Noise abatement – rules and measures to reduce noise

Noise has highly detrimental effects on health, as numerous studies in the field of noise impact research show. In its Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, the World Health Organization (WHO) provides a list of adverse health outcomes associated with noise: they include cardiovascular diseases, sleep disturbance, hearing impairment and tinnitus, cognitive impairment, and detrimental effects on quality of life, well-being and mental health.

Noise abatement and noise prevention are therefore issues which must be addressed in efforts to protect health. In Germany, a raft of legislation and regulations are in place to protect human health and the environment from harmful noise emissions. The legal provisions are as diverse as the noise sources themselves. The legal basis is established by the Federal Immission Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz – BImSchG) and related items of legislation, such as the Sports Facilities Noise Regulation (Sportanlagenlärmschutzverordnung).

Noise abatement and noise protection may also be regulated in specialised legislation for sectors such as aviation; here, the Civil Aviation Act (Luftverkehrsgesetz) requires particular consideration to be given to local residents’ night-time rest (Section 29b), while the German Act for Protection against Aircraft Noise (Gesetz zum Schutz gegen Fluglärm – FluLärmG) specifies reference values for the establishment of noise protection areas. The primary purpose of these provisions is to set reference values for permissible levels of noise pollution, periods of quiet, and entitlements to structural noise abatement measures.