Rational regulations for vibrations from rail traffic
Invited paper
Chiaramonte Noise and Transport Consult
Monday 1 june, 2015, 16:40 - 17:00
0.4 Brussels (189)
Abstract:
Few countries have adopted regulations for vibrations and only one made this
statutory. In that last case the regulators however fell back on old practices
which are based on rather weak evidence on their effectiveness. Partly this
seems due to the perceived complexity of vibration issues, partly to a lack of
knowledge, partly to the feeling that vibrations are somehow less of a
problem. In this paper a procedure is described how to derive a regulatory
system for rail vibrations according to WHO-rules for the use of
epidemiological evidence in environmental risk assessment on the one hand and
information on the effectiveness of measures on the other hand. Recent
developments in the EU-project CARGOVIBES made it possible to get sufficient
data to make the first steps. Not all elements that are necessary for a stable
regulatory system are available, but at least politicians may be supported
much better in the decisions for a better protection of the population.
Worrying gaps in knowledge are the influence of night exposure on health, the
interaction with noise exposure and the effectiveness of measures.