Exposure to noise pollution is shortening lives and causing significant health problems in Western Europe, and is second only to air pollution as a cause of environmental health problems, according to the world’s first comprehensive report on the health effects of noise. An analysis of existing epidemiological studies found that at least 1 million healthy years of living are lost annually among the region’s 340 million adults as a result of exposure to environmental noise, according to the study by the World Health Organization and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Heart disease caused by noise exposure — which can lead to elevated blood pressure and increased concentrations of stress hormones — costs western Europeans about 61,000 healthy life years annually, and causes about 3,000 deaths, the study says. Health impacts associated with sleep deprivation alone costs about 903,000 years of healthy living each year. “I think this really puts noise on a footing where it needs to be taken seriously,” Deepak Prasher, an expert on the health effects of noise exposure, told NewScientist. “Governments need to acknowledge that it is a problem.”
Health Toll of Noise Pollution Documented in New European Study
More From E360
-
Oceans
Dire Straits: Can a Fishing Ban Save the Elusive European Eel?
-
Climate
Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2
-
INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
-
Solutions
Solomon Islands Tribes Sell Carbon Credits, Not Their Trees
-
INTERVIEW
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
-
RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
-
Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining
-
OPINION
Despite Official Vote, the Evidence of the Anthropocene Is Clear
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain