Greece slow in fight against noise

“The project was not included in the Third Community Support Framework, but will be included in the fourth, so we can now proceed. I expect the tender for the mapping of noise pollution in Athens and Thessaloniki to be announced in September.” According to figures made public earlier this year, both cities are thought to be among the noisiest in Europe, with some 60 percent of their populations afflicted by noise that exceeds 75 decibels, which is considerably higher than the recommended maximum level.

The average person cannot sleep when subjected to 45 decibels of noise. At 120 decibels, the ear registers pain, but hearing damage begins at about 85 decibels. Exposure to these levels of sound can have an effect on people’s health, such as causing hearing problems or altering their mood due to a lack of sleep. “Whenever a motorcycle goes by, it raises the sound levels by 10-12 decibels,” said National Technical University of Athens Associate Professor Giorgos Kabourakis.

Although organizations such as the Ombudsman’s office receive regular complaints, little action is taken. “Checks on the noise emitted by vehicles range from scarce to non-existent,” the Ombudsman said in a recent report. “There are no real checks on the quality of exhaust pipes.”

Putting noise on a map
CARS and buses, factories, offices and bars all contribute to the hubub of a big city. Now a Manchester business is mapping noise in big cities as part of an EU-inspired plan. Simon Shilton's Acustica has completed research to allow experts to produce noise maps for all cities in Europe with populations above 250,000. The aim is to find where noise comes from and manage and reduce noise levels. He says: "There is increasing evidence that noise - even if at low levels - has bad impacts on health and the quality of life. Quite simply, it wears you down, leading to stress, high blood pressure and poor sleep."

Acustica was established three years ago by Simon, a specialist in acoustics with a degree from Salford University. The business already produces noise action plans for towns in Ireland and hopes to win similar contracts in Britain. "The next stage after drawing up noise maps is to prepare plans to help mitigate the noise levels, and that is what we are beginning to get involved with now. "This is going to be something people will be hearing a lot more about as the health effects of noise, and the European regulations, become better known," he said.

Simon, who has 15 years experience devising software that can model noise patterns, expects the business to grow. As well as advising on the implementation of the new EU rules, he researches ways to map noise so that as many of the forms of noise pollution as possible as tracked and plotted.

Acustica is based at Styal Road, near Manchester Airport.