Environmental Noise Impact
Before any new resource project can proceed it is necessary to assess the environmental noise impact and clearly demonstrate to stakeholders that emissions can be adequately controlled.
Prolonged exposure to noise can lead to serious health effects mediated by the human endocrine system and by the brain, such as sleep disturbance, cardiovascular diseases, annoyance (a feeling of discomfort affecting general well-being), cognitive impairment and mental health problems. It can also cause direct effects such as tinnitus. The effects of exposure to noise impact EU economies. They lead to a loss of productivity of workers whose health and well-being are affected by noise, put a burden on health care systems and cause a substantial depreciation of real-estate value.
Noise can be a particularly sensitive issue when facilities are located close to communities, and is no longer accepted as a by-product of development. Noise can cause many unpleasant and harmful effects including stress, high blood pressure, sleep loss, lost productivity and a reduction in the quality of life.
Noise issues can be expensive to resolve retrospectively and need to be addressed as early as possible while there is the most flexibility for modification of designs.
Our industrial experience and familiarity with typical noise emissions of equipment enable us to quickly provide feedback on the likelihood of future issues. Being involved early in your design process we can help mitigate noise issues via design improvements and equipment specification.
Key in our expertise is noise modelling and prediction, identification of key noise sources, evaluation and specification of noise mitigation options and management plans.
Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (the Environmental Noise Directive – END) is the main EU instrument to identify noise pollution levels and to trigger the necessary action both at Member State and at EU level.