Many new houses need to be built in the coming years, while space is scarce. As a result, there are plans to build houses in areas exposed to high levels of noise from multiple sources, such as around Schiphol Airport. Long-term exposure to high noise levels can lead to sleep disturbance, annoyance, and other adverse health effects. The Environment and Planning Act prescribes a method to calculate the total annoyance caused by multiple noise sources. Research conducted by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, shows that this method performs neither better nor worse than other suitable methods. When using this method however, RIVM recommends that the most up-to-date scientific insights into the relationship between noise exposure and annoyance should be applied.
Before houses are built, it is important to understand the potential health effects of all the noise sources in the surrounding environment. The Environment and Planning Act prescribes a method to calculate these effects. RIVM investigated whether there are other methods available for this purpose in international scientific literature.
RIVM identified sixteen methods in total, three of which were found suitable for use in Dutch policy. One of these methods is the method included in the Environment and Planning Act. RIVM concludes based on its research that this method is neither better nor worse than the other two.
Make use of the latest insights into the relationship between noise and health
The relationship between noise exposure and health can be expressed using an exposure–response relationship. An exposure–response relationship is an important component in calculating total annoyance and provides the probability of experiencing annoyance at a given noise level. For aircraft noise, this relationship has changed in recent years. Earlier RIVM research shows that people experience more annoyance at the same level of noise from aircraft than before. RIVM recommends using the most up-to-date exposure-response relationships for all noise sources.