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What is Noise Pollution? | Sources of Noise Pollution | Letstute

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Our first noise pollution video!!

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Explaining Noise pollution

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The report shows that environmental noise, and in particular road traffic noise, remains a major environmental problem affecting the health and well-being of millions of people in Europe. Twenty percent of Europe's population are exposed to long-term noise levels that are harmful to their health. That corresponds to more than 100 million people within Europe. The data also suggests that policy objectives on environmental noise have not been achieved. In fact, based on our projections, it is unlikely that the number of people exposed to noise will significantly decrease in the future due to urban growth and increased mobility demand.

What are specific health impacts? How big of a problem is noise pollution compared to air pollution, for example?

Long-term exposure to noise can cause a variety of health effects including annoyance, sleep disturbance, negative effects on the cardiovascular and metabolic system, as well as cognitive impairment in children. Looking at the current data, we estimate that environmental noise contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischaemic heart disease a year as well as 12,000 premature deaths. In addition, we estimate that 22 million people suffer chronic high annoyance and 6.5 million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. As a result of aircraft noise we estimate that 12,500 school children suffer reading impairment in school.

Many people don't realise noise pollution is an important problem, impacting human health, including theirs. Of course, there are many more premature deaths associated with air pollution than for noise. However, noise seems to have a larger impact on indicators related to quality of life and mental health. In fact, according to some World Health Organization (WHO) findings, noise is the second largest environmental cause of health problems, just after the impact of air pollution (particulate matter).

The report also identifies problems with implementation of the EU's Environmental Noise Directive. What are they?

In some countries, there is still a high percentage of data missing in terms of noise maps and action plans. Noise problems cannot be properly evaluated and addressed if countries, regions and cities don´t produce the noise maps or the action plans required by the directive.

How is the EEA involved in ensuring policy makers and the public are aware of environmental noise pollution?

The EEA is in charge of gathering all the information that countries submit under the Environmental Noise Directive. The current state of knowledge on noise sources and population exposure in Europe is largely based on this database. We produce a number of reports and assessments based on this data. They help track the progress made towards meeting noise pollution objectives and can also inform the development of future environmental action programmes. Apart from the recently published Environmental Noise in Europe report, there are a number of previous reports on noise undertaken by the EEA, such asQuiet areas in Europe - The environment unaffected by noise pollution (2016),Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: Social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe (2018). People can also check the noise pollution information through the EEA noise viewer or the country fact sheets on noise.

What is the EU doing to further address this issue?

Countries, regions and cities are taking a variety of measures to address noise problems. For instance, installing low noise asphalt on roads, using quiet tyres in public transport vehicles, putting more infrastructure for electric cars in cities, promoting active travel like walking or cycling, pedestrianisation of streets, etc. A significant number of cities and regions have also put in place so-called quiet areas, where people can go to escape city noise. These are mostly green spaces, like parks or nature reserves.

Many of these measures have also proved to be beneficial for reducing air pollution. We see that a way to increase the impact of noise mitigation measures while optimising costs and efforts could be to design combined strategies for mitigating noise and air pollution from traffic. If noise measures are not implemented to address noise problems, it is unlikely that the number of people exposed to noise will significantly decrease in the future due to urban growth and increased mobility demand. A significant reduction of people exposed to harmful noise levels is more likely to be achieved by using not only single measures but a combination of different measures including technological improvements, ambitious noise policies, better urban and infrastructure planning, and changes in people´s behaviours.

Interview published in the March 2020 issue of the EEA Newsletter 01/2020

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Noise pollution is a major problem, both for human health and the environment

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Noise pollution is a growing problem across Europe and one which many people may not be aware of the impacts of on their health. We sat down with Eulalia Peris, the European Environment Agency's environmental noise expert, to discuss the key findings of the EEA report 'Environmental noise in Europe - 2020', which was published earlier this month.

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Noise pollution is an invisible danger. It cannot be seen, but it is present nonetheless, both on land and under the sea. Noise pollution is considered to be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans and other organisms.

Sound is measured in decibels. There are many sounds in the environment, from rustling leaves (20 to 30 decibels) to a thunderclap (120 decibels) to the wail of a siren (120 to 140 decibels). Sounds that reach 85 decibels or higher can harm a person's ears. Sound sources that exceed this threshold include familiar things, such as power lawn mowers (90 decibels), subway trains (90 to 115 decibels), and loud rock concerts (110 to 120 decibels).

Noise pollution impacts millions of people on a daily basis. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children. Many children who live near noisy airports or streets have been found to suffer from stress and other problems, such as impairments in memory, attention level, and reading skill.

Noise pollution also impacts the health and well-being of wildlife. Studies have shown that loud noises can cause caterpillars' dorsal vessels (the insect equivalent of a heart) to beat faster, and cause bluebirds to have fewer chicks. Animals use sound for a variety of reasons, including to navigate, find food, attract mates, and avoid predators. Noise pollution makes it difficult for them to accomplish these tasks, which affects their ability survive.

Increasing noise is not only affecting animals on land, it is also a growing problem for those that live in the ocean. Ships, oil drills, sonar devices, and seismic tests have made the once tranquil marine environment loud and chaotic. Whales and dolphins are particularly impacted by noise pollution. These marine mammals rely on echolocation to communicate, navigate, feed, and find mates, and excess noise interferes with their ability to effectively echolocate.

Some of the loudest underwater noise comes from naval sonar devices. Sonar, like echolocation, works by sending pulses of sound down into the depths of the ocean to bounce off an object and return an echo to the ship, which indicates a location for object. Sonar sounds can be as loud as 235 decibels and travel hundreds of miles under water, interfering with whales' ability to use echolocation. Research has shown that sonar can cause mass strandings of whales on beaches and alter the feeding behavior of endangered blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus). Environmental groups are urging the U.S. Navy to stop or reduce using sonar for military training.

Seismic surveys also produce loud blasts of sound within the ocean. Ships looking for deep-sea oil or gas deposits tow devices called air guns and shoot pulses of sound down to the ocean floor. The sound blasts can damage the ears of marine animals and cause serious injury. Scientists believe this noise may also be contributing to the altered behavior of whales.

Among those researching the effects of noise pollution is Michel Andre, a bioacoustics researcher in Spain who is recording ocean sounds using instruments called hydrophones. His project, LIDO (Listening to the Deep Ocean Environment), collects data at 22 different locations. Back in the lab, computers identify the sounds of human activities as well as 26 species of whales and dolphins. The analysis aims to determine the effects that underwater noise is having on these animals. Andre hopes his project will find ways to protect marine animals from the dangers of ocean noise.

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Noise pollution can cause health problems for people and wildlife, both on land and in the sea. From traffic noise to rock concerts, loud or inescapable sounds can cause hearing loss, stress, and high blood pressure. Noise from ships and human activities in the ocean is harmful to whales and dolphins that depend on echolocation to survive.