Ericson M. Scorsim . Lawyer and Consultant in Public Law. PhD in Law from USP (University of São Paulo). Author of the ebook “ Cidades livres de poluição sonora”. Co-founder and President of the Associação Civil Monitor Ambiental Antirruídos
The State of Paraná approved Law no. 22,830 on November 27, 2025, which provides for the right to clean, healthy, and sustainable cities, free from noise pollution. The author of the bill was State Representative Jorge Goura .The Governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior sanction to bill 600/2024.
This law contains several fundamental concepts, such as acoustic efficiency and sound sustainability, among others.
The law provides for the standardization of noise emission levels, in accordance with standards from the World Health Organization.
The law also provides forthe identification of polluting sources and critical noise emission areas, the identification of areas which are noise-sensitive the mapping of conflicts based on the overlapping of information, and the development of an Action Plan to prevent, control, and monitor noise pollution in an inter-institutional manner involving the entire society.
The law states that theright to a clean, healthy, and sustainable city requires joint measures to monitor, eliminate, reduce, and isolate noise through various actions.
The actions foreseen in the law are as follows:
- Planning urban areas with acoustic environmental zoning with the objective of reducing noise pollution;
- Creating soundscapes, such as tree belts, green walls, rooftop gardens, promenades, and more green spaces in cities, isolating the noise source especially in residential areas;
- Promoting the adoption of acoustic pavements, sustainable mobility, electric vehicles, silent tires, among other measures to reduce traffic noise;
- Establishing a reasonable minimum distance between noise-sensitive areas, such as residential areas, schools, and hospitals, and noise sources, such as airports, heliports, factories, and highways, with adequate and clear regulatory signs according to the World Health Organization standards.
- Defining specific protocols, routes, and schedules for the circulation of cargo vehicles, tractors, trains, and other vehicles with high noise emissions, as well as encouraging technological solutions to reduce noise from these sources;
- giving support for science, research and technological innovations aimed at reducing and monitoring the emission of excessive, unnecessary and harmful noise;
- Implementing an environmental noise education program and measures to eliminate, reduce, and isolate excessive, unnecessary, and harmful noise;
- encouraging hearing health care and prevention programs, raising awareness about the risks of exposure to excessive noise and providing support to victims of noise pollution;
- encouraging programs to include, protect, and defend the rights of people with neurodiversity and/or cognitive and auditory neurodivergence , who are vulnerable to noise;
- creating incentives for measures aimed at the environmental and acoustic eco-efficiency of equipment, machinery, tools, and vehicles, both for their manufacture and operation;
- establishing an award for cities and companies that work to reduce noise emissions;
- creating a channel for reporting, discouraging, monitoring, holding accountable, and compensating for the emission of excessive, unnecessary, and harmful noise;
- applying and enforcing the principles of acoustic environmental eco-efficiency and acoustic environmental sustainability in public biddings , purchases, works and services;
- complying with noise emission control standards defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the development and implementation of public policies;
It was established a State Day of Silence, to be celebrated annually on May 7Th, to raise awareness about the harm caused by noise pollution and to disseminate measures aimed at eliminating, reducing, and isolating excessive, unnecessary, and harmful noise.
The law on clean, healthy, and sustainable cities, free from noise pollution, represents a milestone in the history and future of Paraná, serving as a model to inspire other states and municipalities to act in the prevention and control of noise pollution, and also to inspire the National Congress to adopt updated legislation to address this important issue.
