EURO-ECO 2010 Hanover 2 - 3 Dezember 2010	Environmental, Engineering - Economic and Legal Aspects for Sustainable Living
	European Academy of Natural Sciences, Hanover European Scientific Society, Hanover University of Bremen, Bremen

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Share of noise among environmentally harmful factors is growing steadily. Currently there is no efficient noise pollution monitoring system for cities in Russia. We offer technical approaches to determine factual and anticipated noise pollution by traffic flows and to single out rail transport impact share or motor transport impact share. The approaches are based on theoretical and pilot research.

Conducting calculation monitoring, one should integrate all information resources available: digital city map containing data about the area, buildings, functional zones; information about noise sources, their type, location, sonic action volume; information needed for noise propagation calculation with allowance for noise degeneration and its reflection from obstacles; information about population, health indices and life conditions.

Calculation results may be assumed as a basis for health hazard assessment, managerial decisions concerning environmental protection, justification of acoustic protection measures and their benefits evaluation.

Assessment of noise health hazard is a controversial issue for several reasons: there is no dose-effect model applicable in conditions of chronic exposure to traffic noise; it is not possible to substantiate cause-effect relation between somatic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, neuroses, etc.) and exposure to traffic noise.

Meanwhile, according to experts, the most widely spread indicator of noise nuisance is subjective sensations of people expressed in complaints. For example, 40% of all letters of complaint forwarded to the city administration of St Petersburg are against noise.

Psychological reaction of a person (irritation) is obviously a specific response to noise and a starting physiological mechanism of somatic pathology formation. In such conditions statistically verified interconnection between sound pressure level (noise), dB, and share of population which reacts to it, is a classical dose-effect model and can be applied in health hazard assessment. International standards take into consideration this interconnection. For example, Intergovernmental standard ISO 1996-2003 ICS B.140 describes people’s reaction to traffic noise with “Schultz curves”.

Thus, probability of causing psychological reaction, determination of probable share of population exposed to noise, in other words, risk assessment may be calculated from the following equation which describes these curves:

Risk = 100 / 1+ exp · (10, 4 – 0,132 · L_Rdn), where

Risk – degree of risk, %;

L_Rdn – estimated daily level of noise in day and night period; L_Rdn value –annual average.

Studies show that morbidity rates among people living in areas of acoustic discomfort calculated on the basis of results of monitoring conducted in St Petersburg will vary from 2107‰ to 3650‰, among which 206,8-287,7‰ of nervous system diseases, 18,37‰; of cancer, 124,6‰ of endocrine system diseases, if no sound-suppressing measures are taken. If sound-suppressing measures are launched, morbidity rate will not exceed 1893,5‰, among which 188,3‰ of nervous system diseases, 9,6‰; of cancer, 59,7‰ of endocrine system diseases.

Application of monitoring technique for acoustic discomfort risk assessment is a promising area of ecological research.