Human Impact Partners Evidence Base
Articles in Traffic is a significant source of environmental noise. (See Environmental Noise section for detail of health impact of noise.)
European noise emission standards are 74 dB(A) for passenger cars and 80 dB(A) for trucks.
European Federation for Transport and Environment. Road vehicle and tyre noise. Available at: http://www.transportenvironment.org/module-htmlpages-display-pid-20.html. Accessed July 22, 2009.In a population in Sweden with road traffic noise exposure levels ranging from <45 db(A) to >65 dB(A), the odds ratio for hypertension was 1.38 for each 5 dB(A) increase in noise exposure. The association was stronger with women (odds ratio 1.71) and among those who had lived at the address for >10 years (odds ratio 1.93).
Leon Bluhm G, Berglind N, Nordling E, Rosenlund M. Road traffic noise and hypertension. Occup Environ Med. 2007;64(2):122-126.Vehicle noise arises from three sources: propulsion noise (dominant source at speeds under 30 km/hr), tire/road noise, and aerodynamic noise (becomes louder as speed increases).
European Federation for Transport and Environment. Road vehicle and tyre noise. Available at: http://www.transportenvironment.org/module-htmlpages-display-pid-20.html. Accessed July 22, 2009.Public transit use (instead of driving) reduces noise and air emissions from cars. Road traffic noise is a function of vehicle volume, vehicle speed, vehicle type, and road conditions. Moderate levels of vehicle associated noise significantly affects sleep, school and work performance, temperament, hearing impairment, blood pressure, and heart disease.
Babisch W, Beule B, Schust M, Kersten N, Ising H. Traffic noise and risk of myocardial infarction. Epidemiol. 2005;16(1):33-40.
Stansfeld SA, Berglund B, Clark C, et al. Aircraft and road traffic noise and children's cognition and health: a cross-national study. Lancet. 2005;365(9475):1942-1949.
London Health Commission. Noise and health: making the link. 2003. Available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/lhc/docs/publications/hia/evidencesummary/noise_links.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2009.Research has found that proximity to public transit helps to determine travel choice.
Ewing R, Frank L, Kreutzer R. Understanding the relationship between public health and the built environment: a report to the LEED-ND Core Committee. 2006.Chronic road noise can affect cognitive performance of children including difficulty keeping attention, concentrating and remembering, poorer reading ability, and poorer discrimination between sounds.
London Health Commission. Noise and health: Making the Link. London Health Commission, 2003. http://www.phel.gov.uk/hiadocs/noiseandhealth.pdfLondon Health Commission. Noise and health: making the link. 2003. Available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/lhc/docs/publications/hia/evidencesummary/noise_links.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2009.Low-income communities continue to be more vulnerable to the health effects of noise pollution such as hearing loss, hypertension, heart conditions, and mental stress.
Stansfeld SA, Matheson MP. Noise pollution: non-auditory effects on health. Br Med Bull. 2003;68:243-257.Noise pollution is more prevalent in low-income communities. The US EPA has warned of the negative correlations between household income and neighborhood noise levels.
US Environmental Protection Agency. The urban noise survey. 1977. Available at: http://www.nonoise.org/library/urban/urban.htm. Accessed July 29, 2009.Much of noise pollution comes from transportation sources.
Fleming GG, Armstrong RE, Stusnick E, Polcak KD, Lindeman W. Transportation-related noise in the US. Paper presented at: Transportation Research Board, Committee A1F04, Transportation Related Noise and Vibration Summer Meeting; July 18-20, 2000; New York, NY. Available at: http://www.trb.org/publications/millennium/00134.pdf. Accessed July 29, 2009.