Environment Agency – Waste Facilities
Southdowns has been retained to provide specialist noise monitoring and assessment expertise to the Environment Agency as part of its control and compliance auditing of waste facilities throughout the Thames Valley Area.
Work has involved noise measurements, evaluation of noise impacts and the identification of noise mitigation options where required to minimise adverse community response about noise and to ensure compliance with licence conditions.
To date waste treatment and transfer facilities of various specialities sites that have been investigated and assessed include:
• Metals processing and recycling facilities;
• Waste timber processing;
• Soil blending and concrete crushing activities;
• Treatment of clinical waste;
• Landfill;
• Airbag deployment; and
• Skip hire and general waste processing.
Assessments of individual sites have been undertaken considering site specific waste management and permit noise conditions in addition to recognised national noise standards.
Transfer and treatment facilities vary significantly in size and in some instances have the potential to affect many receivers over relatively large areas. Southdowns has used specialist modelling software to assess noise impacts at multiple receivers and also to effectively quantify and assess the acoustic benefits of mitigation options.