Road traffic remains biggest source of noise pollution in Europe

2521 days ago

2 minutes

Source: European Environment Agency – With an estimated 100 million Europeans affected by harmful levels, road traffic is by far the largest source of noise pollution in Europe, according to a new assessment published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) today.

The EEA briefing ‘Managing exposure to noise in Europe’ provides updated estimates of the numbers of people exposed to noise in Europe. It also provides an update on the measures being taken by EU Member States in addressing noise issues.

Noise pollution remains a major environmental health problem in Europe, with the transport sector being a major cause.  Road traffic noise is the dominant source affecting human exposure above the EU’s threshold of 55 decibels (dB) for daily exposure and 50 dB for night exposure. Around 100 million people are exposed to road traffic noise above 55 dB in the 33 member countries of the EEA (Figure 1). Of these, 32 million are exposed to very high noise levels (above 65 dB). Railways is the second largest source, with 19 million people exposed above 55 dB. Aircraft noise, close to major airports, is the third main source, with more than 4.1 million people exposed, followed by industrial noise within urban areas, with 1.0 million people exposed.

Noise from road traffic alone is the second most harmful environmental stressor in Europe, behind air pollution, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The harmful effects of noise arise mainly from the stress reaction it causes in the human body, which can also occur during sleep. These can potentially lead to premature death, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance, hypertension and, at the least, annoyance.

Read more here.

Annick Roetynck

Annick is the Manager of LEVA-EU, with decades of experience in two-wheeled and light electric mobility.

View all posts

Campaign success

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Member profile

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.