An Investigation of Traffic Noise Pollution Effects on Citizens` General and Mental Health (Case Study: Kermanshah City)

Kermanshah people working at different jobs comprise the statistical population of this study and the sample group was selected according to work location, the amount of exposure to traffic noise, and the probable effect of traffic noise at work place; being classified as mild, moderate, severe, and extreme groups. Questionnaires were distributed among them and a simple random sampling method was used. The number of credible samples from each group was 50 people. The questionnaires were presently handed out to 254 people in these groups, from which 200 credible questionnaires from four different groups acknowledged the existence of traffic noise. The amount and the intensity of traffic noise effects were investigated in the four groups. The highest amount of effects in the four groups was respectively seen among traffic officers and shopkeepers working in crowded locations, then among shopkeepers working in non-crowded locations, and finally in the university students and staff group. Without doubt, the amount and the intensity of effect is demonstrative of the existence of noise at peopleʹs work place, the amount of which varies from job to job, according to the type of the job and the amount of exposure to noise pollution.