Italian environmental performance: noise pollution activities report

During the past years, in particular after 1990, a large growth of researches about noise pollution takes place in Italy. A lot of national laws have been introduced to limit noise pollution; many activities in the field of acoustics have been developed following the impulse given by these laws. For instance, many municipalities have begun to plan noise abatment programs to limit noise pollution in their territories. An Italian organisation with the purpose of giving an important aid to develop activities in the field of acoustics is Inter-university Centre for Research on Physical Causes Pollution (CIRIAF). CIRIAF is a consortium among Italian universities to which over 100 university professors from Perugia, Rome Tre, Rome La Sapienza, Pisa, Florence, Genoa, Venice, L’Aquila, Polytechnic of Bari, Reggio Calabria belong; CIRIAF’s objective is to cooperate on a scientific research level on topics such as pollution due to physical causes (noise, vibrations, ultrasounds, ultraviolet rays, electromagnetic fields, ionized radiations, heat, humidity, etc).