Table 1: Noise levels in Tirana. *Average of measurements in 15 locations in Tirana. Source: Albanian Institute of Public Health
2006, World Health Organization 1999.
3 CONSIDERATION OF NOISE POLLUTION IMPACTS IN WESTERN COUNTRIES: A BRIEF
LITERATURE REVIEW
The levels of environmental noise vary for a substantial part of the world population, especially in areas with
a dense population and dense transportation networks. It is estimated that in the European Union during
daytime approximately 77 million people (22% of the total EU population in 1994) are exposed to
transportation noise levels exceeding 65 dB, a level that many countries consider to be unacceptable
(Miedema 2007).
Environmental noise, like other forms of pollution, has wide-ranging adverse health, social, and economic
effects. Numerous studies on the adverse health effects of noise, many of recent vintage, have been published
- for a comprehensive overview, see Miedema (2007) and Goines and Hagles (2007). It has been found that
noise interferes with behavior, including communication and concentrated activity, or desired states, such as
relaxation and sleep. Noise exposure can lead to acute stress responses and/or chronic stress, and can even
lead to cardio-vascular and mental health disturbances.
In terms of urban planning, noise has been found to interfere with home values and the cost of building and
operating new construction. In US-based post-occupancy surveys, the acoustic environment, specifically the
lack of adequate speech privacy and control of noise levels, has been a major complaint with respect to the
ability to carry out work tasks (Jenson et al. 2005). A study conducted in Holland (Nijland et al. 2007)
suggested that noise-sensitive people are less satisfied with their living environment and are more willing to
move than others. Another study investigating the combined effects of noise and temperature on human
thermal comfort and task performance found that thermal comfort was affected by noise levels, while ratings
of building or office noise were not affected by the ambient temperature (Tiller et al. 2010).
Being able to cope with daily noise is important for human well-being and health. The effects of
environmental noise depend on acoustical characteristics of the noise (e.g., loudness, time pattern), and on
aspects of the noise situation that may involve cognitive processing, such as expectations regarding the
future development of the noise exposure (whether will it get better or worse), lack of short-term
predictability, and a feeling of lack of control over the source of the noise. People differ in their appraisal of
noise situations and in their coping style (Cohen and Weinstein 1981).
However, environmental noise is not only a personal matter, but also a societal problem that is beyond the
control of most individuals. Unfortunately, noise is still considered a relatively minor form of pollution and
public awareness on its negative effects is lower than for air pollution.
4 RESEARCH CONTEXT AND APPROACH
This research project included door-to-door surveys of 100 households, conducted in the spring of 2011.
Female, middle-aged, and well-educated individuals were slightly overrepresented in the surveys. Most
respondents were long-term Tirana residents, and had lived in their present dwelling for over a decade.