Noise pollution: what it is, what are the causes and the damages

Noise pollution refers to the presence of a noise source within an environment that is so intense that, over time, it causes disturbances or actual damage to people's psychophysical systems.

Consider, for example, a home overlooking a street where cars whizz by, or one located above a nightclub. And then there's the honking and roaring of car horns, the noise from roadworks or heavy industry.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noise pollution is one of the problems with the highest environmental impact after air pollution.

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NOISE POLLUTION

Noise pollution can have many causes, not only environmental, but also related to our lifestyles and in particular to some bad habits.

On the first point, it is enough to think that the noise of a busy road (not paralyzed by cars, as often happens in metropolises) produces a noise equal to 80-100 decibelsThe equivalent of a jackhammer that we're ready to start a condominium dispute over.

Among the damages of environmental noise pollution there is thepremature aging and, for the elderly, the increasing difficulty in deciphering words and sounds, distinguishing them correctly. The textbook case of noise pollution linked to lifestyle is that which arises from the insane way in which we listen to the music.

It's easy to exceed 80-100 decibels (a plane taking off makes 120 decibels), and thus we slip into the gray area of auditory stress. This results in a reduction in our hearing, even in our twenties. This, unfortunately, is becoming increasingly common. According to theWorld Health Organization, OMS, over a billion people are at risk of hearing loss due to the habit of listening to music at too high a volume.

READ MORE: Silence, please: this is how Finland promotes tourism. And it reminds us of the health risks of excessive noise.

WHAT IS NOISE POLLUTION?

Those forced to constantly endure the persistence of noise have to deal with a whole series of pathologies and physical damages that undermine their health.

The genesis of noise pollution, which is also dangerous for animals, has four particular sources:

il vehicle traffic, trains and planes
le industrial activities
i meteorological phenomena
la domestic life.

The first category includes, for example, excessive noise from horns , tires , and engines . These noises are sometimes truly annoying and unnecessary, such as wasting a single honk if the driver in front of us doesn't move forward as soon as the light turns green.

Pollution from rail traffic is limited to areas near train departure, arrival and transit stations, or where there is heavy train traffic.

The same goes for air traffic : the victims of this type of pollution are people who live near areas where planes land and take off.

In the case of industrial, artisanal and commercial activities , everything depends on the type of production: some factories are very noisy, even if there are now ways to substantially reduce this form of pollution.

As far as weather phenomena are concerned , just think of the deadly noise of thunder , while in the home noise pollution is caused by devices such as televisions and radios , kept at high volumes, or by particularly noisy household appliances, from vacuum cleaners to washing machines.

VICTIMS OF NOISE POLLUTION

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has calculated that long-term exposure to noise pollution is the cause in Europe of 12 thousand deaths per year and 48 thousand ischemic heart diseases.

Again: in the Old Continent 22 million people suffer from chronic noise-related annoyances and 6,5 million people have sleep disorders. linked to excessive noise.

Even children are hit hard in Europe by noise pollution: according to EEA calculations, 12,500 people a year see their cognitive abilities compromised by the excess noise they absorb.

NOISE SICKNESS

Noise pollution is really bad and according to a survey conducted by Eurisko , interviewing 8.800 people in 47 cities in 11 countries , “noise sickness” is increasingly widespread.

In Italy , for example, 29 percent of the inhabitants are exposed to high levels of noise , and among these 83 percent suffer precisely from the intense noise of urban traffic.

WHEN DOES NOISE BECOMES NOISE POLLUTION?

The World Organization of Healthcare It has established the limits by which the difference between noise and noise pollution is measured.

In practice there are two thresholds (calculated based on the decibel, the unit of measurement for calculating noise):

65 decibels during the day
55 decibels at night

Then there is the legal aspect of noise and noise pollution, which is especially important for condominiums.

In this case, Italian law sets permissible limits, within which the noise is considered "negligible" and therefore not illegal. During the day, it is below 5 decibels between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.; at night, it is below 3 decibels.

SYMPTOMS AND PATHOLOGIES OF NOISE POLLUTION

Among these, we recognize hearing and non-hearing damage , which are certainly significant. The former can be distinguished into acute damage, following an intense but brief noise, and chronic damage, relating instead to prolonged exposure.

In both cases, hearing decreases, causing sensorineural hearing loss , which is irreversible and can also cause dizziness, ringing in the ears, and numbness.

Non-auditory damage occurs within our bodies, regardless of the hearing system. These include gastrointestinal disorders , increased blood pressure, and alterations to the nervous system , thyroid, adrenal glands, and immune system.

