The Norwegian Association Against Noise founded in 1963, is a politically independent environmental organization receiving financial support from the Ministry of Environment/The Norwegian Climate and Pollution Agency. The association consists of a board, a secretariat and an expert counsel covering the most important sources to urban and rural noise.
How we work
Service. We advice people when they need help, information or expert guidance.
Action. We support single actions if considered of fundamental interest.
Lobbying This is an important part of our work, both on a local and a national level. In the Parliament the committees of transport and communication, health and care, energy and environment are our most important lobby goals.
Noise is a crossover subject interfering with our way of living, how we plan our cities and our transport systems, our health and quality of life, children’s learning capacity among others.
Local, national and international involvement The Norwegian Association Against Noise cooperates with other environmental organizations, undertakes projects and participates in social and professional networks. As a member of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), seated in Brussels and working towards the EU system, we participate in the work carried out by EEB.
Norwegian noise policy is placed under EU policy. The Environmental Noise Directive was implemented in 2002.
Opinion building
The noise issue is too rarely spoken of, and we are counteracting in order to change this. Through our web sites www.stoyforeningen.no and www.sroysvakedekk.no, articles in the press, part taking in hearings, conferences and the like we are working to raise the awareness and knowledge of the impact of noise pollution.
Noise Awareness Day
This is an international day, and in Norway we use it to promote the noise issue in different ways, urging politicians to act according to their environmental goals. Furthermore we have to prizes, one for best practice and an other for slow practice in the noise abating work.
Sources to noise
The noise issue is a complex area. The transport sector is by far the most important source co-acting with local air pollution. In Norway the transport sector is due to 85 % of the noise emission. In Oslo, the capital of Norway, 90% of the noise stems from car driving.
Strategic noise mapping
This noise mapping is used to calculate the average noise where people live. They do not account for individual noisy incidents, and are not a precise measurement of noise. They give an indication of the areas that are affected by various levels of noise. The maps are used to help in planning to manage noise.
Health impact
Research has shown the great and negative impacts of noise pollution. In Europe about 50 000 people die every year due to noise related exposure. In Norway about
• 60-100 die of cardiovascular diseases related to traffic noise
• 75-100 die from noise related accidents at home
• 1.7 mill. people are annoyed by noise, 1.5 mill. of them by traffic noise; 0.5 mill. are severely annoyed.
Noise causes stress, concentration and learning problems, and a reduced health. Hearing damages due to noise are on the top ten of occupational diseases. They are also common among children in kindergartens and secondary lower schools, as well as among young people.
Integrated environmental solutions on the transport and energy sector lead to noise reduction and a better climate:
• Keeping traffic away from people reduces the noise impact
• Improve public transport and bicycling facilities
• Substitute diesel buses by trolleybuses or battery buses
• Substitute noisy air traffic with high-speed trains and video meetings
• Low-noise tyre and low-noise road paving
• Lower traffic speed, especially in residential areas
• Wind turbine energy
Generally noise mitigation means reducing energy consumption, local air pollution, and emission of CO2 and other global warming gases.