health research. However, their usefulness in epidemiological studies has not been evaluated. The objective of this study was to apply and evaluate Swedish END maps for assessments of residential traffic noise exposure. END maps from three Swedish cities were used to assess residential traffic noise exposure for a population sample of 2496 men and women included in a national Environmental Health Survey. For each subject, we assessed noise levels manually and automatically at three geographical points, using survey data to locate dwellings within buildings. Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) was used to assess agreement between the noise estimates. To evaluate the maps, we compared the observed and predicted proportions of annoyed residents as a function of noise exposure using survey data and already established exposure–response relationships. The root mean square deviation (r.m.s.) was used to assess the precision of observed estimates. The agreement between the noise estimates ranged from κ=0.4 to 0.8. Generally, there was a high correspondence between observed and predicted exposure–response relationships for noise annoyance, regardless of method and if data on dwelling location within building were used. The best precision was, however, found when we manually corrected the noise level according to the location of the dwelling within buildings (r.m.s.=0.029). Noise maps based on the END appear useful for assessing residential traffic noise exposure, particularly if combined with survey data on dwelling location.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Magnus Lindqvist, Jörgen Bengtsson (Stockholm), Thomas Hammarlund, Gunnar Blide (Gothenburg), Magnus Hillberg and Håkan Kristersson (Malmö) for providing digital noise maps, urban background data and technical reports, and Rebecka Pershagen for assisting in the manual noise exposure assessment. The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council FORMAS, the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, and the Swedish Council for Working life and Social Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Charlotta Eriksson, Tom Bellander & Göran Pershagen

  2. Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mats E Nilsson

  3. Podiceps GIS and Database Consulting, Stockholm, Sweden

    Dag Stenkvist

Authors
  1. Charlotta Eriksson
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  2. Mats E Nilsson
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  3. Dag Stenkvist
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  4. Tom Bellander
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  5. Göran Pershagen
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Correspondence to Charlotta Eriksson.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website

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Eriksson, C., Nilsson, M., Stenkvist, D. et al. Residential traffic noise exposure assessment: application and evaluation of European Environmental Noise Directive maps. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 531–538 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.60

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