COMPARISON OF COMMUNITY NOISE RATINGS BY L-50 AND L-AEQ

A survey of daily noise exposure of residences and inhabitants' reacti ons was conducted in the city of Nagoya. More than 1000 samples have b een acquired since 1987. The stored data are used to examine dose-resp onse relationships and ratings of environmental noise by L-50 and L-Ae q. The levels above 60 dB(A) in L-50 and 65 dB(A) in L-Aeq are unaccep table for noise environments, irrespective of the time of day and land use. We propose a criterion based on L-50 and L-Aeq. The values of th e criterion are consistent with Japanese quality standards on L-50 in residential areas, but not with those in commercial and industrial are as. The values based on L-Aeq are in agreement with standards in other countries. A criterion for a roadside area is obtained by adding 5 or 10 dB(A). (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.