The Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006

regulation 4

SCHEDULE 2ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR THE NOISE INDICATORS

Introduction

1.—(1) The values of L_den, L_night and the supplementary noise indicators must be determined by computation (at the assessment position).

(2) In this Schedule—

“assessment position” means the assessment height in paragraph 7 of Annex IV of the Directive;

“Recommendation” means Commission Recommendation 2003/613/EC of 6 August 2003 concerning the guidelines on the revised interim computation methods for industrial noise, aircraft noise, road traffic noise and railway noise, and related emissions data(1).

Assessment method for road traffic noise indicators

2.  For road traffic noise indicators the assessment method “Calculation of road traffic noise” (Department of Transport, 7th June 1988, HMSO)(2) must be used, adapted using the report “Method for converting the UK road traffic noise index LA_10,18h to the EU noise indices for road noise mapping” (DEFRA, 24th January 2006)(3).

Assessment method for railway noise indicators

3.  For railway noise indicators the assessment methods—

(a)“Calculation of railway noise” (Department of Transport, 13th July 1995, HMSO)(4); and

(b)(in relation to railways to which it is expressed to apply) “Calculation of railway noise 1995 Supplement No. 1 Procedure for the calculation of noise from Eurostar trains class 373” (Department for Transport, 20th October 1996, Stationery Office)(5),

must be used, adapted as shown in Figure 6.5 of the report “Rail and wheel roughness – implications for noise mapping based on the Calculation of Railway Noise procedure” (DEFRA, March 2004)(6).

Assessment methods for aircraft noise indicators

4.  For aircraft noise indicators the assessment method “Report on Standard Method of Computing Noise Contours around Civil Airports” (Second Edition, European Civil Aviation Conference, 2–3 July 1997)(7) must be used in accordance with paragraph 2.4 of the Annex in the Recommendation.

Assessment methods for industrial noise indicators and port noise indicators

5.—(1) For industrial noise indicators and port noise indicators the propagation assessment method described in “ISO 9613-2:1996 Acoustics – Attenuation of sound during propagation outdoors – Part 2: General method of calculation” (International Standards Organisation, 1996)(8) must be used in accordance with paragraph 2.5 of the Annex in the Recommendation.

(2) Suitable noise emission data (input data) for “ISO 9613-2:1996 Acoustics – Attenuation of sound during propagation outdoors – Part 2: General method of calculation” can be obtained either from measurements carried out in accordance with one of the following methods:

(a)“Acoustics. Determination of sound power levels of multisource industrial plants for evaluation of sound pressure levels in the environment. Engineering method” (BS ISO 8297:1994, British Standards Institute)(9);

(b)“Acoustics. Determination of sound power levels of noise sources using sound pressure. Engineering method in an essentially free field over a reflecting plane” (BS EN ISO 3744:1995, British Standards Institute)(10);

(c)“Acoustics. Determination of sound power levels of noise sources using sound pressure. Survey method using an enveloping measurement surface over a reflecting plane” (BS EN ISO 3746:1996, British Standards Institute)(11),

or by using Toolkit 10 of the “Good Practice Guide for Strategic Noise Mapping and the Production of Associated Data on Noise Exposure Version 2, Position Paper Final Draft” (European Commission Working Group Assessment of Exposure to Noise, 13 January 2006)(12).