Noise
Noise pollution is commonly defined as the excessive or annoying degree of
unwanted sound in a particular area. The ‘‘Environmental Noise Directive’’
(END), relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise, was
adopted by the European Parliament and Council in 2002. This Directive guides
and steers activities on noise in Member States. The acceptable noise level is set to
50 dB, except for trains (55 dB). The unit for this KPI on noise is percentage of the
total distance that is exposed to noise levels above the 50/55 dB limit. There are
available figures in existing databases.