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Noise Levels Used to Assess Health Impacts of Airports Too High? | 4 Sep 2008

With the publication today of consultation on guidance for Noise Action Planning for Airport Operators¹ – Environmental Protection UK² are reminding operators and Government that assessment of the impact of aviation noise on people must be based on robust research. While welcoming this first step towards coherent management of the annoyance and health impacts caused by aircraft noise, and the pledge to consider further measures to reduce the impact of noise in the worst affected residential areas, we are concerned that the current contour levels used to assess noise impacts on health are based on outdated criteria.

Last year the Government's own ANASE report on attitudes to aviation noise and work commissioned to establish the basis for increasing membership of the Heathrow Campaign Against Noise (HACAN), found that increasingly people are annoyed beyond the 57 dB(A) contours around airports, which are still the official criteria used to reflect the onset of annoyance.³ Calls for further research to establish the true effect of aircraft noise on current populations have to date been ignored.⁴

Mary Stevens, Policy Officer at Environmental Protection UK said "Noise action planning should be a step towards managing the impact of aviation noise on people. With the Department for Transport still using data over 20 years old to assess that impact, that goal may not be achieved."

Environmental Protection UK seek assurance from Government, that the noise and health implications of any development of airport infrastructure will be fully appraised prior to the making of decisions that have the potential to profoundly affect present and future communities, and the increasingly rare quiet areas of our countryside, and will contribute to achieving a cleaner, quieter, healthier UK.

More: Mary Stevens Tel: 01273 878781 / 07730 061850

Notes for Editors

1. See Defra Press Release – Managing Airport Noise – Defra Calls for Views . Noise Action Plans are required under the Environmental Noise Directive 2002/49/EC (END), which aims "to avoid, prevent or reduce on a prioritised basis the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to exposure to environmental noise." The EU Sustainable Development Strategy 2006, aims at "reducing transport noise both at source and through mitigation measures to ensure overall exposure levels minimize impacts on health".
   
   This covers airports with more that 50,000 movements a year:
   Birmingham International, Blackpool Squire's Gate, Bournemouth, Bristol Lulsgate, Coventry, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Stansted, Manchester International, Newcastle International, Nottingham East Midlands, Shoreham, Southampton Eastleigh, Southend
2. Environmental Protection UK is the charity bringing together environmental
   professionals, academics, policy makers and the public to work towards our vision of a cleaner, quieter, healthier world.
3. Currently the Department for Transport base noise impact contours on 1982 ANIS data which uses 57dB(A) as the level of onset of annoyance.
   The ANSASE report Attitudes to Noise From Aviation Sources in England and the HACAN report HACAN Aircraft Noise and London Heathrow Flight Paths both found annoyance at lower measured noise levels.
4. Environmental Protection UK wrote to Ministers in February 2008, urging a review of research into impacts of aviation noise, but to date have not received a reply. Read our letter to Ministers on the impacts of aviation noise.