Mapping the noise in a Greek general hospital G. Loupa ⁎, A. Katikaridis, D. Karali, S. Rapsomanikis Laboratory of Atmospheric Pollution and of Control Engineering of Atmospheric Pollutants, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 67100 Xanthi, Greece HIGHLIGHTS • The hospital staff is exposed to noise levels that are annoying and disturbing. • Noise levels concerning patients were above guideline values. • Indoor noise levels were above the out- door levels. • Noise peaks appeared in frequencies that characterised their emission sources. • Low frequency noise components are present in all the monitored areas. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 9 May 2018 Received in revised form 18 July 2018 Accepted 22 July 2018 Available online 23 July 2018 Editor: P. Kassomenos Sound pressure levels were monitored in a general hospital, in Greece, at ten indoor locations and at three out- door locations, in the yard of the building. The selected indoor locations are representative of distinct activities that are common in every hospital, such as the emergency department, patient wards and several supporting ser- vices, like washing the clothes or the dishes. Noise levels were highly variable in each monitoring location and depended on the activities in the room, such as conversations, medical equipment in use, analytical devices or other machinery in operation. The highest noise levels that were recorded were in the blood donation unit and in the laundry room (the L 10,8h was 73 and 79 dB(A) respectively), mainly due to the opening/closing of the metal lids of garbage bins in the first location and due to the wringing of the clothes in the second. Indoor back- ground noise levels i.e. the L 95,8h values, were more than 55 dB(A) and higher than the respective outdoor values (except of the L 95,8h in one ward of the paediatric ward). The calculated average L EX, 8h was 69.3 dB(A), below the European Union lower exposure action limit value, i.e. 87 dB(A), that was set to prevent hearing loss of the em- ployees. However, noise levels in the wards, in the emergency and the outpatient department were above the values suggested by international guidelines for a healing environment. Sound spectra revealed peaks in frequen- cies that were representative of the sources of the noise and also the presence of low frequency noise components. © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Indoor environmental quality Occupational safety and health Patient care Acoustics 1. Introduction Noise is a perpetual, significant contributor to occupational diseases in numerous working environments (Concha-Barrientos et al., 2004; Moorhouse et al., 2005; Tijunelis et al., 2005). It is an unpleasant and disturbing sound, which is found to be responsible for several auditory Science of the Total Environment 646 (2019) 923–929 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: gloupa@env.duth.gr (G. Loupa). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.315 0048-9697/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv