The First U.S. 'Noise Map' Could Help Reduce Unsafe Exposure

The first National Transportation Noise Map is part of the DOT's National Transportation Altas Database, and is meant to help agencies and officials implement policies that reduce traffic noise.

Noise levels are important not only to quality of life, but also to public health, and understanding an area's exposure to noise is part of ensuring safe housing there. People living in cities and near airports are most at risk for noise-induced hearing loss, the Noise Map reveals. The Architect’s Newspaper explains:

Sustained exposure to 85 or more decibels—heavy city traffic—can cause permanent hearing loss over time. In the New York metro area, residents living near the region’s airports or under flight paths are at greatest risk for unhealthy noise exposure.

Most Americans live in areas with safe noise levels: 97 percent hear background noise from highways and planes at about the volume of a humming refrigerator. But approximately 223,000 Americans hear at least 80 or more decibels of heavy traffic or airplane noise regularly.

The data provided by the map could aid efforts to reduce unhealthy noise, like the recently launched project to sound-proof homes on Chicago's South Side.

The Noise Map currently includes data up to 2014 and will be updated annually. Future versions may also include noise from rail roads and ships.