Research on the relationship between urban air pollution and noise levels in areas with heavy traffic

Despite being a less frequently considered type of environmental pollution, noise has a major negative impact on the quality of life in cities. As seen by an extensive survey of environmental noise, the commonest sources of urban noise are known to be transport, industry. Although many different types of pollution may be expected to show correlations, only a number of studies have focused on examining the relationships between street noise and ambient air quality and their combined impacts on the surrounding environment.
Environmental issues are extremely complex and cover all sectors: economic, social and political. Accelerated urbanization of modern cities produced an urban environmental pollution, so that air quality can be affected. The paper presents some preliminary studies regarding the correlation between noise pollution and the concentrations specific pollutants road traffic. The measurements have been conducted at different distances from some very busy roads and crossroads in order to determine a pattern. The data have been processed with a statistical analysis program in order to establish if the noise level can be used to assess the urban air pollution generated by traffic.
Most of the results indicate a good correlation between noises, specific pollutants road traffic. Noise level can be a good indicator for air pollution, especially for the situation when there is no need of a precise determination.