A study by Peru’s environmental regulator OEFA has found 38 points in metropolitan Lima where the noise level is critical.
According to the study, the intersection of Abancay avenue and Cuzco street in downtown Lima sustains the worst noise pollution in the city and a half hour wait on the corner can cause severe head aches and nausea, daily Peru.21 reported.
OEFA found the noise level at the intersection was 81.7 decibels, but the maximum permissible in the area is 70 decibels.
Other critical points are the Ceres market in Ate, with 80.3 decibels, the intersection of Faucett and Morales Duarez avenues in the industrial area of Lima, with 79, and the intersection of Javier Prado and Petit Thouars in the commercial/residential area of San Isidro, with 78.8 decibels.
The main causes of the noise pollution are old vehicles, honking and construction, the study found.
OEFA’s evaluation director, Fausto Roncal, called for continuous vehicle inspections and better education among drivers who use their horn too often.
He also called for better enforcement of regulations to lower the noise made by construction firms.
“The use of large machines to excavate land and even the yells by the workers increases the noise and it reaches 70 decibels.”
