Port sustainability in Spain: the case of noise
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Port sustainability in Spain: the case of noise Federico Martín Bermúdez1,2 · Fernando González Laxe3 · Eva Aguayo‑Lorenzo4 Received: 29 June 2019 / Accepted: 9 December 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract The Spanish port system consists of 28 port authorities (PAs) that manage 46 ports, which transported 563.5 million tonnes of freight and 46 million passengers in 2018. They are almost all located in urban environments. In all the ports, complex activities are being car‑ ried out that have serious impacts on the environment. One of the most important is noise emission, which poses a risk to natural ecosystems and, above all, to human health. This research focuses on the study of this problem for Spanish ports and is addressed from two sides: first, from an institutional perspective, namely identifying the sources of noise pol‑ lution and the prevention, intervention and control strategies during the 2011–2016 period, and, secondly, comparing this analysis and perspective from the point of view of the PAs with the environmental performance detected and reported by the stakeholders. The use, for the first time, of official information sources, verified and audited by the public entity Puertos del Estado, makes this analysis particularly relevant and reinforces the quality of the results. This research confirms the effectiveness of the environmental sustainabil‑ ity planning measures, included in the new port regulations established in Spain in 2010, regarding the mitigation of the impacts of noise pollution arising from port activities. Keywords Port management · Environmental management · Noise · Indicators · Sustainability · Legislation
* Federico Martín Bermúdez [email protected] Fernando González Laxe [email protected] Eva Aguayo‑Lorenzo [email protected] 1
National Distance Education University (UNED), Pontevedra, Spain
2
PhD Program in Economics and Business, Santiago de Compostela University, Santiago, Spain
3
University Institute of Maritime Studies, A Coruña University, A Coruña, Spain
4
Department of Quantitative Economics, Santiago de Compostela University, Santiago, Spain
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1 Introduction It has been proven that noise pollution can pose serious risks to human health (Curcuruto et al. 2003; Basner et al. 2014). Therefore, noise is one of the most significant environmen‑ tal problems faced by contemporary societies, especially in cities. Noise in urban environ‑ ments comes, among other sources, from street, road and rail networks, industries, airports, and construction and port activities (Paschalidou et al. 2019). A number of complex noise-generating activities are carried out in ports that have impacts on natural ecosystems, on the environment and, directly, on the nearby urban pop‑ ulation, port workers and passengers (Alsina-Pagés et al. 2018; Schenone et al. 2016). Con‑ sequently, these activities generate impacts on local communities, and the main sources of port noise (ship sirens, construction activities, loading and unloadi
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