The National Transportation Noise Exposure Map

Abstract

We describe the development and public availability of the National Transportation Noise Exposure Map with the goal of estimating population exposures to various noise levels at the census tract level in the United States. The map was created by overlaying the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' National Transportation Noise Map with 5-year block group population estimates from the American Community Survey, and aggregating exposed population estimates to the census tract level. Based on the exposure map, an estimated 94.9 million people (29.1 % of the total U. S. population) were exposed to ≥45 dB LAeq of transportation-related noise, and approximately 11.9 million (3.6 %) were exposed to ≥60 dB in the year 2020. The exposure maps indicate that the greatest population proportion and number of individuals exposed were in California, while generally the map illustrates high proportions of exposure for populations living along major U. S. roadways and in airport communities. The availability of this new exposure map will facilitate the integration of noise exposures into a variety of studies, including regional and national health impact assessments, epidemiologic, and environmental justice studies.

Conversions between noise exposure metrics 24-hour Leq, Ldn, and Lden: the impact of diurnal local bus traffic patterns on population annoyance in the United States

“…Transportation is an important contributor to noise in urban areas. An estimated 94.9 million people are exposed to transportation noise levels that exceed 45 dB in the United States (Seto & Huang, 2023).…”

“…In the U.S., different population groups may be more impacted by certain types of transportation noise. One study found that Asian populations are most impacted by roadway traffic noise, Black populations most impacted by rail noise, and Hispanic populations most impacted by aviation noise (Huang & Seto, 2023; Seto & Huang, 2023). Transportation noise may vary considerably throughout the day, evening, and nighttime hours -- especially, roadway traffic-related noise, which may be driven by the hours and directional flow of commuter traffic.…”