Municipal approach of low frequency noise (LFN)
Regular paper
DCMR Environmental Prrotection Agency
Wednesday 3 june, 2015, 15:20 - 15:40
0.9 Athens (118)
Abstract:
Low frequency noise (LFN) is audible for a minority of people. People
generally perceive LFN as a humming, or throbbing sound as vibrations or as
pressure on the body. Being annoyed by LFN may seriously affect people’s
health.
Municipalities, environmental protection agencies and the health services
encounter problems in the approach of LFN. In most cases, the noise source
cannot be found or meets the legal standards. Municipalities acknowledge a
need for a standard approach for LFN sources and nuisance that takes into
account aspects of health, environmental judgment and spatial planning. For
this purpose we investigated the needs and experiences of the professionals
and annoyed citizens
Method:
The research involved municipalities, environmental services, health services
and annoyed citizens of three northern Provinces of The Netherlands. The
professionals participated in a group interview and annoyed citizens where
interviewed individually. All interviews were based upon a ‘topic list’. For
the Professionals was the process of the handling of the complaints about LFN:
receiving and analyzing the nuisance reports, problem definition, examination
of possible causes and the completion of the case. The topic list for the
citizens focused upon (risk) communication with special attention to trust in
the authorities according to dedication, trust, expertise and transparency.
Results
Due to lacking standards for measuring and assessment, methods differ by
municipality and even by employee. All interviewed citizens report ongoing LFN
Nuisance. Nevertheless, citizens who are satisfied with the treatment all
reported to have experienced expertise, dedication and transparency in
communication by the treating authorities, whereas disappointed citizens did
not so.