Impact of COVID-19 on environmental noise emitted from the port

Abstract

Identification of noise sources and their ranking is a crucial part of any noise abatement program. This is a particularly difficult task when a complex source, such as a seaport, is considered. COVID -19 epidemic has had a significant impact on environmental noise related to road, rail, air and ship traffic and provided a unique opportunity to observe immediate noise reduction. In order to identify the noise sources, whose reduction was most effective in reducing noise from the port area, this study compared and quantified noise emissions between the historical and epidemic periods. Environmental noise measurements from three noise monitoring stations at the port boundary were analysed. In addition, noise emissions from ship, road, rail and industry as well as meteorological data in the historical pre – COVID -19 (January 2018 - February 2020) and COVID-19 (April 2020) period were analysed in detail. The characteristics of the noise sources mentioned, geographical data and noise measurements were used to develop and validate a noise model of the port area, which was used to calculate noise contour maps. Our results show that the reduction in noise levels observed at all monitoring stations coincides with the reduced shipping traffic. The A weighted equivalent sound pressure levels in the day, evening and night periods were reduced by 2.2 dB to 5.7 dB compared to the long-term averages, and the area of the 55 dB day-evening-night noise contour was reduced by 23 %. Compared to the historical period, the number of people exposed to noise levels above 55 dB(A) in the day-evening-night period due to shipping and industrial activities was reduced by 20% in the COVID -19 period. Such results show that environmental noise generated by moored ships is a problem for port cities that should be regulated internationally. In addition, this paper provides precise guidance on noise emission characteristics, ship categorisation and the post-processing of long-term measurement data, taking into account wind conditions and undesired sound events, which can be applied to future research at other locations near shipping ports and used to prepare strategies for noise reduction in ports.

Preparation of Industrial Noise Mapping and Improvement of Environmental Quality

“…The decrease in the activity levels in the ports can contribute to the decrease in the noise levels. Čurović et al [ 58 ] stated in their research that shipping and industrial activities changed in the COVID-19 period and the L den period was analyzed due to the change of the shipping and industrial activities in the COVID-19 period. According to analyses, it was mentioned that compared to the historical period, the number of people exposed to noise levels above 55 dBA decreased by 20% in the COVID-19 period [ 58 ].…”

“…Čurović et al [ 58 ] stated in their research that shipping and industrial activities changed in the COVID-19 period and the L den period was analyzed due to the change of the shipping and industrial activities in the COVID-19 period. According to analyses, it was mentioned that compared to the historical period, the number of people exposed to noise levels above 55 dBA decreased by 20% in the COVID-19 period [ 58 ]. In the research of Basu et al [ 59 ], Dublin city noise pollution was analyzed and sound levels were investigated before and after the lockdown imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Did Noise Pollution Really Improve during COVID-19? Evidence from Taiwan

“…Noise pollution is a persistent response to sudden sound, and is damaging to health and the environment, including animals and plants. It generally involves outdoor annoyances from scooters, motorbikes and traffic noise [29][30][31][32], longitudinal annoyance [33], viaduct rail transit [34] and seaports [35]. Sounds under 70dB are considered to also likely impact living organisms, and exposure to these sounds tends to persist over a prolonged period, for example, if people work 8 h a day near to a major road.…”

Soundscape of Catalonia during the first COVID-19 lockdown: Preliminary results from the <em>Sons al Balcó</em> project

“…All the noise [8] associated with regular activities outdoors became almost nonexistent. Noise from traffic [9][10][11][12], railway noise, port noise [13], airport noise [14] and leisure-related noise [15] were substantially reduced in most of the analyzed cities [16][17][18], and even in quiet residential areas [19]. Nevertheless, everything seems to come back to normal after the harder episodes of the pandemic, and most of the cities around Europe have come back to their original noise levels in the street [20], maybe losing the opportunity to improve the noise impact on people.…”