Assessment of traffic-induced noise pollution using correspondence analysis

The noise environment of the area is greatly impacted by ground transportation, which presents a serious challenge in the form of noise pollution. To evaluate the adverse effect of traffic noise on dwellers, eight locations were chosen for this study on national highway (NH-44) in India. This investigation had two primary goals: (1) monitoring the traffic flow in peak hours, (2) asses the noise level and (3) evaluating the effects of traffic noise pollution on dwellers using correspondence analysis. Equivalent continuous noise level (Leq), noise levels surpassed (L10) and (L90) were measured during peak hours in morning and evening for five months. Noise indices were measured using sound level meter at each of the eight selected sites. The impact of traffic noise was also revealed by computing the Traffic Noise Index and the Noise Pollution Level using the aforementioned noise indices. The present investigation found that the majority of the sample locations had pollution levels over the permissible limit. Questionnaire Survey was conducted to observe the impact of noise pollution on their daily routine and health. Further, correspondence analysis has been conducted to check the relationships between the categories which is severity of noise pollution on dwellers age groups. However, people who live close to a major highway frequently have to deal with the annoyance of traffic noise. Therefore, urban authorities as well as highway planners ought to think about ways to reduce traffic noise pollution before creating any road network.