The traffic noise affects 125 million people throughout Europe. One solution comes from the innovative European project Life-Nereid, which will test the noise reduction possible by adding asphalt made with recycled rubber from tyres and recycled asphalt in Tuscany.
Innovative Campaign to Reduce Noise in Europe Starts in Tuscany
The initiative was presented in Verona to Asphaltica, the main Italian event dedicated to the asphalt industry. The project leader is the University of Pisa, with the Tuscany Region and ARPA Tuscany.
The millions of people daily exposed to excessive noise levels from traffic risk serious health consequences, as pointed out several times even the World Health Organisation.
One of the possible solutions is the use of sound-absorbing asphalt, that that is able to absorb the noise, made by adding powdered rubber from discarded tyres and bitumen and asphalt recovered from old roads.
To test features and advantages, in September 2016 the Nereid-Life project was initiated, co-funded by the European Union. During the project 5,200 meters of these new experimental road surfaces will be will be laid out in Tuscany. The project has so far provided a concrete improvement in the quality of life of people as regards the exposure to noise, as the new surfaces will be developed in urban areas where noise limits are exceeded.
The expected improvement of the perceived sound quality will be assessed by about 700 surveys of citizens impacted by the project.