Noise News
Below are links to stories about noise in relation to airports and aviation.
Residents near Belfast City Airport alarmed at research linking strokes and heart disease to aircraft noise
Residents affected by aircraft noise in Belfast and north Down, in Northern Ireland, have expressed concern at the findings of a new study - published in the BMJ. The study found the risk of being admitted to hospital because of a stroke or heart disease was linked to the level of aircraft noise to which an individual was exposed; the higher the level of noise, the more likely it was that they would be admitted to hospital with one of those conditions. Likewise with the risk of dying from heart disease. Dr Liz Fawcett, Chair of the Belfast City Airport Watch Steering Group, said the findings raise serious questions about the damage which aircraft noise may be inflicting on the health of people living under the flight paths. In Belfast the City Airport’s own figures show that more than 8,500 local people are impacted by aircraft noise at a level which the UK government considers likely to cause significant annoyance. These people may also be suffering effects on their health, which is unfair on them. Liz said: "It’s also unfair on the taxpayer footing the bill for hospital admissions which, in some cases, may be avoidable.”
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NATS due to launch airspace consultation on 15th October (says EADT)
The East Anglia Daily Times (EADT) reports that NATS – the air traffic management company which deals with the country’s airspace – is to begin a consultation during October, on fresh proposals to change the flightpaths over the east of England, in the Terminal Control North area. This may start on 15th October and last for 14 weeks, into mid January. Five years ago there was uproar after NATS put forward a plan to create two new holding areas for passenger planes waiting to land at Stansted. Communities in areas of Suffulk were livid at the proposal, fearing increased aircraft noise, especially over areas of countryside that - at present - are tranquil. Three years ago the plans were shelved, partly as there had been a fall, not an increase, in the numbers of planes. NATS said the consultation was the first phase of changes to UK air space and primarily affected planes going in and out of Gatwick, and were part of working towards the Single European Sky.
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UK and American studies both show aircraft noise may increase risk of heart disease
People who live close to an airport and are exposed to constant loud aircraft noise may face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to new studies from the UK and the US. The aircraft noise is not merely an irritation, and does not just reduce people's quality of life. It also causes actual harm to health, especially for older people. This should be factored in to future planning decisions about new airports and runways. The UK study published in the BMJ looked at admissions and mortality rates for 3.6 million people living near Heathrow in the noisiest areas. The linked American study looked at over 6 million Americans over the age of 65 living around 89 US airports. It found that, on average, their risk went up 3.5% for every extra 10 decibels of noise they experienced. Simon Calder said that 2 days ago, Sir Howard Davies gave a meticulous exposition of the factors concerning his commission, and its decision on new UK airport capacity. "He paid due regard to the concerns of local residents about noise and traffic. But 48 hours ago a correlation between airport proximity and the risk of heart attacks or strokes was not in the public domain. Now that it is, the spectrum of harm from airports has extended from nuisance to a serious public health threat."
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New study links aircraft noise from Heathrow to increased risk of heart disease and strokes
A new study by researchers at Imperial College and King's College in London - and published in the BMJ - has found that deaths from stroke, heart and circulatory disease are 20% higher in areas with high levels of aircraft noise than in places with the least noise. The research compared on day- and night-time aircraft noise with hospital admissions and mortality rates among a population of 3.6 million people living near Heathrow airport. Their study covered 12 London boroughs and 9 districts outside London where aircraft noise exceeds 50 decibels - about the volume of a normal conversation in a quiet room. The researchers made every effort to eliminate other factors that might have a relationship with stroke and heart disease, such as deprivation, South Asian ethnicity and smoking-related illness. This new study confirms the findings of the 2008 "HYENA" study, also by Imperial College, which looked at people living near Heathrow and 5 other European airports. The research is clear that living with a lot of aircraft noise damages health, though this needs further work. The study indicates that planners need to take the health impacts of aircraft noise into account when expanding airports in heavily populated areas or planning new airports.
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New short HACAN report giving a flavour of the stress caused to thousands of Londoners from Heathrow aircraft noise
HACAN (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) has just released a short report on reactions to noise by Londoners who are over-flown. "A Summer of Noise - a snap-shot of the impact of aircraft noise on Londoners... in their own words" (5 Pages) It is a collection of some of the despairing emails that Hacan has received, over the summer. There are always more complaints about aircraft noise in summer than in winter, as people spend more time outside. There is also more stress caused by night flight noise, as on warm nights, people want to sleep with the windows open. There are some sad and troubling examples in the report, a few of which are copied below. HACAN concludes that there is some pattern in the complaints it receives on aircraft noise. Night noise from aircraft remains a big concern for a lot of people. In addition to the difference between summer and winter, it seems that in very hot weather it is slightly more difficult for planes to take off (the air is a bit less dense, so the engine has to work harder) and this means that in areas like Hanwell, relatively close to the airport and under a take-off route, can experience a lot more noise. It is also clear that the cluster of complaints from particular areas may reflect the fact that flight paths seem to be becoming more concentrated. HACAN is discussing the apparent concentration of flights with Heathrow Airport and National Air Traffic Control.
