Area and dwellings in the Netherlands exposed to noise levels above 50 db(A), 2002

Approximately three quarters of homes in the Netherlands are exposed to noise levels in excess of 50 dB(A), the noise exposure standard for newly constructed dwellings.

Three quarters of Dutch homes exposed to noise levels in excess of 50 dB(A)

More than one-third of the surface area of the Netherlands, and approximately three quarters of Dutch homes, are exposed to a cumulative noise level from road, rail and air-traffic in excess of 50 dB(A), with road traffic making the greatest contribution.

• Noise nuisance in the Netherlands by source, 1990-2002

In addition to being a nuisance, noise can also result in health problems.

• See Introduction to noise nuisance: sources, policy and measures

Current policy determined by the Noise Abatement Act

The Noise Abatement Act (Wet Geluidhinder) of 1979 sets out the current policy (TK, 1979). It includes various limit values for noise from road and rail transport. For noise from traffic on the national trunk road network, the limit value is 65 dB(A) measured at the outer walls of existing housing. The environmental quality standard used for new housing is 50 dB(A).

Amendments to Noise Abatement Act in 2004

In 2001, a new bill was submitted to parliament: the Modernisering Instrumentarium Geluidbeleid (Modernisation of Instruments for Noise Policy Bill). It was rejected. To implement the bill, the government would have had to spend approximately 2 million euros on noise abatement measures. This amount was not taken into account when the budget was drawn up. It was therefore decided to implement the current Noise Abatement Act in phases so that the basic elements of the new bill will be implemented after all.
At present, an amendment to the Noise Abatement Act is in the preparatory stages. This amendment will be submitted to the Council of State for its recommendations in early 2004 and introduced in the course of the same year. The amendments deal with, among other things:

• Mandating the higher-value procedure for municipal councils. This makes it easier for municipalities and provincial authorities to make more specific local arrangements with a less demanding procedure (deregulation).
• In certain conditions, different maximum limit values can be set. High levels of noise exposure will, in these cases, have to be compensated adequately in other areas.
• Amendment pursuant to the implementation of the European directive for environmental noise (EU, 2002). This directive requires the European member states to make data about noise exposure public in the form of noise maps by 2007 at the latest. An important consequence of this amendment will be that the noise exposure level L_{twenty-four hours} currently used in the Netherlands will be replaced by the level required by Europe: L_den (day, evening, night). This new noise exposure level is consistently slightly lower than the present twenty-four-hour level. The standards in the present legislation will be adapted accordingly.

Noise nuisance is subjective

Noise levels affecting housing, as a measure for exposure to noise in the living environment, and noise nuisance are not directly related. Surveys of nuisance show that equal levels of noise from aircraft and road traffic are perceived to be more of a nuisance in the case of the former. In turn, noise from road traffic is felt to be more of a nuisance than noise from trains. The explanation is that noise nuisance is also linked to factors other than the noise level to which people are exposed, such as the attitude towards the source, confidence in the government and anxiety. In addition, noise nuisance is highly subjective.

References

• EU (2002). Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise. (link to PDF file).Official Journal of the European Communities, no. L 189/12.
• RIVM (2004). Cijfers gebaseerd op gegevens van NLR, AVV, en AEA Rail Technology, bewerkt door het Milieu- en Natuurplanbureau. RIVM, Bilthoven.
• TK (1979). Wet van 16 februari 1979 houden regels inzake het voorkomen of beperken van geluidhinder (Wet geluidhinder).

Relevant sections and indicators in the Environmental Data Compendium

• Introduction to noise nuisance: sources, policy and measures
• Definitions and units for noise and odour
• Noise nuisance in the Netherlands by source, 1990-2002
• Noise exposure from road, rail and air traffic in the Netherlands, 2002
• Noise exposure in the Netherlands in noise abatement zones and the national ecological network of protected areas (EHS), 2002
• Overview of environment-related health risks in the Netherlands

Relevant information outside of the Environmental Data Compendium

• Data about noise nuisance broken down according to a number of demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, level of education, socio-economic group, composition of household and urbanisation of the municipality, can be found in the Statistics Netherlands database Statline.
• Gezondheidseffecten van geluid (Nationaal Kompas Volksgezondheid)
• TNO: Omgeving en gezondheid
• Website 'Geluid in Nederland' ('Noise in the Netherlands') of RIVM and the Netherlands Association of Provincial Authorities
• Informative site about noise policy in Europe of the Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission.
• Dassen, A.G.M., J. Jabben and P.H.M. Jansen (2001). Uitbouw en optimalisatie van het Landelijk Beeld van Verstoring; Partiële validatie en gevoeligheidsanalyse. RIVM (report no. 725 401 001), Bilthoven.
• Flindell, H.J. and IJ. Wilter (1999). Non-acoustical factors in noise management at Heathrow Airport. Noise & Health, vol 3, 27-44.
• Guski, R. (1999). Personal and social variables as co-determinant of noise-annoyance. Noise & Health, vol 3, 44-56.
• Job, Soames R.F. (1999). Noise sensitivity as a factor influencing human reactions to noise. Noise & Health, vol 3, 79-88.
• Jong, R.G. de, J.H.M. Steenbekkers and H. Vos (2000). Hinder en andere zelfgerapporteerde effecten van milieuverontreiniging in Nederland, Inventarisatie Verstoringen 1998. TNO-PG, Delft.
• Stallen, P.J.M. (1999). A theoretical framework for environmental noise annoyance. Noise & Health, vol 3, 69-79.
• Tweede Kamer (1998). Modernisering Instrumentarium Geleidbeleid (MIG), Lower House, 26057-1, 1997-1998.
• VROM (1997). Naar een landelijk beeld van verstoring. Publicatiereeks verstoring 1997-2. Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Hague.
• Woudenberg, F., R. Slob and M.G. Elsman (2001). Belasting en beleving -de rol van non-akoestische factoren. Rotterdam City Health Service, Rotterdam