Heavy weapons shooting range noise in Finland Ari Saarinen European Conference of Defense and the Environment May 21-22, 2013
The effects of environmental noise 1/3 Noise is sound that human beings consider unpleasant or that in some other way is harmful to the human health or wellbeing environmental pollutant, which influence to the quality and comfort of the living environment, land using, building and the value of the real estate The health impacts of environmental noise Public health experts agree that environmental risks constitute 24% of the burden of disease Harmful impacts to public health the second largest after particles in air Burden of disease in terms of disability-adjusted lifeyears DALY/year/EU Ischaemic heart disease 61 000 years Cognitive impairment of children 45 000 years Sleep disturbance 903 000 years Tinnitus 22 000 years Noise annoyance 654 000 years 2
The effects of environmental noise 2/3 One in six Finns lives in an area where the daily noise level exceeds the recommended target value of 55 db Number of people exposed to noise by noise source 1998, 2003 and 2011 The number of residents exposed to military noise is rather small compared to traffic noise, for example 2011 2003 1998 Main roads (L Aeq 7-22 ) 285 000 350 000 320 000 Street in towns and cities (L Aeq 7-22 ) 500-600 000 405 900 560 000 Rail traffic (L Aeq 22-7 ) 110 000 (night) 48 500 1 35 000 1 Aviation (L DEN ) 25 000 22 800 65 000 Civilian aviation 15 500 13 500 Military aviation 9 600 10 400 Water traffic and ports (L Aeq 7-22 ) ~300 300 500 Industry (L Aeq 7-22 ) < 5 000 5 000 5 000 Civilian shooting ranges (L AImax ) < 3 000 3 000 7 000 Military shooting ranges (L AImax ) 2 500 (2 -- -- Motor-racing circuits (L Aeq 7-22 ) < 2 000 2 500 2 000 1 Concerning day period L Aeq 7-22 2 4000 people is exposed to noise surroundings of heavy weapon shooting ranges Total 1 032 000-932 000 838 000 994 500 3
The effects of environmental noise 3/3 Economical impacts may be remarkable 0,2 2% from GDP (gross domestic product) In the area of EC (European Community) approximately 13-38 billion euro GDP /FIN/2008 184,7 billion 0,37 3,7 billion Health care costs, restrictions in land use, sound insulation of building facades, noise abatement, value of real estate Green Paper of the European Commission: Future Noise Policy. COM(96) 540 final, 1996 Towards A Comprehensive Noise Strategy. European Parliament Policy Department, Economy and Scientific Policy, 2012 4
Noise policy 1/2 Government Resolution on Noise Abatement (2006/05/31) Noise abatement must be taken into consideration across the board in all planning and implementation of activities that generate noise Quantitative targets for noise abatement in order to reduce exposure to environmental noise Commission Green Paper on Future Noise Policy 1996 (COM(96) 540) draft a proposal for a directive on harmonising methods for assessing noise exposure and the mutual exchange of information to consider the settings of target values and adopting obligatory actions Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise (the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC) Common approach for the European Community in order to avoid, prevent or reduce the harmful effects due to exposure to environmental noise Noise maps and action plans to be drawn up at regular intervals using common methods throughout the whole Community area Comparable data regarding the noise situation in different countries Basic information for an EU policy on noise, particularly for limiting emissions from noise sources 5
Noise policy 2/2 For most noise sources, international conventions or the EU legislation set limit values on noise emissions for individual products when they are put on the market 6
Regulatory basis for noise requirements 1/2 The Environmental Protection Act (86/2000) The principal piece of legislation on the abatement of environmental noise Defines noise as an emission that may cause environmental pollution General principles Preventing and minimizing harmful impacts, caution and care, BAT, BEP and the polluter pays principle Operators must have sufficient knowledge of their operations environmental impacts and risks and of the ways to reduce their harmful effects Local authorities are required to see the necessary monitoring of the state of the local environment Environmental permission is needed for any activity that poses a threat of environmental pollution required from shooting ranges required from heavy weapons shooting ranges in certain cases Government Decision on the Noise Level Guide Values (993/1992) Government Decision on the Noise Level Guide Values caused by shooting ranges (53/1997) 7
