Research study documents unhealthy noise in Portland, Oregon

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Aleksey Kuprikov

A recent study by Oregon State University College of Health and the Multnomah County Health Department showed that community noise levels in the Portland area greatly exceed safe levels with low-income neighborhoods and communities of color disproportionately impacted.  Proximity to high volume road traffic was the most important noise indicator. 

The research showed that day-night sound levels* exceeded calculated Environmental Protection Agency safe noise levels at 78% of sites, and nighttime noise exceeded World Health Organization recommended noise exposure levels at 90% of the sites.

The research team, led by Assistant Professor Matthew Bozigar, recorded noise levels using sound level meters for a minimum of five days. Various noise metrics were calculated at the census tract level. Nine additional locations were sampled for an entire year to assess agreement between short-term and long-term noise measurements. The research was published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology and is the biggest study of a U.S. city.

We hope this study will provide a model for similar noise studies in other cities. Portland is a mid-size city, with about 650,000 citizens. Larger cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are undoubtedly noisier.

One minor quibble: the OSU College of Health report mentions EPA noise guidelines. EPA does not have any guidelines for noise exposure. Its 1974 “noise levels” document merely calculated safe noise exposure levels for the public, but unlike the WHO recommendations, these are explicitly not standards, recommendations or guidelines.

One of my mentors taught me the adage, “That which can be measured can be managed.” Perhaps documentation of urban transportation noise pollution will lead to steps to reduce noise levels.

A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all.

*Day-night noise levels measure sound pressure levels over 24 hours with a 10% penalty for sound measurements between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. because of the particularly deleterious effect of nighttime noise is especially harmful on sleep