EXPOSURE OF SCHOOLS AND KINDERGARTENS TO ELEVATED ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE IN LJUBLJANA

摘要

Noise is defined as unwanted sound that can be disturbing in different situations. In schools, noise disrupts communication, reading, learning, remembering, and solving complex tasks in classes. In kindergartens noise can be disturbing while playing, singing, or sleeping. In this article we illustrate how important it is to integrate environmental and health issues' in order to convey a key message considering different required data to be officially reported to the European Commission. For this reason we developed environmental and health related noise indicators using the WHO ENHIS (Environment and Health Information System) methodology. We found out that this indicator could assist stakeholders in decision-making and the wider public to understand complex environmental and health issues. Our results show that children in primary schools and kindergartens in Ljubljana are potentially exposed to excess levels of road traffic noise. Among 110 kindergartens and 53 primary schools the levels of noise outside the buildings exceed the WHO recommended limit of 55 dB (A) for 14 kindergartens and 3 schools. During the school year 2010/2011 there were 1429 children in kindergartens and 498 in primary schools who were potentially exposed to elevated noise levels. The measurements and further assessment of noise outside and inside schools and kindergartens will be recommended in the Children's Action Plan for Environment and Health. These results will also be valuable for spatial planning in the Municipality of Ljubljana.