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Gatwick attempts to argue more flights from a 2nd runway = less noise, by runway alternation
The Airports Commission consultation on its aircraft noise discussion paper ended on 6th September. Gatwick airport submitted their response, which admits that expansion at Gatwick would mean the number of people impacted by noise could increased from 3,300 to 11,800. But they say they can lower the number - including use of respite periods, as at Heathrow now. The airport said one runway would be used for take-offs, and the other for landings, swapping between the two, and so giving people half a day of respite. As aircraft are increasingly able to fly an exact route, using a sort of aircraft SatNav, called PP-RNAV, flights can be concentrated along one route. The debate continues whether it is more humane to those overflown to concentrate flight paths, or to disperse them. The latter shares the misery around, so many more suffer, but to a lesser extent. However, airports judge the level of dissatisfaction by the number of people complaining, and dispersed routes mean more people complain.
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Murad Qureshi: Boris has failed to get to grips with aircraft noise and needs to re-establish the GLA Noise Team
London Assembly Member, Murad Qureshi, writing in Left Foot Forward, says that in the aviation debate, the concerns of Londoners about aircraft noise are too frequently dismissed or regarded as secondary to other issues. "The Mayor of London has comprehensively failed to get to grips with aviation noise." Aabout 28% of all people in Europe affected by aircraft noise live under the Heathrow flight paths, and in the last decade the problem has spread across London with disturbance now being felt up to 20 km away from the airport. Heathrow’s noise mitigation scheme for affected residents is much less than that offered by London City Airport. "The first step to mitigate the issue of noise pollution must be for the Mayor to re-establish the GLA Noise Team which was shut down when the Mayor came to office. The team would be able to undertake a comprehensive update of the Mayor’s noise strategy which has not been revised in nine years."
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Row as Belfast City Airport rejects EU directive to produce Noise Management Area
Belfast City Council is on a collision course with George Best City Airport after the airport declined to take measures recommended to protect residents affected worst by aircraft noise. Councillors have accused the airport of trying to wriggle out of its responsibilities after it refused to set up a Noise Management Area (NMA) in the residential area most affected by noise. Councillors say the airport must be held to their responsibilities. An EU Noise Directive recommended that a NMA where control measures would be in play should be set up for the 1% of residents most affected by aircraft. However, the airport has said this was merely a recommendation and it was only obliged to declare a NMA if the noise was louder. However, the airport's own draft noise action plan, published in June, found that over 8,000 people living near the airport suffer from a level of aircraft noise deemed by the UK Government to cause "significant community annoyance".
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Heathrow tries to make out that a 3rd runway and thousands more flights can help cut noise from flights
Heathrow airport is attempting to make out that building a 3rd runway, and adding on another 50% more flights will make the airport quieter. In this curiously distorted logic they say that a new runway to the south west could cut Heathrow noise pollution by 20% and one to the north by 10%. Heathrow has had a special session with the Airports Commission, to put their point of view. They set out a 5-point plan to reduce noise through quieter aircraft eg. A380s, a new runway to the west of the existing two, steeper gradients of take-off and landing, changing runway use to provide respite for residents and home insulation schemes. In reality, the claims of aircraft becoming quieter are exaggerated - measurement in aircraft noise is by a logarithmic scale, so a 50% theoretical cut in sound energy only give a cut of 3 decibels in the perceived noise. The number of noise events is more important than the current noise measurement metric allows for - and the standard 57 dB contour does not properly reflect the experience of noise intrusion on the ground. The 2M group want a new noise study to measure aircraft noise nuisance from Heathrow properly.
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2M group of councils call for new study into attitudes to aircraft noise
The 2M group of Councils opposed to Heathrow expansion - which initially included some 2 million residents, but now includes many more - has called for a new study to be carried out into attitudes to aircraft noise. Without an updated study, the councils fear the Airports Commission will be limited to basing their recommendations on sites for new airport capacity on surveys carried out more than 30 years ago. The 2M Group - made up of Wandsworth, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Richmond, Windsor and Maidenhead, Southwark, Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, and South Bucks councils, have also republished the ANASE study into attitudes to aircraft noise which was rejected by the last Government in 2007. The study showed the official method for measuring community annoyance did not take account of the rising numbers of aircraft. The councils say that, while adopting the ANASE findings would provide the commission with a more robust benchmark, the real answer is to order a brand new study that properly reflects current attitudes.