Some insights into the relationship between urban air pollution and noise levels.

The relationship between noise and air pollution was investigated in eight different districts across Seoul, Korea, between September and November 2010. The noise levels in each district were measured at both roadside and non-roadside locations. It was found that the maximum levels of noise were generally at frequencies of around 1000 Hz. The equivalent noise levels (L(eq)), over all districts, averaged 61.4 ± 7.36 dB which is slightly lower than the noise guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of 70 dB for industrial, commercial, traffic, and outdoor areas. Comparison of L(eq) levels in each district consistently indicates that noise levels are higher at roadside sites than non-roadside sites. In addition the relative dominance of noise during daytime as compared to nighttime was also apparent. Moreover, the results of an analysis relating sound levels with air pollutant levels indicate strongly that the correlation between these two parameters is the strongest at roadside sites (relative to non-roadside sites) and during nighttime (relative to daytime). The results of our data analysis point to a positive, but complex, correlation between noise levels and air pollution.

[1]  Ari Karppinen,et al.  Evaluation of a multiple regression model for the forecasting of the concentrations of NOx and PM10 in Athens and Helsinki. , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[2]  T. Yoshida,et al.  EFFECTS OF ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE ON INHABITANTS OF TOKYO , 1997 .

[3]  B. Berglund,et al.  Guidelines for community noise , 1999 .

[4]  S. Stansfeld,et al.  Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health. , 2003, British medical bulletin.

[5]  Joel D. Kaufman,et al.  The spatial relationship between traffic-generated air pollution and noise in 2 US cities. , 2009, Environmental research.

[6]  Miguel Arana,et al.  A social survey on the effects of environmental noise on the residents of Pamplona, Spain , 1998 .

[7]  O. Tchepel,et al.  How urban structure can affect city sustainability from an air quality perspective , 2006, Environ. Model. Softw..

[8]  S. Santra,et al.  Status of road traffic noise in Calcutta metropolis, India , 1997 .

[9]  Ateeque Ahmad,et al.  Noise Pollution and Human Health: A Case Study of Municipal Corporation of Delhi , 2010 .

[10]  Gaetano Licitra,et al.  The CNOSSOS-EU initiative: A framework for road, railway, aircraft and industrial noise modelling for strategic noise mapping in EU Member States , 2011 .

[11]  B. Forsberg,et al.  Prevalence of respiratory and hyperreactivity symptoms in relation to levels of criteria air pollutants in Sweden , 1997 .

[12]  A. Bartoňová,et al.  Oslo traffic study - part 1: an integrated approach to assess the combined effects of noise and air pollution on annoyance , 2000 .

[13]  Paulo Henrique Trombetta Zannin,et al.  [Evaluation of noise pollution in the Botanical Garden in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil]. , 2003, Cadernos de saude publica.

[14]  Soon-Ung Park,et al.  Transport and evolution of a winter-time Yellow sand observed in Korea , 2001 .

[15]  Thomas Götschi,et al.  Annoyance due to air pollution in Europe. , 2007 .

[16]  P. Kassomenos,et al.  Assessment and prediction of benzene concentrations in a street canyon using artificial neural networks and deterministic models: Their response to “what if” scenarios , 2006 .

[17]  Paul R. Wyrwoll,et al.  national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) , 2012 .

[18]  Konstantinos,et al.  Noise Action Plans for the Acoustic Protection of Urban Areas around the Athens International Airport （A.I.A.） Strategic Noise Maps 2006 ＆ 2011 , 2011 .

[19]  E. Murphy,et al.  Strategic environmental noise mapping: methodological issues concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive and their policy implications. , 2010, Environment international.

[20]  Issam R. Abdel Raziq,et al.  Noise Measurements in the Community of Nablus in Palestine , 2000 .

[21]  J. Fields,et al.  An Updated Catalog of 521 Social Surveys of Residents' Reactions to Environmental Noise (1943-2000) , 2001 .

[22]  Samira Ibrahim Korfali,et al.  Assessment of Community Noise Problem in Greater Beirut Area, Lebanon , 2003, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[23]  Leorey O. Marquez,et al.  A framework for linking urban form and air quality , 1999, Environ. Model. Softw..

[24]  G H Pandya.  Urban Noise – A Need for Acoustic Planning , 2001, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[25]  Martin Hvidberg,et al.  Road traffic noise and stroke: a prospective cohort study. , 2011, European heart journal.

[26]  K. Vogiatzis,et al.  Strategic Noise Maps & Noise Action Plans at Larnaka International Airport (Cyprus) according to the European Directive 2002/49/EC , 2011 .

[27]  K. Ridder,et al.  An integrated methodology to assess the benefits of urban green space. , 2004, The Science of the total environment.

[28]  Paulo Henrique Trombetta Zannin,et al.  Environmental noise pollution in the city of Curitiba, Brazil , 2002 .

[29]  Nikolaos Eliou,et al.  Evaluation of noise levels in urban environment in Greece , 2006 .

[30]  Kazuhiko Ito,et al.  Noise, air pollutants and traffic: continuous measurement and correlation at a high-traffic location in New York City. , 2011, Environmental research.

[31]  Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi,et al.  Modeling of road-traffic noise with the use of genetic algorithm , 2011, Appl. Soft Comput..

[32]  Anastasia K Paschalidou,et al.  Forecasting hourly PM10 concentration in Cyprus through artificial neural networks and multiple regression models: implications to local environmental management , 2011, Environmental science and pollution research international.

[33]  P. Kassomenos,et al.  Identification of sources and processes affecting particulate pollution in Thessaloniki, Greece , 2011 .

[34]  Paulo Henrique Trombetta Zannin,et al.  [Annoyance caused by urban noise to the citizens of Curitiba, Brazil]. , 2002, Revista de saude publica.

[35]  P. Zannin,et al.  Calculation of noise maps around electrical energy substations , 2005 .

[36]  Marcela Rivera,et al.  Local determinants of road traffic noise levels versus determinants of air pollution levels in a Mediterranean city. , 2011, Environmental research.

[37]  S. Adar,et al.  Are both air pollution and noise driving adverse cardiovascular health effects from motor vehicles? , 2011, Environmental research.

[38]  Djamel Ouis,et al.  ANNOYANCE FROM ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE: A REVIEW , 2001 .

[39]  Jeong Chang Seong,et al.  Spatio-temporal patterns of road traffic noise pollution in Karachi, Pakistan. , 2011, Environment international.

[40]  B. De Baets,et al.  Correlation analysis of noise and ultrafine particle counts in a street canyon. , 2011, The Science of the total environment.

[41]  U. W. Tang,et al.  Influences of urban forms on traffic-induced noise and air pollution: Results from a modelling system , 2007, Environ. Model. Softw..

[42]  J. M. B. Morillas,et al.  An environmental noise study in the city of Cáceres, Spain , 2002 .

[43]  K D KRYTER,et al.  The effects of noise on man. , 1959 .