Regulatory basis for noise requirements 2/2 Land Use and Building Act (132/1999) To ensure that land that land use and construction create preconditions for a favorable living environment and they promote ecologically, economically, socially and culturally sustainable development The Act calls for an adequate assessment of the environmental impact, including noise, when plans are being drawn up The state authorities must take the land use objectives adopted by the Government into account, promote their implementation, and assess the impact of their actions on regional structure and land use New residential areas or other activities that are sensitive to noise should not be located in noisy areas without first ensuring that adequate noise abatement measures have been taken Objectives of building guidance The Finnish Building Code Legal provisions on noise abatement exist in several other Finnish acts Health Protection Act (763/1994), Neighbour Relations Act (20/1920), the Aviation Act (1242/2005), the Road Transport Act (267/1981), ect. 8
Mitigation of environmental noise Responsibility lies with those causing noise and with the authorities 9
Mitigation of heavy weapons ranges noise 1/3 Environmental impact Sound can be defined as noise only partly on the basis of its level On the one hand sound is defined as noise on the basis of its physical or physiological effects Frequency, time and energy content On the other hand, on the basis of the adverse characteristics experienced by those exposed to it Quality of the sound, its source, the time of its occurrence, how it its experiences (activity of the listener), its meaning content and other features relating to the individual or the community The authorities have traditionally employed different kinds of measures for monitoring noise-generating activities Also people can contribute to noise problems partly by their behavior and their choices 10
Mitigation of heavy weapons ranges noise 2/3 Basic principles in noise abatement are difficult to put into practice for heavy weapons Actions to noise source Restrict the propagation of noise Shielding of disturbed target Other noise abatement alternatives are often more suitable Land use planning distance to disturbed target Restrictions in utilization Influence to noise experience - annoyance The noise level caused by heavy weapon or explosive is not allowed to exceed Peak level L Cpeak 115 db Sound exposure level L CE 100 db Daytime (7-22) equivalent sound level L Aeq 55 db + impulse correction 11
Mitigation of heavy weapons ranges noise 3/3 The estimated aircraft noise annoyance model Kroesen M et al, Testing a theory of aircraft noise annoyance: a structural equation analysis, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 123(2008)6, 4250 4260. Ari Saarinen/Heavy weapons shooting range noise in Finland 12
Heavy weapons ranges of Defense Forces and environment 1/2 Heavy weapons shooting ranges of Defense Forces report of working group considering environmental hazards and special regulation (Ministry of the Environment 2012) RAME - working group proposals Possibility to regulate more accurately about the environmental responsibilities of National Defense Forces should be considered No changes to environmental permission procedure 13
Heavy weapons ranges of Defense Forces and environment 2/2 RAME - working group proposals Environmental protection will be ensured in future by regulating extensively of the environmental protection requirements and the related actions of heavy weapon shooting ranges Acts and decrees would regulate the reports concerning the environmental protection of shooting ranges technical actions surveillance, operation control and reporting relevant information and feedback system to fulfill the needed standard Preparations for the Government Decision on the Noise Level Guide Values caused by heavy weapons shooting ranges 14
Conclusions Noise problems are often difficult to eliminate because noisegenerating activities and noise-sensitive activities, such as habitation, are an integral part of the basic structure of societies Noise abatement development requires comprehensive goals, planning and programmes Noise problem includes contradictionary values and point of interests and the noise abatement call for comparison of interests, co-operation and interaction As a starting point of noise abatement there should be an evaluation how the plans coming true change the impacts and what is the incidence and occurrence of impacts after abatement 15
Additional information www.ymparisto.fi Ympäristöneuvos Ari Saarinen ari.saarinen@ymparisto.fi