Iranian Association of Environmental Health (IAEH)
Abstract
A model is demonstrated that describes street traffic-induced noise
pollution in 2008 in Yazd, Iran. Sound levels were measured using a
Bruel and Kjaer-2260 sound level meter on 10 streets across the city
over this period during the morning rush hour and different vehicle
types were counted simultaneously at various sampling points.
Geographical Information System was used to generate, store and
retrieve the spatial data and map the sound levels using an
interpolation technique. The minimum and maximum sound levels appeared
to be 70.9 dBA and 80.7 dBA, respectively and these values were above
the national legislated norm. Cars and motorcycles were the most
commonly used vehicle type in the city, comprising 61.2% and 23.7 % of
the total traffic volume, respectively. These data were followed by
trucks, buses and bicycles. A number of parameters which were assumed
to impact on noise pollution were collected and considered, including
geographical position, elevation, the distance to the nearest
intersection, street geometry and the numbers of vehicles according to
class. The modelling demonstrated that there is a significant
relationship between the average sound level and traffic flow (R2 =
0.5). The results showed that although street traffichas increased
between 2002 and 2008, the sound levels in the city decreased slightly
and this has been attributed to advances in vehicle design