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Noise annoyance in Canada
D S Michaud1, S E Keith, D McMurchy
1Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Product Safety Programme, Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Acoustics Division, 775 Brookfield Road, Address Locator 6301B, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1C1. Canada. dmichaud@hc-sc.gc.ca
Noise & Health
|August 18, 2005
Summary
Approximately 7% of Canadians experience significant annoyance from environmental noise, with traffic noise identified as the primary disturbance. Factors like age, education, and community size influence these noise annoyance ratings.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Acoustics
- Public Health
Background:
- Environmental noise, particularly traffic noise, is a growing concern impacting public well-being.
- Understanding the prevalence and sources of noise annoyance is crucial for developing effective mitigation strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the level of annoyance caused by environmental noise among Canadians.
- To identify the most significant sources of noise annoyance.
- To quantify annoyance specifically related to traffic noise using standardized international methods.
Main Methods:
- Two nationwide telephone surveys were conducted on a representative sample of 5,232 Canadians aged 15 and older.
- Standardized questionnaires, including the International Organization for Standardization/Technical Specification (ISO/TS)-15666, were used to gauge noise annoyance.
- Data were analyzed to identify the most annoying noise sources and quantify annoyance levels using verbal and numerical scales.
Main Results:
- Nearly 8% of Canadians reported being highly annoyed by noise in general, with traffic noise identified as the most bothersome source.
- Follow-up surveys indicated that 6.7% of respondents were very or extremely annoyed by traffic noise on a verbal scale.
- On a numerical scale, 5.0% rated traffic noise as 8 or above, and 9.1% rated it as 7 or above, suggesting approximately 1.8 million highly annoyed individuals.
Conclusions:
- Traffic noise is a significant source of annoyance for a substantial portion of the Canadian population.
- Age, education level, and community size were found to be statistically significant factors associated with noise annoyance.
- The use of ISO/TS-15666 facilitates international comparison of noise annoyance data.