STRATEGIC NOISE MAPPING OF MAJOR ROADS IN IRELAND - A CENTRALISED APPROACH

摘要

The European Union's (EU's) 'Green Paper on Future Noise' was published by the European Commission over 20 years ago, in 1996. This was the first step in the development of a common European noise policy with the objective of eliminating individual exposure to environmental noise levels that may endanger health or quality of life. At that time, it was estimated that approximately 80 million EU citizens were exposed to unacceptable noise levels, while a further 170 million were living in areas of acoustic discomfort. It was identified that improved methodologies for the assessment of environmental noise exposure were necessary to ensure the development of a successful noise abatement policy. This led to the development of the Environmental Noise Directive (END), which was subsequently published in 2002.