Cost optimal reduction of noise in large industrial areas A method to select measures

摘要

It is always a big issue in noise reduction programs to establish which noise levels in the environment can be achieved economically. Especially near large industrial areas it is seldom possible to comply with the preferred values at reasonable cost. This means that an acceptable noise level must be found and an optimization must take place to get the best "value for money". A method, based on the decrease of the number of dwellings with a noise level above the preferred value was developed. The method leads to an order of individual noise reduction measures and uses the costs to reduce the noise level for one dwelling with 1 dB as a decision factor. The strength of the method is, that measures at different sources and sometimes literally miles apart can be compared. It is also a big help for the decision-makers in industry and at the authorities to be aware of the costs of reducing the noise level at a single dwelling with 1 dB. The method was applied successfully at several large industrial areas in the Netherlands. With a few alterations it is also applicable to design the optimal distribution of noise sources for new developments.