Some regions 'noisier' than others

(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - More than 40% of noise sources in Italy exceed legal safety levels, according to a study published by the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) on Thursday. "At least 42.6% of noise sources monitored in 2012 exceeded legal limits, revealing a problem of noise pollution," the study found.
    ISPRA focused on noise generated by service, commercial, and industrial activities. One solution to the problem of noise pollution is acoustic territorial zoning, according to the report.
    This was introduced by law in Italy in the 1990s but is yet to be adopted by many municipalities. "As of December 31, 2012, acoustic zoning was implemented in just 51% of built-up areas," ISPRA said in its report. The central regions of the Marche and Tuscany topped the list in terms of percentage of municipalities that had adopted acoustic zoning, both with 97%.
    They were followed by Val d'Aosta in northwest Italy (96%), Liguria (84%) and Lombardy (83%).
    The 'noisiest' regions were Abruzzo, Sardinia and Sicily, respectively with 7%, 3% and 1%.
    The percentage of Italians living in municipalities that have adopted acoustic zoning was 56.5%, the report said.