ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS IN AHVAZ CITY, IRAN

Noise pollution because of physiological and psychological effects on human is one of the importance environmental pollutants. The most important sources of this pollution are transportation and car traffic. The present study was implemented with an overall goal of assessment of noise pollution from traffic in Ahvaz, Iran in 2012. In this descriptive study, 7 roads of the main routes of Ahvaz which have high density of traffic are selected and 134 measuring stations were chosen. At measuring stations, 4 days of week, three time period, and 1523 measurements were recorded totally. Each measurement was recorded for 30 minutes. After transferring data to computer, SPSS and Excel software were applied for statistical analysis; also T-test and ANOVA were used for statistical tests. According to result this study the average of equivalent sound pressure level in all stations is equal to 76.28 +/- 3.12 dB. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean values of equivalent sound pressure level on different roads, different weekdays and various daytimes (P < 0.05). According to the results, it was found that Ahvaz has a higher noise pollution in comparison with outdoor permissible limit standard in Iran. So, it should seriously be taken into consideration in order to control noise and prevent the effects.