By Martin Banks - 25th May 2011
Noise, of course, is everywhere
Stephen Stansfeld
A leading expert says the EU has an "important" role to play in helping to minimise the health impact caused by traffic noise.
Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Stephen Stansfeld, of the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, called on the EU to improve research funding on the issue.
Stansfeld, a professor of psychiatry, said, "The EU has an important role here. In the past, it has been generous in funding large-scale research projects into links between noise and health but it needs to do more."
The event, at the European economic and social committee, was organised by transport and environment, the European environmental bureau and health and environment alliance.
It was designed to discuss the latest science on environmental noise and health and the forthcoming EU regulation on road vehicle noise.
Participants heard that in the UK noise accounts for the highest number of complaints to local authorities.
It also heard the results of Danish research showing the links between excessive noise and strokes.
In a survey of 50,000 people, researchers found that an individual's chance of suffering a stroke increases by 14 per cent if they are exposed to excessive noise, such as from traffic.
Persistent exposure to noise is believed to increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders and this appears to be confirmed by the study.
It concludes, "The study shows a positive association between residential exposure to traffic noise and risk for stroke."
Stansfeld said such findings should be taken seriously by policymakers both at national and EU level.
He said, "Noise, of course, is everywhere but it is a serious problem. It can range from a relatively mild impact, for instance, on the quality of life, to the more serious. As the Danish study shows there is increasing evidence between traffic noise and health. There is increasing evidence that noise can even contribute to heart attacks."
He said, "In recent years, the noise from planes and cars has reduced but, at the same time, there are more planes in the skies and more cars on the road so, in a way, the situation is as disturbing as always."
"There is a link between exposure to noise and health, such as increased blood pressure. But to investigate this further we need more - and better - research.
"This is where the EU comes in. It has an important role to play in funding such work."
Another speaker, Piotr Gaudibert, of the Noise Observatory in Paris, called for several "innovative" measures to help tackle the problem, including "noise walls" and "noise-free" cars.
He said, "Contrary to what some may say, this can become a reality. We all assume that we have to live with noise but we do not.
"New technology now gives us the real prospect of noise-free vehicles and there should also be more barriers, or 'noise-free' walls to protect people from noise on, say, major roads and motorways."
He added, "However, the best way to tackle the problem is at source and that means reducing the production of noise in the first place."