Noise is a source of enormous stress , which affects all our organs, impairing their functionality. Those who are constantly exposed to noise experience sleep and intellectual disturbances, which make it difficult to study and work.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM NOISE POLLUTION

Protecting ourselves from noise pollution is not impossible . The European Parliament has also proposed proposals to reduce, for example, the noise produced by cars, by introducing lower limits on noise emissions in decibels as well as new information labels warning of the type of noise produced by each car model on the market.

Even at home and in the workplace, noise pollution can be avoided by installing sound-absorbing panels , made from special foams that absorb and thus muffle noise. Double-glazed windows are an alternative for this purpose and are always recommended. In addition to home environments, noise pollution can also be combated outside, in cities, with a few essential measures.

Sound-absorbing asphalt is one of these, certainly expensive and requiring enormous maintenance, but capable of absorbing the sound waves produced by the compression of the air under the vehicle body and between the wheel and the road surface.

TREES AND NOISE POLLUTION

Trees and plants planted along roadsides also prove to be excellent noise barriers. Furthermore, a plant barrier, no less than 15 meters high, also reduces air pollution by breaking down fine particles and thus purifying the air.

The problem will have to be evaluated and resolved at a European level, but citizens and municipalities can also start to do their part : the former by purchasing more and more hybrid and electric cars, the latter by providing sound-absorbing asphalt, plant barriers and all the measures that can be useful for this purpose.

MUSIC AND NOISE POLLUTION

Young people are highly exposed to the risks of noise pollution resulting from listening to music at excessive volume. There are essentially two natural remedies for this danger, both very simple.

First of all, it is about following the 60-60 ruleThat is: listen to music at a volume no higher than 60 degrees centigrade and for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
Then there is a preventative remedy: using external headphonesThey are preferable to earphones, as the sound coming from headphones is softer and smoother and therefore less traumatic for the eardrum.

UNDERWATER NOISE POLLUTION

Underwater, noise pollution can be so intense that it prevents fish from communicating. This occurs, for example, in species widespread in the Mediterranean , such as the brown meagre and the damselfish. This was demonstrated by a study conducted as part of the "Deaf as a Fish" project by researchers from the Universities of Trieste and Vienna, in collaboration with the WWF Miramare Marine Reserve.

"We discovered that the noise produced by a normal pleasure boat can deafen fish, " explains biologist Marta Picciulin. "This phenomenon can compromise egg fertilization, and therefore the very survival of species that attract mates by emitting sounds."

Despite the popular saying, it's not true that fish are mute. In fact, over a hundred "chatty" fish species are known today, exchanging information about predators and prey, orienting one another, and sending love messages.

The sea is therefore not the silent world we think. On the contrary, in water sound travels five times faster than in air , at a speed of about 1.500 meters per second.

And because there's also less dispersion, the sounds travel greater distances. Researchers in Trieste have long been listening to the sound of the sea, using hydrophones, microphones specifically designed to work underwater.

These "electronic ears" allow sound waves to be recorded and converted into digital information. And in a world without borders, such as the sea, these instruments allow us to detect different noise levels from area to area. For example, during the research, monitoring of the Bay of Panzano and the Valle Cavanata marine reserve confirmed that the former is ten times louder than the latter.

THE NOISIEST CITIES IN ITALY

Which ones are they the noisiest cities in Italy?

The top spot in this not very honourable ranking goes to Milan, which is not surprising given that all four causes underlying thenoise pollutionIn some areas of Milan, such as the Navigli, you can get to everyday noises up to and above 75 decibels.
The cities that complete the podium of this ranking are surprising: Lecce (second place) and Verona (third place)They are smaller, more human-sized cities than metropolises, and therefore it should be easier to reduce noise and the risks of noise pollution. But unfortunately, this isn't the case.

ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE PROBLEMS IN EUROPE

The main cause of noise is road traffic. The problem is that it will become increasingly so in both urban and rural areas across the continent.

Following vehicular noise, there's rail, aviation, and industrial noise. Railway noise affected approximately 22 million people, while 4 million people were exposed to high levels of aircraft noise.

To combat this worrying phenomenon, the European Environment Agency (EEA) believes it's necessary to address old roads, improve traffic flow management , and reduce speed limits to 30 kilometers per hour. These measures must be accompanied by the promotion of sustainable and green mobility, which is also less noisy. Therefore, pedestrian areas , bicycle use , and incentives for electric vehicles are encouraged.

ALL THE BENEFITS OF SILENCE:

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