A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON TRAFFIC NOISE PREDICTION MODELS APPLICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED HEALTH RISKS ANALYSIS IN DELHI

Abstract

Increased noise levels from traffic in few decades are a major cause of concern for urban residents’ quality of life. It can be minimized to some extent by implementing mitigation measures such as noise barriers and proper traffic management. This can be accomplished via noise maps, which provide a visual depiction of a given area's noise level. This study major aim is to observe the noise monitoring and mapping for selected locations in New Delhi, India. The monitored data are compared with different Noise Models such as Burgess, CSTB, CRTN and Griffith and Langdon Modelso as to select the most accurate model for Delhi’s Road traffic conditions. The accuracy of the model is calculated by comparing the traffic noise model with the monitored value using correlation test. After Pearson Correlation test, the coefficient of correlation (r) comes maximum for the CSTB Traffic Model, which is r = 0.537. The result signifies a large positive relationship between Monitored value and CSTB Model. The collected data are compared to the CPCB's acceptable limits and analyzed using ArcGIS’ Spatial Interpolation technique. The Leq were estimated and analyzed for morning peak hours, off-peak hours and evening peak hours, and were used to create noise maps in ArcGIS for the city of Delhi. After analyzing the data set, it was observed that all the locations have exceeded the ambient noise standards. The ArcGIS noise contours developed can also be used for the noise prediction of other locations than that of the monitored locations. During Morning Peak hours, the maximum noise level is monitored at Jangpura (South East, Delhi) which is ranging from 77 to 77.8 dB. The least noise monitored in the Dabri Gurgaon Road (South-West Delhi) and Lodhi (New Delhi) Road ranging from 70.1 to 70.9 dB. For Off-Peak hours duration, the maximum noise level is monitored at Dharampura (North East Delhi) and Jangpura Road (South-East Delhi) which is ranging from 76.07 to 76.9 dB. The least noise monitored in Lodhi Road (New Delhi) Road ranging from 69.5 to 70.3 dB. For Evening Peak hours duration, the noise level has decreased by around 1-3%, the maximum and minimum noise monitoring station is same as that of Off-Peak Hours. The cumulative noise level for the day from Morning 8:00 to Evening 6:00 PM shows the value in the range of 70.1 to 77.9 dB which is quite high. As Noise is often harmful and dangerous to one's health as it affects humans in a range of physical, physiological, and psychological ways. Questionnaire were prepared for Survey for the selected locations so as to know the effect of Noise Pollution on Human Health. For Analysis the Survey data set was further categorized in three parts. Firstly, on the basis of Age group. Second, on the basis of Gender and Finally on the basis of data collected from. The survey will help in analyzing the adverse impact by taking responses of people towards the road traffic noise. After analysis it was observed that on the basis of Age group, the physiological effect is inversely proportional to psychological effects. As the age increases the age-related effects are increasing like Hearth Diseases, Hearing loss and Hypertension. The Younger generation are getting easily affected by the noise and develop annoyance and fatigue. Based on the Gender data, it was observed that females are more getting affected than that of male. The Car/Bus and Truck drivers are the most affected by the traffic noise. This may be due to the rise in traffic congestion. When talking about the Physiological effects, like Cardiovascular issues and Insomnia, Shopkeepers and Traffic Wardens are mostly affected by it. As a conclusion, it is observed that majority of the group is affected by the road traffic noise. Therefore, the noise related problem in Delhi is a matter of concern and needs a thoroughly examination by the Government authorities for the healthier environment.