HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF NIGHT TIME RAILWAY NOISE ON RESIDENTS OF DELHI CITY

Abstract

Noise is described as an obtrusive sound that could have a negative physiological and psychological effect on a person's health. Rail transport is one of the main sources of noise, with a particularly strong negative impact on environment, and on health of children and adults. Railway traffic noise is one of the most significant issues in urban and suburban areas especially in nearby areas of railway stations. According to this study, residential areas in vicinity of railroad tracks are highly affected. The adverse health effects of excessive noise include hearing loss, disturbances of sleep, spoken communication interference, cardiovascular issues, disturbed mental health, impaired work performance, negative social behaviour, and noise annoyance. This study’s major goal is to assess the health impacts of night time rail noise and noise mapping for selected locations in New Delhi, India. The monitored noise data collected over a duration of 2 days at the selected locations, is converted into Leq values and compared with the CPCB standards and also the health impacts are predicted based on the NETHERLANDS HEALTH COUNCIL REPORT 1994. The monitored values varied from 63.8 dB (A) to 77.6 dB (A) for Sarai Rohilla railway station and from 56.7 dB (A) to 79.8 dB (A) for Sabzi Mandi railway station. The 8 hour equivalent continuous noise levels showed the occurrence of health effects such as disturbance of sleep and affected sleep quality. ArcGIS software is to be used for generation of noise contour maps. Questionnaire were prepared for Survey for the selected locations so as to know the actual effect of Noise Pollution on Human Health. For Analysis, Survey data set is further categorized in three parts, on the basis of Age, Gender and the respondents from which the data has been collected. The survey will help in analysing the adverse impact by taking responses of people towards the rail noise. Annoyance due to rail traffic noise is also taken into consideration by means of responses in the questionnaire.