Correct and Effective Characterization of Fire-arms Noise:a Basic Aspect to Provide Reliable Input Data for the Reduction of Emitted Noise from Shooting Ranges in Urbanized Area

A large number of noise sources in urbanized areas involve health impairment risk or important annoyance, and characterization and control techniques have been developed to improve the safety and wellbeing of dwellers. But there is a large variety of gun shots due to both the gun and the used cartridges, and it is almost impossible to dictate a general rule to manage in detail this topic. A clear example of this situations is represented by a shooting range, a limited and well defined installation in which shooting activities are practiced. The shooting ranges, which were since a long time usually located in former military facilities, are nowadays in proximity of densely dwelled areas, due to the recent impressive urbanization rate. Hence, this situation makes necessary that a number of shooting ranges must nowadays accomplish the urban noise classifications. The situation appears to be quite complex in Italy since the national regulations for the measurement and management of the environmental noise problems associated with the activity of shooting ranges appear to be somehow not exhaustive, this involving administrative and legal problems. The source simulation methods (e.g. continuous pink or white noise) and the propagation models upon which the common computer assisted techniques are usually based can reduce to a large extent the quality of the control measures, due to poor prediction of the emitted sound power and estimates of the noise propagation pattern.