Nuisance in the Environment and the Historical Context of Nuisance

Abstract

Air pollution from traffic is one of the main factors considered in the environmental appraisal of road schemes. Currently this appraisalc oncentrateso n the emissiona nd roadsidec oncentration of those regulated pollutants which are potentially harmful to the health or well-being of human, animalo r plant life, or to ecologicals ystemsH. owever, vehicle emissionse, speciallyt hose from dieselv ehicles, may alsoc ausea number of aesthetica nd nuisancep roblems, such as visibility reduction, urban soiling and physical irritation. A methodology to investigate the subjective nuisance effects of air pollution from road traffic on the public has been developed and tested. The data indicates that vehicle-derived air pollution was an issue of high relative importance to the public when compared to other major social issues.O n a local level, the physical presence of road traffic and its associated pollution appeared to be the largest contributors to outdoor public environmental nuisance. Indoors, the public appeared to experience only minor disturbances from vehicle-derived pollution, with the average respondent being not very bothered by vehicle-derived smoke, fumes and odour, dust and dirt and general air pollution. Noise appeared to cause the greatest indoor traffic-related nuisance, although many respondents complained about soiling from dust/dirt. The surveys suggesth at outdoor disturbance from vehicle-derived air pollution was fairly high, with smoke,f umes and odour causing the greatest annoyance. The main reason given for disturbance from outdoor smoke, fumes and odour and dust/dirt was concern that they would harm the public's health. Other important specific reasons included soiling and the smell of the fumes. The data also suggeststh at there can be significant differences in disturbance between sites in the same and different cities, between males and females and between different age groups. No significant differences in annoyance were noted between smokers/non-smokers and different socio-economic groupings. In addition, the level of nuisance experienced by people in urban areas did not depend upon the proximity of their home/workplace to a road.

Nuisance In The Environment And The Historical Context Of Nuisance

1. Introduction

Middlesex University's Urban Pollution Research Centre (UPRC), together with the UK's Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), have developed a methodology to investigate the subjective nuisance effects of air pollution from road traffic on the public. The methodology incorporates the measurement of public attitudes towards nuisance caused by motor vehicle-generated air pollution and urban air quality. The preliminary methodology was evaluated in a pilot survey in 1991. This initial methodology was improved and tested in six UK cities between January 1992 and April 1993. In this paper, the results of the social surveys performed at these locations are presented and discussed and future plans are indicated.

2. Experimental methods

The locations selected for study during this research project were monitored under two distinct sets of circumstances. At one location (Wood Green, London), a mobile monitoring station was used to perform roadside air quality surveys while trained researchers performed simultaneous social surveys. However, this type of monitoring is time-consuming and expensive, and in order to ...