title: Annoyance from Road Traffic, Trains, Airplanes and from Total Environmental Noise Levels.
abstract: There is a lack of studies assessing the exposure-response relationship between transportation noise and annoyance in North America. Our aims were to investigate the prevalence of noise annoyance induced by road traffic, trains and airplanes in relation to distance to transportation noise sources, and to total environmental noise levels in Montreal, Canada; annoyance was assessed as noise-induced disturbance. A telephone-based survey among 4336 persons aged >18 years was conducted. Exposure to total environmental noise (A-weighted outdoor noise levels-LAeq24h and day-evening-night equivalent noise levels-Lden) for each study participant was determined using a statistical noise model (land use regression-LUR) that is based on actual outdoor noise measurements. The proportion of the population annoyed by road traffic, airplane and train noise was 20.1%, 13.0% and 6.1%, respectively. As the distance to major roads, railways and the Montreal International Airport increased, the percentage of people disturbed and highly disturbed due to the corresponding traffic noise significantly decreased. When applying the statistical noise model we found a relationship between noise levels and disturbance from road traffic and total environmental noise, with Prevalence Proportion Ratios (PPR) for highly disturbed people of 1.10 (95% CI: 1.07-1.13) and 1.04 (1.02-1.06) per 1 dB(A) Lden, respectively. Our study provides the first comprehensive information on the relationship between transportation noise levels and disturbance in a Canadian city. LUR models are still in development and further studies on transportation noise induced annoyance are consequently needed, especially for sources other than road traffic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada. Martina.Ragettli@umontreal.ca.|Public Health Department of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada. Martina.Ragettli@umontreal.ca.|Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel 4002, Switzerland. Martina.Ragettli@umontreal.ca.|University of Basel, Basel 4003, Switzerland. Martina.Ragettli@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Martina S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ragettli
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada. sgoudrea@santepub-mtl.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goudreau
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada. cplante@santepub-mtl.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Plante
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada. sperron@santepub-mtl.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perron
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada. mfournier@santepub-mtl.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada. Audrey.Smargiassi@umontreal.ca.|National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, Montreal, QC H3C 2B9, Canada. Audrey.Smargiassi@umontreal.ca.|Public Health Research Institute, University of Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada. Audrey.Smargiassi@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smargiassi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000401:Aircraft; D001336:Automobiles; D002170:Canada; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009624:Noise, Transportation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011890:Railroads
keywords: Canada; annoyance; environmental noise; exposure; transportation