Kuopio Noise Reports 2022

In 2022, a noise report in accordance with section 151 of the Environmental Protection Act was completed in Kuopio. The noise report calculates the noise zones caused by road and rail traffic. In addition, noise zones have been calculated for certain industrial and energy production plants and the Heinjoki shooting range and motorsport centre. Based on the number of residents living in noise zones, the number of residents exposed to noise has been estimated. The EU noise report (pdf) covers the entire Kuopio region.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the North Savo ELY Centre also participated in the preparation of the noise report.

In accordance with the EU environmental noise directive, in this report, the A-weighted day-evening-night time average sound level Lden has been used to assess the noise situation, where the noise level of the evening time (19:00–22:00) has been weighted with a +5 dB correction factor and the night time (22:00–7:00) average sound level has been weighted with a +10 dB correction factor. In addition, the night noise levels Lyö in have been calculated separately. The noise levels have been calculated to a height of 4 metres and represent the average noise level during the year. The noise levels according to the average sound level during the day-evening-night time are somewhat higher than the noise levels calculated with Finland’s national noise indicators. The noise zones have been calculated using the EU’s common CNOSSOS calculation model.

In the noise report, road and rail traffic noise zones have been calculated for more than 590 kilometres of streets and roads and for the 95 kilometre rail section. The traffic volumes of streets, roads and railways are from 2021.

The industrial noise report applies to production plants of Mondi Powerflute Oy, the Haapaniemi power plant of Kuopion Energia Oy, Kuopio door factory of JeldWen Suomi Oy. and the operations in the Hepomäki and Heinälamminrinne areas.

The average sound levels caused by the operation of the Heinjoki shooting range and motorsport centre have been calculated in a manner that differs from the noise reports previously conducted in the area and describe the situation in which all the motor-racing tracks planned for the area would be operating at the same time.

The report covers comprehensively the initial data, methods, results and their examination as well as the conclusions of the noise report.

The noise maps show both day-evening-night average sound levels and night-time average sound levels. The maps can be zoomed in, so that the noise situation in different areas can be examined in more detail, even by building. The front page shows the distribution of the map sheets presenting the noise zones.

Appendices to the EU noise report for Kuopio:
Noise zones in Heinjoki motorsport tracks with EU indicators 2022 (pdf, in Finnish)
In 2022, a noise report was completed in Kuopio. It calculated the noise zones caused by road and rail traffic using Finland’s national noise indicators. In addition, noise zones have been calculated for certain industrial and energy production plants and the Heinjoki shooting range and motorsport centre. Based on the number of residents living in noise zones, the number of residents exposed to noise has been estimated. The noise report (pdf) covers the entire Kuopio region.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the North Savo ELY Centre also participated in the preparation of the noise report.

In this report, the A-weighted daytime and nighttime average sound level LAeq used in Finland has been used to assess the noise situation, where daytime is defined as 07:00–22:00 and night time as 22:00–07:00. The noise levels have been calculated to a height of 2 metres and represent the average noise level during the year. The noise levels calculated using national key figures are somewhat lower than the noise levels calculated with the EU key figure (day-night average noise level). Noise levels have been calculated using Nordic calculation models.

In the noise report, road and rail traffic noise zones in Kuopio have been calculated for approximately 590 kilometres of streets and roads and for the 95 kilometre rail section. The current traffic volumes on streets, roads and railways are from 2021. In addition, noise levels have been calculated for road transport for the 2035 forecast situation and for rail transport for the 2050 forecast situation. The traffic volumes of the forecast situation for the year 2035 were mainly calculated based on the forecast traffic of the Kuopio traffic model. The traffic volumes of rail traffic for 2050 have been obtained from VR. In the forecast situation, new streets and residential areas have been taken into account insofar as they have been planned in sufficient detail.

The industrial noise report applies to production plants of Mondi Powerflute Oy, the Haapaniemi power plant of Kuopion Energia Oy- Suomi Oy as well as the Jeld-Wen Suomi Oy’s door factory and the operations in the Hepomäki and Heinälamminrinne areas.

The average sound levels caused by the operation of the Heinjoki shooting range and motorsport centre have been calculated in a manner that differs from the noise reports previously conducted in the area and describe the situation in which all the motor-racing tracks planned for the area would be operating at the same time.

The report covers comprehensively the initial data, methods, results and their examination as well as the conclusions of the noise report. The noise report also reveals existing noise barriers and traffic volumes.

The noise maps show both daytime average sound levels and nighttime average sound levels. The maps can be zoomed in, so that the noise situation in different areas can be examined in more detail, even by building.

Appendices to the noise report calculated using the national indicators of Kuopio:
In connection with the EU noise report of Kuopio, the City of Kuopio’s regional environmental protection services have surveyed silent areas in the central urban area. The results of various noise mappings, map surveys, noise measurements and field visits have been used in the report. In the mapping, quiet areas are grouped into the following categories:
- - quiet natural areas
  - quiet areas in residential areas
  - quiet outdoor and recreational areas
In addition to these, the potential quiet areas of some areas that will be built in the future and the Kallavesi archipelago have been examined separately.

Quiet urban areas are urban areas or areas closely associated with them, where noise levels are estimated to be significantly lower than the average in the urban area. There are also areas that are quieter than the areas surrounding the local soundscape and that are important for recreation. The areas may not be absolutely quiet, but they may clearly have sounds of traffic and other human activity. The proposed regional boundaries are not absolute; they may be specified later in connection with land use planning, for example.

The objective is to secure the preservation of quiet areas by means of land use planning.
The quiet areas in rural areas were surveyed as part of the preparation of the noise abatement action plan in spring 2018.

The report discusses the definitions of quiet areas and describes the mapping methods used in the work as well as the delimitation of areas classified as quiet. In addition, a more detailed description of individual areas has been prepared for each site.

Surveys of quiet areas:
- - Mapping of quiet areas in the central urban area of Kuopio (pdf, Finnish)
  - Silent areas in the central urban area of Kuopio, updated in 2022 (pdf, in Finnish)
Mapping of silent areas in rural areas in Kuopio (pdf, in Finnish)

Mikko Sokura

environmental inspector

+358 44 718 2147

mikko.sokura@kuopio.fi

Essi Holopainen

environmental inspector

+358 44 718 2004

essi.holopainen@kuopio.fi