Origins and application of the European Union Position paper on dose response relationships between transportation noise and annoyance

Dose–response relationships of the sort pioneered by Schultz figure prominently in the current European noise regulation policy. A position paper developed by the Working Group on Dose‐effects (part of the EU Expert Network) reviewed a range of potential health effects, but decided that annoyance and sleep disturbance remain the most prevalent and sensitive effects of transportation noise exposure, and those for which the best data were available. A Position paper providing guidance on the dose–effect relations to be used for the assessment of numbers of people annoyed by noise from transportation sources (rail, road and air) may be found at http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/noise/home.htm This presentation explains the context in which the Paper was developed, outlines the process by which the dose–response relationships were derived and summarizes the key recommendations. Finally some observations are made as the Position Paper is being applied, and related future developments are discussed. The author acknowledges with deep gratitude the assistance of Dr. Henk Miedema of TNO in preparing this paper.