13
Wavin AS+
Technical Manual
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines,
European countries have maximized the noise level (in hou-
ses, apartments, hospitals, elderly homes, hotels, etc.) during
the night to:
L
A max night
= 30 to 35 dB(A).
Community noise (also called environmental noise, residential
noise or domestic noise) is defined as noise emitted from all
sources except noise at the industrial workplace.
In the European Union about 40% of the population is expo-
sed to road traffic noise with an equivalent sound pressure
level exceeding 55 dB(A) daytime, and 20% are exposed to
levels exceeding 65 dB(A). When all transportation noise is
considered, more than half of all European Union citizens
is estimated to live in zones that do not ensure acoustical
comfort to residents. At night, more than 30% are exposed to
equivalent sound pressure levels exceeding 55 dB(A), which
are disturbing to sleep. Noise pollution is also severe in cities
of developing countries.
In contrast to many other environmental problems, noise pol-
lution continues to grow and it is accompanied by an increa-
sing number of complaints from people exposed to the noise.
The growth in noise pollution is unsustainable because it
involves direct, as well as cumulative, adverse health effects.
For instance sleep disturbance: measurable effects of noise
on sleep begin at sound levels of about 30 dB. However, the
more intense the background noise, the more disturbing is its
effect on sleep. Sensitive groups mainly include the elderly,
shift workers, people with physical or mental disorders and
other individuals who have difficulty sleeping.
Table 2 presents the WHO guideline values arranged accor-
ding to specific environments and critical health effects. The
guideline values consider all identified adverse health effects
Fig. 4: Example of community noise.
Table 1: Guideline values for community noise in specific
environments (Source World Health Organization).
#1: As low as possible.
#2: Peak sound pressure (not LAF, max) measured 100 mm from the ear.
#3: Existing quiet outdoor areas should be preserved and the ratio of intruding noise to
natural background sound should be kept low.
#4: Under headphones, adapted to free-field values.
