Comparison of CNOSSOS-EU and NMPB methods for road noise modelling in Italy and in Romania

Comparison of CNOSSOS-EU and NMPB methods for road noise modelling in Italy and in Romania

Duration: From January 2023 to December 2024 (2 years)

Bilateral agreement: CNR/Romanian Academy (Romania)

Funding Institution: CNR and Romanian Academy

Contact person: E. Ascari (IPCF) – Tudor Sireteanu (Romanian Academy)

For several decades the European community has focused attention on the issue of noise prevention, given its importance as an environmental pollutant. With effects such as negative cardiovascular and metabolic effects, reduced cognitive performance in children as well as severe annoyance and sleep disturbance, noise is the second largest environmental cause of health problems, just after the impact of air pollution. In 2002, the European Commission issued the Environmental Noise Directive with the aim of preventing exposure, outlining a common methodology and studying a path to mitigate the excessive levels to which the population is exposed. Such a common method to model transport and industrial noise has been officially identified in 2015 with the CNOSSOS-EU method, which replaced the previous NMPB interim method. The present collaborative study intends to evaluate the availability of the inputs required for the application of CNOSSOS method in Romania. NMPB and CNOSSOS-EU will be compared in a feasibility study. Then, suitable simplifications for input acquisition in Romania will be evaluated in terms of data accessibility and reliability of the results. An urban area in Bucharest and mitigated scenarios in Italy will be tested and will allow evaluations of mapping methods, even for planning mitigation measures.

Other people involved: L. Fredianelli (IPCF), G. Licitra (University of Pisa), Ana-Maria Mitu (Romanian Academy), Catalin-Andrei Naegoe (Romanian Academy)