Modeling of noise pollution and estimated human exposure around Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey

The level of aircraft noise exposure around Istanbul Ataturk Airport was calculated according to the European Noise Directive. These calculations were based on the actual flight data for each flight in the year 2011. The study area was selected to cover of 25 km radius centered on the Aerodrome Reference Point of the airport. The geographical data around Istanbul Ataturk Airport was used to prepare elevation, residential building, auxiliary building, hospital and school layers in SoundPlan software. It was found that 1.2% of the land area of Istanbul City exceeds the threshold of 55 dB(A) during daytime. However, when the exceedance of threshold of 65 dB(A)is investigated, the affected area is found quite small (0.2% of land area of city). About 0.3% of the land area of Istanbul City has noise levels exceeding 55 dB(A) during night-time. Our results show that about 4% of the resident population was exposed to 55 dB(A) or higher noises during daytime in Istanbul. When applying the second threshhold criteria, nearly 1% of the population is exposed to noise levels greater than 65 dB(A). At night-time, 1.3% of the population is exposed to 55 dB(A) or higher noise levels. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.